News

As it sometimes happens in rare-disease research, a prospective therapy for one disorder has potential to help another. So it is that, at Temple University, molecular pharmacologist Marlene Jacobson, PhD, has been awarded a joint grant to explore how a discovery could affect Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Specifically,…

Mild cognitive impairment, motor and olfactory deficits, and erectile dysfunction are among the markers able to predict the development of Parkinson’s and associated disorders in people with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, according to a large study. The research was published in the article, “Risk…

ProMIS Neurosciences will present evidence of the selectivity of several of its antibody candidates to target the toxic forms of alpha-synuclein, a key component of Lewy bodies that underlie the development of Parkinson’s disease. Neil Cashman, PhD, chief scientific officer of ProMIS, will present the study, “Targeting of Pathogenic Aggregated…

Hydrotherapy may provide significant balance and mobility benefits in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared to medication and land-based exercises, according to a review study. The research, “The Effects of Hydrotherapy on Balance, Functional Mobility, Motor Status, and Quality of Life in Patients with Parkinson Disease: A Systematic…

Exercise and fall prevention education can improve front-to-back trunk mobility in Parkinson’s patients with a history of falls, according to a Phase 2 clinical trial. The study, “Trunk exercises improve gait symmetry in Parkinson disease: A blind phase II randomized-controlled trial” was published in the American Journal of…

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…