News

A new method, originally developed to diagnose mad cow disease, shows effectiveness in measuring the buildup of alpha-synuclein in the skin of Parkinson’s disease patients, a new study reports. According to study authors, the findings indicate that using easily collectable patient skin samples may be a feasible method…

The Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge, founded by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, has awarded a grant to develop Entopsis’ non-invasive, urine- and skin swab-based OpsisDx test for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The research to bring OpsisDx as a diagnostic test for Parkinson’s will…

Ondansetron, an anti-nausea medication usually prescribed to those undergoing cancer therapies, will be tested in an upcoming Phase 2 clinical trial as a possible treatment for visual hallucinations associated with Parkinson’s disease. The study (NCT04167813) — officially the Trial of Ondansetron as a Parkinson’s Hallucination Treatment,…

Higher levels of unacylated-ghrelin, the most prevalent form of ghrelin (acyl-ghrelin) — a gut hormone with neuroprotective properties — suppress nerve cell growth in the hippocampus to affect spatial memory, according to a study in mice. Importantly, the study team also found unacylated-ghrelin levels to be higher-than-normal in people…

Pharmather filed an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting orphan drug designation be given to ketamine for treating the involuntary jerky movements — known as dyskinesia — that are associated with levodopa use in people with Parkinson’s disease. This condition, known as…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has named  Cala Trio a breakthrough device as a potential wrist-worn treatment of action tremors in the hands of adults with Parkinson’s disease. This designation is given to medical devices with the potential to more effectively treat diseases that are life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating. It…

Sanofi will provide $1 million in research funding over the next two years to support PD GENEration, a national initiative seeking to increase the availability of genetic testing and counseling for people with Parkinson’s disease living in the U.S. “Genetic testing is critical for advancing…

Roche, in partnership with Prothena, will launch a Phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of prasinezumab (PRX002/RG7935) — an antibody against the alpha-synuclein protein — in people with early stage Parkinson’s disease, including those on stable levodopa treatment. The decision was based on positive data from a…

In patients with Parkinson’s disease, dopamine-producing neurons and microglia cells — the “immune cells” of the brain — accumulate fatty molecules that may promote inflammation and disease progression, a new study has found. The findings, according to researchers, suggest that therapies capable of restoring the balance of…

Scientists found a species of bacteria living in the small intestine, called Clostridium sporogenes, that is able to convert a fraction of unabsorbed levodopa — a medication commonly used to treat Parkinson’s disease — into a chemical that lowers gastrointestinal mobility. According to authors, this process may…