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Alpha-synuclein reduces the levels and impairs the function of ATP-dependent Clp protease (ClpP), an enzyme found in mitochondria — the cell compartments responsible for the production of energy — causing mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, a study shows. The study, “Alpha-synuclein suppresses mitochondrial protease ClpP to trigger mitochondrial oxidative…

Maintaining good nutritional status may protect Parkinson’s patients from greater motor impairments associated with weight loss, according to new research. The study, “Untangling the relationship between fat distribution, nutritional status and Parkinson’s disease severity,” was published in the journal Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. Prior research…

Individuals with Parkinon’s disease who have worse quality of life due to their disease-related impairments may benefit most from treatment with deep-brain stimulation. The study with that finding, “Quality of life predicts outcome of deep brain stimulation in early Parkinson disease,”…

  Deep brain stimulation therapy can help lessen Parkinson’s symptoms, partly by increasing the number of mitochondria — cells’ powerhouses — in brain nerve cells, a study shows. The study, “Post mortem examination of Parkinson’s disease brains suggests decline in mitochondrial biomass, reversed by deep brain stimulation of…

Exposure to the metal manganese may lead to the development of Parkinson’s disease by promoting the release from nerve cells of alpha-synuclein, the subsequent aggregation of which causes inflammation and neurodegeneration, according to a study. The study, “Manganese promotes the aggregation and prion-like cell-to-cell exosomal transmission…

AbbVie has launched a Phase 1 trial in the United States to assess the safety and tolerability of an investigational antibody targeting alpha-synuclein called ABBV-0805 in healthy volunteers. This study comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an investigational new drug application for ABBV-0805 in February.

Treatment with a single dose of the leukemia therapy Tasigna (nilotinib) improves the brain’s ability to use dopamine in people with Parkinson’s by reducing inflammation and levels of toxic alpha-synuclein, according to Phase 2 trial results. The research, “Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a single dose…

Parkinson’s disease patients improved their gait after undergoing training in which they tapped their fingers in synchrony to regular beats set at a faster pace than their walking speed, a study has found. The research, “Rhythmic priming across effector systems: A randomized controlled trial with Parkinson’s disease…

One-time treatment with the gene therapy candidate AXO-Lenti-PD led to improved motor function and was well-tolerated after three months in two patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, according to early results of an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial. These findings are from the open-label, dose-escalation portion of the SUNRISE-PD…

A Phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of investigational Anavex 2-73 as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease dementia has recruited half of its targeted patients, the therapy’s developer, Anavex Life Sciences, has announced. The study is still recruiting Parkinson’s disease patients age 50 or older who have been diagnosed with…