News

People with Parkinson’s disease whose motor symptoms are eased by levodopa (L-DOPA) therapy may be “more likely” to develop earlier in their disease course the abnormal involuntary movements known as dyskinesia than do patients with a limited response to this treatment, researchers report. Data on this finding were presented…

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), given at high or low frequency, effectively reduces motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease patients, but the effects of high-frequency rTMS are superior and last longer, a clinical trial shows. Investigators also found that the treatment is more effective in patients with akinetic-rigid Parkinson’s — those…

Christina Korines was 22 — a recent college graduate and a newly minted Spanish teacher — when she noticed a tremor in her right foot. That tremor soon progressed into a pronounced limp, and an arm that didn’t swing when she walked. Something was terribly wrong, she just didn’t know…

Treatment with the experimental oral therapy ITI-214 was safe and well-tolerated in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease, according to a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. Trial findings also suggested that ITI-214 may ease motor symptoms in these patients. The study, “A Phase I/II Clinical…

Two new studies in mice suggest that caffeine might have protective effects in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients. The studies, “Chronic Caffeine Treatment Modulates  Disease Progression in a Transgenic Alpha-Synuclein Prion-Like Spreading Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease,” and “Chronic Caffeine Treatment Reverses A-Synuclein-Induced…

Untreated Parkinson’s patients who also have type 2 diabetes mellitus may be at a higher risk of developing impulse control disorders, severe depression, apathy, and sleep problems, research suggests. The study, “Preexisting Diabetes Mellitus is Associated with More Frequent Depression and Impulse Control Disorders in Drug Naïve Parkinson’s…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has granted more than $1 million to Inflazome to fund the development of a brain-imaging probe that may help track progression of Parkinson’s and develop new therapies for the disease. The funding will help develop a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer…

Consumption of more than 40 milliliters (1.3 ounces) of milk per day is associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Still, dietary intake of yogurts or soured milk does not pose a risk, results from a large-scale Swedish study show. The study “…

Although there are now more treatment options available for non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, a lack of evidence on their effectiveness and safety means that more studies and new therapeutic strategies are needed, according to a review study. The study, “Update on Treatments for Nonmotor Symptoms…

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has approved a patent covering the composition and method of administration of a new levodopa replacement formulation for treating Parkinson’s disease. Lecigon was developed by Lobsor Pharmaceuticals to be the next-generation of Stalevo (marketed by Novartis), a widely used…