Scientists are closer to understanding how toxic alpha-synuclein (α-syn) aggregates affect the nerve cells involved in memory, which may point to new therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementias. The study, “α-Synuclein fibril-induced paradoxical structural and functional defects in…
Blocking an enzyme associated with inflammation and disease progression in Parkinson’s patients may by a promising way of treating this neurodegenerative disorder, new research suggests. The study, “Soluble epoxide hydrolase plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Proceedings of the…
Alnylam’s small RNA interference (RNAi) therapies were delivered successfully to the brain and spinal cord of a rat model, bringing promise to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s. The company says it now plans to advance its pipeline of RNAi therapeutics into clinical development. The initial results of the preclinical study…
Eli Lilly is recruiting patients for its Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating LY3154207 as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD). Parkinson’s disease destroys the nerve cells that make dopamine, a key player in nerve cell communication and involved in movement control, cognition, memory, learning, attention, and sleep. Parkinson’s…
Charles River Laboratories International and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) extended their collaboration to accelerate the discovery of Parkinson’s disease therapies. The extension covers grants from MJFF to characterize two animal models of Parkinson’s — one where mice do not express alpha-synuclein (knockout), and another…
New methods to measure brain activity in dancers can be applied to develop new forms of treatment, such as dance-movement therapy, for movement-related disorders including Parkinson’s disease, according to a Finnish PhD candidate. Her research project, “Dance on Cortex – ERPs and Phase Synchrony in Dancers and Musicians during a…
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and Verily Life Sciences are collaborating to collect data on movement, physiological, and environmental measures in Parkinson’s patients for the MJFF-led Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). More than 800 PPMI participants will be outfitted with Verily’s investigational Study Watch, a multi-sensor…
Rate hypothesis, a theory that Parkinson’s results from an imbalance in brain signals telling the body to start and stop moving, may involve “start” and “stop” signals that are more complex and intricate than initially thought, Stanford researchers report. And, the researchers suggest, the loss of that complexity and structure might factor in…
Insightec has treated the first patient in a pivotal study of its non-invasive ultrasound therapy, ExAblate Neuro, for patients with advanced Parkinson’s who have not responded to medication. The device uses focused ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to destroy a target deep in the brain — the Vim…
Worldwide Clinical Trials and Datavant have teamed up to improve research and clinical trial design for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease. The collaboration will combine Worldwide’s expertise in neurodegenerative diseases and clinical trial regimens with Datavant’s experience in organizing and structuring healthcare data. It intends to study…
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