News

The Parkinson’s Foundation announced that it has added five sites to its national initiative that provides complimentary genetic testing and counseling to people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). In addition to helping patients better understand their disease, the program aims to improve Parkinson’s therapies — and enable personalized treatments —…

Defects in chaperone proteins that interact with alpha-synuclein and work as a type of “molecular bodyguard” may help drive the formation of Lewy bodies, which are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. The findings were published in the journal Nature, in a study titled “Regulation of…

Clumps, or aggregates of alpha-synuclein protein in the brain, a hallmark of Parkinon’s disease, are more heterogeneous than previously thought, according to a new study. Moreover, the protein’s 3D-structure is different in Parkinson’s patients as compared with lab-made versions. These findings may hold implications for the development of…

Measuring the levels of alpha-synuclein in red blood cells can reliably distinguish people with Parkinson’s disease and evident motor symptoms from healthy individuals, and could serve as a diagnostic biomarker, a study reports. These levels in Parkinson’s patients with symptoms of dementia, however, did not measurably differ from healthy…

Mission Therapeutics and AbbVie have identified several molecules, called deubiquitylating enzymes, or DUBs, that may be potential therapeutic targets to treat Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. This comes after the two companies announced a collaboration last year to identify DUB inhibitors to treat these neurodegenerative…

Cerevance has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its oral investigational therapy CVN424 for treating Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms. CVN424 is small molecule that can penetrate the brain and modulate the activity of specific nerve cells in the striatum…

Tasigna (nilotinib), an approved leukemia medication being tested as a repurposed treatment for Parkinson’s disease, failed to show any clinically meaningful benefits in a Phase 2 trial, the study’s steering committee announced. Although an announcement of the study’s topline data was originally planned for 2020, the trial’s steering…

Aptinyx will soon open a Phase 2 clinical study of NYX-458, a potential oral treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although the main features of Parkinson’s involve difficulties with mobility and motor function, many patients also experience non-motor symptoms that include cognitive problems, for…

People with Parkinson’s disease are at elevated risk of hip and non-vertebral fractures mostly because of the balance problems inherent to the disease and poorer bone health, a review study reports. These findings support making fracture risk assessment part of standard care for Parkinson’s patients. The study, “…

Patients who undergo deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson’s disease may lose their ability to swim, even if their motor symptoms improve after the treatment or if they were formerly proficient swimmers, a collection of nine case studies has found. The study, “Beware of deep water after…