News

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) recently hosted two groups of experts who assessed scientific projects vying for funding, and addressed diversity issues in Parkinson’s disease research and care. The organization met with its scientific advisory board (SAB) to decide which grant projects it will fund for the 2019-2020…

Patients with bipolar disorder appear to have a nearly seven times higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease later in life, according to a nationwide study in Taiwan. The study, “Bipolar disorder and risk of Parkinson disease: A nationwide longitudinal study,” was published in the journal…

Doing high-intensity endurance exercise reduces morning cortisol levels in patients with Parkinson’s disease, which may have an impact on the progression of non-motor signs and symptoms, a pilot study suggests. While other studies are needed to confirm if lowering cortisol with physical exercise works for delaying disease…

Measuring the electric brain activity of people with Parkinson’s may be a non-invasive and accurate way of diagnosing the disease and monitoring response to treatment, a study suggests. The study, “Characteristics of Waveform Shape in Parkinson’s Disease Detected with Scalp Electroencephalography,” was published in the journal eNeuro. The…

Alpha-synuclein levels in the gut are linked to Parkinson’s disease, indicating that gut alpha-synuclein may be used in combination with other disease biomarkers to facilitate patients’ diagnosis, a review study found. The study, “Diagnostic utility of gut α-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and…

Torso-specific exercises can help improve posture and balance by significantly reducing the severity of forward stoop in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The study with that finding, “Four-week trunk-specific exercise program decreases forward trunk flexion in Parkinson’s disease: A single-blinded, randomized controlled trial,” was published in the journal…

Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution does not directly contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease later in life, results from a Dutch study suggest. Still, non-smoking women and people with long-term residential stability were found to be at greater risk of developing the disease, according to the study. The…

Measuring how often a person spontaneously blinks could help predict motor changes in people with Parkinson’s disease being treated with levodopa, a study suggests. The study, “Using Spontaneous Eye-blink Rates to Predict the Motor Status of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in the journal Internal…

One amino acid change in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, which provides instructions for a protein important to neuronal survival, may be associated with cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease patients, a study has found. The study, “BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s…

Gocovri (amantadine) can effectively reduce the number and duration of “off” periods and dyskinesia (uncontrolled movement) episodes in Parkinson’s patients under long-term levodopa treatment, leading to a good steady “on” state, pooled Phase 3 clinical data show. These findings were reported in a study, “…