News

People with Parkinson’s disease who are lonely are more likely to have more severe symptoms and worse quality of life, a new study shows. The findings highlight the importance of social connection for people with Parkinson’s, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdowns. The study, “…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SpeechVive is making remote calibration software and training free for its medical device — also called SpeechVive — which aims to help people with Parkinson’s disease overcome speech problems. “Approximately 89% of people with Parkinson’s disease will have speech issues. Access…

A new technique to isolate specific brain cells, used in a Parkinson’s mouse model, has revealed that genes involved in sensing and using oxygen grow more active in a specific type of nerve cells (neurons) in response to dopamine depletion. Loss of dopamine in the brain is a hallmark…

An upgrade to the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) Symptom Tracker App, available to patients and caregivers at no cost, includes improvements to make for an easier and more detailed user experience and a Spanish language version. The mobile app, first released last year, was developed to help people…

Caraway Therapeutics has been awarded a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to further investigate a lysosomal ion channel that could be key in developing a new class of therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease. “Receiving this grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation is extremely validating for…

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a patent covering the intellectual rights to Alterity Therapeutics’ next-generation compounds to treat several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. “This broad patent establishes an excellent foundation for the company to pursue multiple therapeutics across a…

Mutations in the gene TNEM4, previously associated with essential tremor, may also be a cause of Parkinson’s disease, at least in its early onset form, a study reported. However, this finding is only suggestive of a link and further research is necessary, its scientists said. The study, “…

Of the roughly 1 million U.S. residents with Parkinson’s disease, some 110,000 are veterans. To improve this population’s health, well-being, and quality of life, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has formed a partnership with the Parkinson’s Foundation. The intent of the collaboration is to…

The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a study sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation, is expanding to recruit more participants, the Foundation announced. Currently, the study (NCT04477785) is recruiting new participants — both with and without Parkinson’s disease — at Banner Research Institute in…

Mood problems have a greater impact on quality of life among Parkinson’s patients who have had the neurodegenerative disorder for a long time, compared with those who are earlier in their disease course, new findings show. The results were published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, in the study, “Mood…