News

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…

Networks of mitochondrial interactions in nerve cells may be used as a biomarker in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease, a recent study has shown. The study, “Mitochondria interaction networks show altered topological patterns in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Nature Systems Biology and Applications. Mitochondria are small organelles…

People with Parkinson’s disease who have higher levels of the protein kininogen-1 in the fluid surrounding their brains and spinal cord are more likely to experience early cognitive impairment, a new study suggests. The study, “Cerebrospinal Fluid Levels of Kininogen‐1 Indicate Early Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease,”…

The California Parkinson’s Disease Registry (CPDR) will continue through June 2021, after gaining support from the state’s governor and $380,000 in extension funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), the foundation announced. Due to the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated research…

Nanoparticles as transport agents have a potential to more effectively deliver medications to the brain, opening neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease to new treatments, a study suggested. But work is needed to further refine these particles, assuring their safety as well as their efficacy, its researchers wrote. The study,…

Scientists have designed a so-called “organ-on-a-chip” device that can grow dopaminergic neurons — the brain cells most affected in people with Parkinson’s disease — in a 3D environment where they are more like real neurons in the brain, a study shows.