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Cell replacement therapies in which dopamine-producing stem cells are transplanted into Parkinson’s disease patients could improve motor symptoms, reducing or eliminating the need for dopaminergic medicines, a study suggests. The study, “Repairing the Brain: Cell Replacement Using Stem Cell-Based Technologies,” was published in the Journal of …

Naturally occurring gene variations in brain cells may explain why dopamine-producing neurons are the first to die in people with Parkinson’s, according to a new study. The findings also suggest that brain regions with a greater number of these variations are more likely to undergo cell death later in…

The protein Furin 1, produced by dopaminergic neurons — nerve cells that synthesize the neurotransmitter dopamine — triggers a harmful inflammatory molecular cascade in neighboring non-neuronal cells that contributes to the degradation of these neurons over time, a study in flies found. Because Furin 1 is controlled by LRRK2 — a major player…

Having a higher number of comorbidities is associated with postoperative confusion in Parkinson’s patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS), according to a new study in Brazilian patients. The study, “Postoperative Confusion in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease Undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus,” appeared in…

Stem cell-derived neurons from patients with familial forms of Parkinson’s may be used as a valuable model to screen and develop novel therapies for this disease, according to a study. The study, “T-type Calcium Channels Determine the Vulnerability of Dopaminergic Neurons to Mitochondrial Stress in Familial Parkinson Disease”…

The Parkinson’s Foundation is bringing Allied Team Training for Parkinson’s (ATTP), its signature professional education program, to Iowa City, Iowa, on March 27-30. The program is intended to help medical professionals from diverse disciplines learn the best techniques in Parkinson’s care.  Using a dynamic team-based approach,…

A specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measure can accurately predict the development of eye movement abnormalities, helping to identify patients who develop progressive supranuclear palsy with parkinsonism (PSP-P) after an initial diagnosis of Parkinson’s, a study shows. The study, “Refining initial diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease after follow‐up:…

ProMIS Neurosciences has identified several antibody candidates that specifically target the toxic forms of alpha-synuclein, a key component of Lewy bodies that underlie the development of Parkinson’s disease. In vitro (in the lab) studies have shown that ProMIS’s antibody candidates for Parkinson’s disease have a high specificity for toxic forms of…

Chronic sleep restriction alters movement, worsens cognitive dysfunction and induces changes in the levels of several amino acids — the building blocks of proteins — and other markers in rats with Parkinson’s, according to a new study. According to researchers, these findings could enable the use of biomarkers to…

Levodopa (L-DOPA) therapy is neuroprotective and prevents age-related iron accumulation in the substantia nigra, a brain region involved in Parkinson’s disease. The study with that finding, “L-DOPA modulates brain iron, dopaminergic neurodegeneration and motor dysfunction in iron overload and mutant alpha-synuclein mouse models of Parkinson’s disease,” was published in…