News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a once-a-day capsule formulation and a lower tablet strength for Nuplazid (pimavanserin), a treatment for the hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s psychosis. The new formulation — a 34 mg capsule— enables patients to take the recommended oral dose once…

Use of a hypertension treatment called Dynacirc (isradipine) — a calcium channel blocker — eased the type of nerve cell damage seen in Parkinson’s disease, a mouse study reports. These preclinical findings support an ongoing Phase 3 trial (NCT02168842), known as STEADY-PD III, that is evaluating Dynacirc’s potential to…

A new method that allows imaging of all brain areas can help researchers monitor the success of gene therapy in the treatment of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s. The study, “A Novel Positron Emission Tomography Reporter Gene/Reporter Probe for the Central Nervous System,” was presented recently during the SNMMI 2018…

Treatment with Gocovri (amantadine) reduced Parkinson’s dyskinesia — involuntary, jerky movements — and so-called “off” episodes, leading to longer periods of controlling motor symptoms, Phase 3 clinical trial results show. Parkinson’s motor fluctuations (off episodes) occur when the benefits of treatments such as levodopa wear off and symptoms…

A new software can predict with an accuracy of 96 percent the form of Parkinson’s disease and future symptoms that a patient may experience. The software was the result of a collaboration between researchers at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU), the Institute of Experimental Medicine,…

A four-man crew from Britain is hoping to increase understanding of Parkinson’s disease by rowing across the Indian Ocean in an attempt to break a world record. Robin Buttery, Barry Hayes, James Plumley, and skipper Billy Taylor are planning to row for 1,920 hours non-stop, for 65 days straight, all…

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals’ apomorphine sublingual under-the-tongue film (APL-130277) — now under review for approval —  significantly improved motor fluctuations, or off episodes, in Parkinson’s patients in Phase 3 clinical trial, results show. The double-blind pivotal study, (NCT02469090), evaluated the efficacy and safety of APL-130277 as a fast-acting oral treatment for…

A new device that can increase the production of viable neural stem cells may change the landscape of neural stem cell therapies as potential strategies for neurodegenerative and chronic diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The invention, developed by a team at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), was recently…

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) may increase the levels of hepcidin — a hormone associated with iron accumulation and inflammation in the brain — in Parkinson’s disease patients, according to a small Polish study. The study, “Higher serum levels of pro-hepcidin in patients with Parkinson’s disease treated with…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Voyager Therapeutics’ gene therapy candidate VY-AADC regenerative medicine advanced therapy (RMAT) designation for the treatment of therapy-resistant motor fluctuations in Parkinson’s patients. The RMAT designation, recently created by the FDA, is given to regenerative medicine products intended to treat, modify, reverse,…