News

A group of young onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD) patients from around the world are launching a yearlong Facebook fundraiser to help others with the disorder attend the 6th World Parkinson Congress (WPC) in 2022. Representing 11 countries, the 26 participants, including an advocate who doesn’t have…

While excess iron in the brain often accompanies Parkinson’s disease, it remains unknown whether the iron overload actually causes the neurodegenerative disorder or is merely a product of it. New research now sheds greater light on the role that iron plays in the development of a Parkinson’s…

A saliva test may help diagnose Parkinson’s and assess disease severity, according to a recent study. Biomarkers that reflect problems in the production of energy, with nerve cell messengers, and in gut microflora — each easily detected in saliva — may all contribute to the metabolic changes…

Dosing has begun for healthy volunteers in a Phase 1 clinical trial of AL101, which has the potential to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alector recently announced. The randomized, placebo-controlled trial (NCT04111666) is testing the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (how the compound moves throughout the body), and pharmacodynamics…

A bioactive agent called baicalin prevented neurodegeneration of Parkinson’s disease in rats by protecting against oxidative stress and neuronal death, according to a recent study. The results, “Neuroprotective effect and mechanism of baicalin on Parkinson’s disease model induced by 6-OHDA,” were published recently in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease…

A compound that affects some of the same receptors in the brain as cannabis could help reduce dyskinesia — involuntary muscle movement — that develops following levodopa treatment in Parkinson’s disease, a new study done in mice suggests. The mice were treated with HU-308, an…

Cannabinoid-based formulations in development at GB Sciences were able to ease behavioral symptoms linked to the loss of dopamine producing-nerve cells — a hallmark of Parkinson’s — in a mouse model of the disease, the company said. GB Sciences will use these early results to support an…

A once-a-week multi-modal exercise program can improve and preserve motor function and cognition in Parkinson’s patients, according to a recent study. Results of the study were presented in a session, “Can a Weekly Multi-Modal Exercise Class Preserve Motor and Non-Motor Function in Parkinson’s?” at The Physiological Society‘s recent early…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted Sunovion‘s resubmitted new drug application (NDA) for APL-130277, an oral apomorphine therapy for treating off episodes in Parkinson’s disease. The FDA had asked for additional information regarding APL-130277, following the first NDA in mid-2018. A…

Patient treatment has been completed in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial testing cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) for Parkinson’s disease, Herantis Pharma has announced. The trial (NCT03295786) is testing the safety and tolerability of CDNF in 17 patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Of these patients,…