News

More Research Needed for Using Skin Biopsies to Diagnose, Provide Early Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease

Though alpha-synuclein, the dysfunctional protein in Parkinson’s disease that can be found in skin nerve fibers, has been shown to be a reliable biomarker of the condition that could lead to early treatment, more research is needed to standardize diagnostic techniques using biopsies, according to recent study perspective published in …

‘Back to the Future’ Inspires Effort to Detect Parkinson’s in Its Earliest Phases

New research by the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) aims to make possible the early detection of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by using strongly magnetized xenon gas to enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The project, funded by a nearly $350,000 three-year award from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, was,…

Discovery of Factors Connecting Parkinson’s Disease with Alzheimer’s Opens Door for Developing New Treatments

Researchers have discovered a factor that controls the accumulation of both alpha-synuclein and tau, two proteins that drive neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. The findings bring not only a new understanding of how the two conditions may be linked, but also offer possibilities for the development of new treatment…

Insights into Rare Disease May Lead to Novel Therapeutic Targets for Parkinson’s

The rare lysosomal storage disorder Krabbe’s disease is caused by an enzyme deficiency and has been found to have surprising similarities with neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Establishing this connection can be a valuable tool for developing novel therapeutic targets and new biomarkers for identifying patients at risk for developing Parkinson’s.