News

Global Kinetics recently announced that the use of its wearable device, Personal KinetiGraph ­­(PKG)-Watch, significantly improves the assessment and management of Parkinson’s disease symptoms, while reducing patients’ costs. These results were presented in four scientific posters at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, held Oct. 5-9…

Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a specific cell death pathway named Parthanatos — after Thanatos, the ancient Greek personification of death — that leads to the physical and intellectual degeneration associated with Parkinson’s disease. They also found that a protein called PARP-1 is a key mediator of cell death via Parthanatos, supporting the…

Oral administration of a small molecule specifically blocked the activation of a stress-sensing protein complex called the NLRP3 inflammasome and prevented the loss of brain cells, resulting in significantly improved motor function in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. Findings also revealed that the inflammasome is activated in Parkinson’s patients.

Proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid that were seen as possible diagnostic biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease cannot serve in this role, because they lack robustness and reproducibility in earlier stages of the disease, a study has found. The study, “Evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid proteins as potential biomarkers for early stage…

The healthy human appendix contains Parkinson’s disease-related alpha-synuclein aggregates, and removing the organ early in a person’s life reduces the risk of developing the disease, a study has found. The study, “The vermiform appendix impacts the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” was published in Science…

While patients with some types of parkinsonism have a shorter lifespan, those with Parkinson’s disease without cognitive impairment have a normal life expectancy, a Swedish population-based study suggests. The study, “Early predictors of mortality in parkinsonism and Parkinson disease: A population-based study,” was published in the journal…

With a focus on self-care and caregiving, the Parkinson’s Foundation is hosting a free bilingual summit for those who attend to the daily needs of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Called Cumbre Para Cuidadores (Summit for Caregivers), the all-day event Dec. 1 at the Sheraton Grand Phoenix in Phoenix,…

Engaging in regular exercise can help preserve the motor and non-motor function of Parkinson’s disease patients, most likely as a result of an increased release of dopamine in the brain, a small study suggests. The study, “Habitual Exercisers Versus Sedentary Subjects With Parkinson’s Disease: Multimodal PET…

Patients with middle-onset Parkinson’s disease have difficulties recognizing negative and neutral emotions, deficits that appear to be even stronger in female patients, a study shows. The study, “Emotion-Specific Affective Theory of Mind Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease,” was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Parkinson’s disease…

The first patient has been enrolled in Anavex Life Sciences‘ Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the potential and safety of Anavex 2-73 as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease dementia. Now actively recruiting, the study (2017-004335-36) is expected to enroll approximately 120 Parkinson’s patients ages 50 or older…