News

Physical activity and participation in competitive sports, as well as coffee, caffeinated tea or moderate alcohol consumption before diagnosis, protect against worsening motor and cognitive function in Parkinson’s patients, according to a new population-based study. In contrast, smoking and heavy alcohol consumption — or never consuming alcohol — correlated…

Using a parameter called interleaving stimulation (ILS) in deep brain stimulation (DBS) eased dyskinesia — involuntary, jerky movements — in patients with Parkinson’s, according to a new study. In contrast, the benefits in people with tremor or dystonia — abnormal muscle tone — or in mitigating DBS-induced adverse side effects were not…

An inexpensive off-the-shelf hand-tracker can objectively and reliably measure Parkinson’s disease-related slowness of movement (bradykinesia) over time, both in a clinical setting or at a patient’s home, researchers report. The study, “Objective evaluation of bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease using an inexpensive marker-less motion tracking system,” was published…

Onstryv (safinamide) has been approved for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in Canada, where roughly 100,000 individuals live with the disorder. The announcement was made by Quebec-based Valeo Pharma and Italian pharmaceutical conglomerate Zambon, the commercialization partner of Newron Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development…

Researchers have found that mutations in a gene linked to hereditary forms of Parkinson’s disease — SLC30A10 — cause accumulation of toxic levels of manganese inside cells, which disturbs protein transport and alters nerve cell function, leading to parkinsonian symptoms. The study “SLC30A10 Mutation Involved in Parkinsonism Results in Manganese Accumulation within…

Subjective cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease could predict the development of dementia. As such, a suitable cognitive screening test could help provide an accurate diagnosis and prognosis. The study with those findings, “Subjective cognitive decline and progression to dementia in Parkinson’s disease: a long-term follow-up study,” was…

A collaboration between Theracycle and Virginian Outpatient Therapy will replicate a forced exercise regimen on a motorized bicycle with evidence of easing Parkinson’s symptoms, including rigidity, loss of balance and tremor. In a 2009 study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic, an eight-week program of forced…

Subtyping Parkinson’s disease at diagnosis may predict disease course and survival, providing both doctors and patients with a more accurate prognosis, a study suggests. The study, “Prognosis and Neuropathologic Correlation of Clinical Subtypes of Parkinson Disease,” was published in JAMA Neurology. Parkinson’s disease is characterized…

University of São Paulo researchers have found that Parkinson’s patients with dementia sleep less and less efficiently, which affects their overall cognitive performance. The study with that finding, “Global cognitive performance is associated with sleep efficiency measured by polysomnography in patients with Parkinson’s disease,” was published in…

Using Azilect (rasagiline) as an add-on therapy to levodopa was safe and improved motor function over one year in Parkinson’s patients with off periods, according to a Phase 3 trial in Japan. The study, “Long-term safety and efficacy of adjunctive rasagiline in levodopa-treated Japanese…