News

Researchers have analyzed the three-dimensional toxic form of the protein alpha-synuclein, which is directly involved in Parkinson’s disease. The findings are now challenging previous knowledge investigators had of this disease. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenrative disorder that belongs to the class of synucleopathies. In these type of diseases,…

Neupro patches (rotigotine) have been approved in China for treating symptoms of early-stage idiopathic (of unknown cause) Parkinson’s disease as a stand-alone therapy or in combination with levodopa. Patients may benefit from this treatment strategy over the course of the disease, through to late stages, when levodopa’s benefit wears off or becomes…

Herantis Pharma is launching a development program for non-invasive cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) as a treatment candidate for patients with Parkinson’s disease, the company recently announced. Currently, the investigational treatment needs to be administered directly into the brain using an implanted delivery system suited for Parkinson’s…

Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults with chronic sialorrhea, or excessive drooling, a condition often experienced by Parkinson’s disease patients. Merz Neurosciences, a division of Merz North America, announced that its supplemental biologics license application for Xeomin…

Canadian researchers have gained new insight into the activation of a protein that plays an important role in the genetic form of Parkinson’s disease. Findings were published in the study, “Mechanism of parkin activation by phosphorylation,” published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative…

New research projects focused on better ways to monitor and treat Parkinson’s disease were awarded funding recently by the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF). From more than 200 funding proposals submitted to its 2018 spring funding program, 39 projects were funded. Selected projects primarily come from the United States…

An investigative compound similar to those used to treat diabetes was able to slow Parkinson’s progression and ease behavioral symptoms associated with the disease in mouse models. The compound, called NLY01 and developed by scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine, works to protect against the loss of dopaminergic nerve cells —…

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) was seen to slow the progression of “rest tremors”  in patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease, a pilot study reports. The study, “Effects of deep brain stimulation on rest tremor progression in early stage Parkinson disease,” was published in Neurology. “The finding around…

Earlier disease onset and involuntary foot muscle contractions may be a consequence of mutations in the GCH1 gene in both Parkinson’s patients and those with dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD), a study reports. These mutations may also explain the lack of problems found with the autonomic nervous system — which controls organs not under…

Visual hallucinations can be common in Parkinson’s patients and others with dementia, but the degree of distress they cause is greatly influenced by the person’s ability to understand and consider them — and have the cognitive resources to do so, a study reports. Likewise, the tailored support given patients needs to…