News

By deleting a section of alpha-synuclein, a protein that forms damaging clumps in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients, researchers were able to prevent Parkinson’s-like symptoms in fruit flies, a study reports. The study, “The Non-amyloidal Component Region of α-Synuclein Is Important for α-Synuclein Transport Within Axons,”…

Secondary parkinsonism can be caused by a cavernoma — a cluster of abnormal blood vessels — located in a brain region involved in voluntary movement control, a case report shows. The case-study, ”Nine-years follow-up of cavernoma located in basal ganglia mimicking Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal…

A common gut bacteria called Bacilus subtilis (B. subtilis), which aids in digestion, shows the potential to counteract the misfolded alpha-synuclein protein central to Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. B. subtilis, a so-called “good” bacteria, slowed the buildup of this protein in the nerve cells…

Cerevel Therapeutics announced its launch of a series of Phase 3 clinical trials to evaluate its investigational therapy tavapadon, designed to improve motor function in people with Parkinson’s disease. The company will conduct three 27-week trials to evaluate tavapadon’s efficacy, safety, and tolerability in fixed doses —…

A potential oral therapy for Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was seen to be safe and well-tolerated at various doses in a Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers, its developer, Neuropore Therapies, announced. Steps are now underway to allow…

A team of researchers at Purdue University won a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to advance the development of a synthetic neuron platform to support future studies into brain health and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. Diseases like Parkinson’s progressively damage and kill nerve cells,…

Biogen is adding Pfizer’s PF-05251749 — a regulator of the body’s inner clock — to its group of potential disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Biogen plans to test PF-05251749 in an upcoming Phase 1 clinical trial as a treatment to correct irregular sleep wake…

Affiris is preparing for a Phase 2 clinical trial to test Affitope (PD01A), an experimental medicine that, if successful, could lead to a vaccine against  Parkinson’s disease. Affitope triggers the production of antibodies — molecules that recognize specific targets — against alpha-synuclein, a protein found in the…

Two Parkinson’s patients treated with AXO-Lenti-PD, an investigative gene therapy, in an ongoing clinical trial continue to show improvement 12 months later, Axovant, the therapy’s developer, said in a release. These findings at one year after treatment are important because this timepoint allows for a better assessment…

Together with dying nerve cells, dormant neurons also may be at the root cause of Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study in animal models. Reawakening these neurons by targeting a type of brain cells called astrocytes can restore dopamine production in the brain and reverse Parkinson’s…