News

Patients with middle-onset Parkinson’s disease have difficulties recognizing negative and neutral emotions, deficits that appear to be even stronger in female patients, a study shows. The study, “Emotion-Specific Affective Theory of Mind Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Parkinson’s disease…

The first patient has been enrolled in Anavex Life Sciences‘ Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the potential and safety of Anavex 2-73 as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease dementia. Now actively recruiting, the study (2017-004335-36) is expected to enroll approximately 120 Parkinson’s patients ages 50 or older…

An investigational herbal product called DA-9805 exerts its neuroprotective activity by preventing mitochondria damage in brain cells, a mouse study has found. This compound is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2a clinical trial (NCT03189563) in early Parkinson’s disease patients. The study, “…

The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command has awarded a four-year, $2.5 million grant to a team of scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to investigate the role of the gut microbiome — the trillions of microorganisms and their genetic material that live in the…

Reduced alpha-synuclein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — the liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord — are associated with more severe non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s patients, according to a study. The study, “CSF α-synuclein inversely correlates with non-motor symptoms in a cohort of PD…

Swelling of brain areas close to where the electrodes that deliver deep brain stimulation (DBS) are placed is a common and transient side effect of this treatment in Parkinson’s disease patients, a study suggests. The long-term impact of such swelling and potential complications are unknown and warrant further analysis,…

The first patient has been dosed in Axovant’s Phase 1/2 clinical trial testing the investigational gene therapy AXO-Lenti-PD for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The patient reported no complications associated with surgery or administration of the therapy and was discharged as planned in the initial trial design. Preliminary data from the first group of…

There is a substantial lack of data describing the link between the genetic mutations identified as inheritable causes of Parkinson’s — those that affect the SNCA, LRRK2, and VPS35 genes — and patient symptoms, a review study has found. Despite this missing information, the researchers conducting the review…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and Blackfynn are joining forces to make optimal use of an initiative that could uncover Parkinson’s disease biomarkers and bring about new therapies. Called the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), the MJFF-backed effort is an ongoing observational study of more than…

Targeting specific calcium channels in dopamine-producing neurons may be a therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease, according to research involving cells derived from Parkinson’s patients. The study, “T-type calcium channels determine the vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons to mitochondrial stress in familial Parkinson’s disease,” was published in Stem Cell…