News

An anticonvulsant medication called methsuximide may be a new approach for treating a neurodegenerative diseases that include Parkinson’s, because it shows a potential to be neuroprotective at low doses, early research reports. Specifically, this epilepsy treatment’s active molecule — α-methyl-α-phenylsuccinimide — eased movement difficulties, extended lifespans, and showed itself to…

Voyager Therapeutics announced likely plans to request approval of VY-AADC as a Parkinson’s gene therapy, based on feedback it received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and eventual outcomes of a newly opened Phase 2 trial. The company also reported that its Phase 1 trial of VY-AADC showed improvements in patients’ motor…

Neuraly announced it has raised $36 million to advance its lead candidate NLY01 into clinical testing as a potential disease-modifying agent for Parkinson’s disease, and to develop other investigative compounds for this and similar neurodegenerative disorders. The company, a Johns Hopkins University startup, expects to start a clinical trial of NLY01…

A new chemical probe that binds to a protein called DJ-1 — a sensor of oxidative stress and a potential biomarker of Parkinson’s disease — may help researchers understand how the protein participates in disease progression, a study suggests. The study, “A chemical probe to monitor the parkinsonism-…

Cleveland Clinic researchers have developed a new model that accurately predicts whether quality of life would improve in Parkinson’s disease patients after deep brain stimulation, a new study shows. The tool may help select those who will benefit the most from the procedure, guiding patients and physicians in the…

Parkinson’s is less prevalent in individuals with artistic occupations than in those with more conventional jobs, suggesting that brain degeneration may influence job choices even before a Parkinson’s diagnosis, a study shows. Conducted by scientists in the Netherlands, the study, “Professional occupation and the risk of…

A new long-lasting formulation of exendin-4, called PT302, reduced neurodegeneration in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, according to new data from a preclinical study by Peptron. The study, “Post-treatment with PT302, a long-acting Exendin-4 sustained release formulation, reduces dopaminergic neurodegeneration in a 6-Hydroxydopamine rat…

Cardiovascular damage in Parkinson’s patients, due to nerve cell loss in the heart, can be captured by imaging stress and inflammation molecules — a process that may help to determine the mechanisms behind such damage and ways of treating neurodegeneration in the heart, researchers report. The study by researchers at…

A voice therapy program called SPEAK OUT!, developed by the Parkinson Voice Project, can help Parkinson’s disease patients regain their ability to communicate, according to a new study. Parkinson’s patients, especially those who received the training in early stages of the disease, saw improvements in speech intensity, pitch…

Motor fluctuations, treatment with antidepressants, disease severity, and deep brain stimulation (DBS) are among the risk factors that contribute to frequent falls in patients with Parkinson’s, a large-scale study reports. According to researchers, identifying predictors that put Parkinson’s patients at the greatest risk for falls can aid…