News

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…

Verge Genomics and three non-industry partners will team up to identify the lab and animal models of  Parkinson’s that can do the best job of mimicking the changes in the disease. The hope is that if researchers use the most precise models available, they can accelerate the preclinical-trial development of…

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a multi-institutional research team $4.37 million in grants to study the possible role of airborne pollutants as triggers for Parkinson’s disease. “It increasingly appears that a complicated mix of biological and environmental factors contribute to Parkinson’s,” Dr. Patrik Brundin,  director of the …

Adherence to medicines is high among Parkinson’s disease patients regardless of income level, but more men with the disease are likely to feel depressed than women, according to a survey with over 5,000 responses to questions about the daily challenges of life with PD. The Parkinson’s Disease Patient Report…

A new Phase 2a clinical trial, funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), is now recruiting Parkinson’s disease patients to test the safety and tolerability of nilotinib, an approved treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) that is now being repurposed for Parkinson’s disease. Nilotinib, marketed as Tasigna for…

The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and personal genetics company 23andMe will together gather genetic data for Parkinson’s disease research through the MJFF’s Fox Insight platform. MJFF will provide an undisclosed amount of funding for 23andMe researchers — using genetic data collected from 2009 to 2017 through the…

Two Cleveland Clinic researchers are recipients of the first grants awarded by the National Institute of Health’s BRAIN Initiative in neuroethics, for studies looking ethical issues in brain surgeries intended to treat diseases, with specific attention on Parkinson’s. “We are thankful the BRAIN Initiative sees the importance of exploring ethical considerations…

Horizon Discovery, in a collaboration with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), has developed two new genetic rat models that may help scientists better understand alpha-synuclein‘s role in brain function and in the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Alpha-synuclein is the main molecular component of…

MIT researchers have developed REPAIR, a new version of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system that can edit RNA instead of DNA — so as not to alter a person’s genome — and may one day be used to treat Parkinson’s and a variety of other diseases. The findings are…