News

On four occasions during Parkinson’s Awareness Month, which is observed every April, some 500 members of the global Parkinson’s (PD) community will participate in the first virtual Parkinson’s Sing-A-Long. Presented by the World Parkinson Coalition (WPC), the effort will be led by the WPC’s choir director,…

People with Parkinson’s disease can face “hidden sorrows” during the COVID-19 pandemic, like increased stress and limits on physical activity, that could worsen their symptoms. But ways exist to mitigate these “less visible” threats of social distancing and other changes in daily routines. Indeed, the pandemic may facilitate wider…

The Phase 2 RESTORE-1 trial testing the investigational gene therapy VY-AADC has suspended the screening and enrollment of new Parkinson’s disease patients to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the study’s protocols and on the safety of participants, Voyager Therapeutics has announced. Patient enrollment…

Roche presented initial data from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating prasinezumab (PRX002/RG7935) — an antibody against the alpha-synuclein protein — in more than 300 people with early stage Parkinson’s disease. Data highlighted that the trial’s participants, including those on MAO-B inhibitors, represent a wider population…

As the world frantically battles coronavirus, a leading Dutch neurologist warns of the next global pandemic — and this one, he says, is almost entirely of our own making. Bastiaan Bloem, MD, a neurologist and professor at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, says that over the next 20 years,…

A proposed system for classifying subtypes of Parkinson’s disease is strongly linked to disease duration and severity, a new study found. This suggests that the system’s proposed subtypes might actually reflect different stages of the disease, rather than distinct clinical subtypes. The study, “The role of disease…

Anavex Life Sciences announced plans to continue to screen and enroll patients into its active trials for Alzheimer’s disease and Rett syndrome, in accordance to institutional rules and government guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A Phase 2 study of people with dementia linked to Parkinson’s disease is fully…

Despite being safe and well-tolerated, foliglurax (PTX002331), an investigational therapy for Parkinson’s disease, failed to significantly reduce some of the effects associated with long-term use of levodopa, including its “wearing-off” effect and motor complications, according to data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. As a result,…

Theranexus’ lead candidate THN102 significantly lowers excessive daytime sleepiness in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to final data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. “The symptom addressed by THN102 … affects around 40% of patients. It is particularly debilitating and represents one of the primary risk factors…

Long-term use of blood pressure medication Dynacirc (isradipine) does not slow disease progression in people with early Parkinson’s disease, according to findings from a Phase 3 clinical trial. These results contrast with what was previously observed in mice, in which the medication eased damage to dopaminergic…