News

Boosting levels of the Cdk8 gene in fruit flies with Parkinson’s-like symptoms improved their ability to move, possibly due in part to preserving the health of mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells, a recent study reports. While it’s still early to know if this gene’s human counterparts, CDK8 and CDK19, also…

A person’s body composition, like the ratio of fat to muscle mass, could influence their risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, according to a large database study in the U.K. Among the more than 400,000 middle-aged adults followed for years, higher levels of abdominal and…

Nearly 13% of people with Parkinson’s disease in North America carry a Parkinson’s-associated genetic mutation, according to new data from the PD GENEration study. This suggests that genetic variants with a link to Parkinson’s are more common than previously thought. “The positivity rate and the high interest in…

Scientists at the University of Florida (UF) have developed an artificial intelligence-powered tool to help neurologists track Parkinson’s disease progression. The system analyzes video of patients’ performance on the finger-tapping test, a standard test that requires the patient to quickly tap the thumb and index finger about 10 times. It…

A transplant approach used to deliver ANPD001, an investigational stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease, to the brain was found to be safe and feasible in non-human primates. Data from these preclinical studies supported developer Aspen Neuroscience’s successful application to U.S. regulators seeking to launch a first-in-human…

Amprion is launching SAAmplify, a set of biomarker panels that can be used as a tool to help in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions linked to the formation of toxic clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein. With its launch planned for this year, SAAmplify builds…

The number of active Parkinson’s disease clinical trials has remained relatively stable since 2019, but many investigational therapies — especially disease-modifying treatments intended to slow or stop disease progression — are failing to move forward from Phase 2 to Phase 3 trials, according to a report. A wide…

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Nashville will soon treat movement disorders such as tremor and Parkinson’s disease using a minimally invasive technology called focused ultrasound (FUS) that delivers sound waves to specific regions in the brain. The approach, expected to become available in late summer or fall, uses…

Lowering the levels of healthy alpha-synuclein, which is naturally found in the brain, helped to suppress the spread of this protein’s toxic clumps in the brains of a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. The study, “Effects of local reduction of endogenous α-synuclein using…

A test to detect clumping alpha-synuclein protein in the blood — a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease — may help to diagnose the neurodegenerative condition and could also provide insight into how long an individual has been living with Parkinson’s, a new study reports. The study confirmed that the…