News

Synpromics and University College London are working together to create non-naturally-occurring DNA combinations that can be used to develop a gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Every gene requires a naturally occurring combination of DNA known as a promoter to code and produce a protein. Synpromics and UCL will develop synthetic promoters…

Patients with moderate-to-severe Parkinson’s disease who received human neural stem cells in their brain as part of a Phase 1 trial are performing better at six months than they were at the start of the study. Also, all patients are meeting the trial’s primary goal of safety, according to a…

A nanowired delivery of cerebrolysin and mesenchymal stem cells was found to have marked neuroprotective effects in a Parkinson’s disease model, concludes a study presented Nov. 14 at the Neuroscience 2017 meeting in Washington, D.C. The abstract, “Traumatic brain injury exacerbates Parkinson’s disease neuropathology. Neuroprotective effects of co-administration of TiO2 nanowired…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has awarded $600,000 to Rodin Therapeutics to advance new research in Parkinson’s disease. One of the most prominent features in Parkinson’s is the loss of dopaminergic neurons in a brain regions called substantia nigra. These cells produce dopamine, the chemical messenger that coordinates…

A two-year collaboration between British neuroscientists and chemists has led to a new fluorescent dye that’s less toxic than other dyes on the market. The new tool will help researchers understand the mechanisms underlying many neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s. Scientists at England’s Keele University in Staffordshire and Newcastle University in Newcastle upon…

Voyager Therapeutics announced it’s recruiting participants for the company’s new Phase 1 clinical trial to test a new approach for their gene therapy VY-AADC01 in Parkinson’s disease patients. The company has also released updates to its ongoing Phase 1b trial testing VY-AADC01 and highlighted its preclinical programs focusing on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,…

Acorda Therapeutics announced that it will now monitor blood cell counts on a weekly basis in Parkinson’s disease patients enrolled in the company’s Phase 3 program investigating the safety and effectiveness of tozadenant. The update to the clinical trial responds to cases of patients developing agranulocytosis, a severe drop in…

Deep brain stimulation surgery, used to treat the effects of Parkinson’s disease, is performed better when patients are asleep rather than awake, researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) suggested in a recent study comparing the two surgical settings. The study could influence how the procedure is…

Parkinson’s disease causes tremors — in some cases severe enough that patients can’t write or eat properly. Microsoft’s Emma Watch can alleviate the hand tremors that many patients experience. Haiyan Zhang, a Microsoft innovation director, invented the Emma Watch after meeting Emma Lawton, a graphic designer who was 29 when…

Ultrasound therapy can reduce the tremors of Parkinson’s patients who fail to respond to medication, a small clinical trial suggests. While the results were encouraging, larger studies are needed to confirm the technique’s effectiveness, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine said. The study raises the possibility that…