News

A new exploratory study intends to assess the benefit of art therapy in improving visuospatial function and gait in Parkinson’s disease patients. The ExplorArtPD study (NCT03178786) is currently recruiting participants in New York City. More information on enrollment can be found here. The study’s experimental protocol, “…

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) — recurrent discomfort and the urge to move the legs at rest — may be associated with an increased frequency of constipation and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), two premotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a study suggests. The study, “The…

The Parkinson’s Foundation’s next education program course for healthcare professionals who treat Parkinson’s patients will be held in Atlanta, the nonprofit announced in a press release. Called Allied Team Training for Parkinson’s (ATTP), the three-day program will take place Oct. 17-20, with Emory University and the…

Drinking hydrogen-enriched water does not provide therapeutic benefits to patients with Parkinson’s disease, results from a Japanese clinical trial revealed. The study,“Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter Trial of Hydrogen Water for Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in the journal Movement Disorders. Parkinson’s disease is characterized by reduced levels of…

A gene editing approach targeting a specific part of the SNCA gene was able to lower alpha-synuclein levels and protect from Parkinson’s characteristic cellular changes, according to preclinical results. The study, “Downregulation of SNCA expression by targeted editing of DNA-methylation: A potential strategy for precision therapy in…

Experts are proposing ways to stanch the number of deaths from Parkinson’s disease and related disorders in England, including establishing dedicated nursing homes and giving Parkinson’s patients personal case managers, according to a recent report by Public Health England. According to the study, more than 6.5 million England residents age 20 and older…

People diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), usually detected at an early age in hyperactive children, may have an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s-like diseases, a new study suggests. “Parkinson’s disease is commonly thought of as a neurodegenerative disease associated with aging,” Glen Hanson, PhD, professor at the…

Telemedicine has the potential to become a critical component of healthcare in people with Parkinson’s disease, but larger studies are required to determine its role, a review study contends. The study, “Current perspectives on the role of telemedicine in the management of Parkinson’s disease,” was published in…

Using a new screening strategy, researchers have identified compounds that block the clumping of alpha-synuclein protein, a key event in Parkinson’s. The study, “Potent α-Synuclein Aggregation Inhibitors, Identified by High-Throughput Screening, Mainly Target the Monomeric State,” appeared in the journal Cell Chemical Biology. Aggregated alpha-synuclein is…

Use of sensor-based methods to evaluate gait can improve individual assessments of Parkinson’s disease patients who are undergoing dopaminergic treatment, researchers suggest. The study with that finding, “Sensor-based gait analysis of individualized improvement during apomorphine titration in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the Journal of Neurology.