News

Delivering a gene therapy directly to the substantia nigra, an area of the brain affected by Parkinson’s disease, led to sustained protein production for up to eight years, a post-mortem of analysis of two patients revealed. The therapy’s use failed to show…

Treatment with IRLAB Therapeutics‘ small molecule IRL752 is safe and well-tolerated by Parkinson’s disease patients with dementia, and may help manage symptoms that are unresponsive to levodopa, results from a Phase 2a trial show. In particular, the treatment was found to reduce apathy, improve balance, and…

A clinical study will test the potential of a specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to diagnose Parkinson’s disease at early stages. The 18-month project, supported by a grant from the Center for Clinical and Translational Science in the U.K., will take place at the University…

The Goalkeeper Game, a video game in which people assume the role of a goalkeeper in a soccer penalty shootout, may be a novel tool to detect early decline in gait performance in Parkinson’s disease patients, helping them receive treatment sooner, a study suggests. The test is designed…

A variant of the apolipoprotein (APOE) protein, called APOE4, has been shown to directly affect Lewy body dementias, such as Parkinson’s disease. Two separate studies, published simultaneously, found that APOE4 directly regulates levels of alpha-synuclein, which clumps  to form the nerve-damaging Lewy…

With people everywhere hunkering down to avoid the newly identified coronavirus known as COVID-19, the Sidekicks Anytime program is offering creative, at-home activities tailored to people with Parkinson’s disease. The program is an offshoot of Sidekicks, sponsored by the Davis Phinney Foundation and Lundbeck, a pharma…

Stalevo (levodopa, carbidopa, and entacapone combination therapy) may be more effective but seems to be associated with more side effects than other medications to treat early Parkinson’s disease, researchers report. The study, “Levodopa/carbidopa/entacapone for the treatment of early Parkinson’s disease: a meta-analysis,” was…

A Phase 2/3 trial (Study 301) testing Addex Therapeutic’s candidate dipraglurant for people with levodopa-induced dyskinesia associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD-LID) has been postponed — until further notice — due to the continued spread of COVID-19 in Europe and the U.S., where the trial was set to…

An investigational gene therapy, called VY‐AADC01, boosts motor responses to levodopa that is given intravenously —particularly at a low dose — in people with Parkinson’s disease, a sub-study within a Phase 1b trial shows. These findings, along with positive data from the main PD-1101 study (NCT01973543), support the potential…

Biomarkers of brain inflammation could provide a useful means for classifying Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s patients and defining the mechanisms underpinning each person’s disease. Testing for these biomarkers could support clinicians in providing precision medicine, by helping people with the progressive neurodegenerative disorders to choose treatments with a greater…