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The Parkinson’s Disease Digital Biomarker DREAM Challenge was just launched by Sage Bionetworks as the first of a series of open, crowd-funded projects designed to help researchers identify ways to use smartphones and remote sensing devices to monitor health and disease. The first DREAM Challenge will focus on…

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study of more than 12 million people who died in the U.S. between 1985 and 2011 found that deaths from Parkinson’s disease and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) occurred more often in people in higher socioeconomic status (SES) occupations. Findings from the study…

Tuppy Owens, a sex therapist who works and advocates on behalf of the disabled, will hold an online lecture on  July 26 focusing on sexuality in the context of chronic conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, and how patients and caregivers can best enjoy this aspect of their lives. Registration is free for…

University of Houston researchers are developing what’s called the Smarter Balance System (SBS), a smartphone-based biofeedback rehabilitation system to help patients with Parkinson’s disease regain stable balance. This helps them with confidence in performing daily activities through a series of exercises using a piece of wearable technology.

A new study has found that Parkinson’s disease is associated with changes in the visual system, a feature that can be detected earlier than the most common symptoms of the disease, suggesting it could be used as a biomarker to follow disease progression. The study “Visual System Involvement in Patients with…

U.S. government researchers have developed a computerized mathematical model for predicting and testing cognitive decline in Parkinson’s patients. The team from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke used information on 3,200 Parkinson’s cases in North America and Europe to develop the algorithm. The model could help doctors do…

Xadago (safinamide) is now available in the U.S. as an add-on treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease currently taking levodopa/carbidopa to control their “off” episodes, according to an announcement from Newron Pharmaceuticals and US WordMeds. Photo credit: Business Wire Xadago is the first medication approved in…

Parkinson’s disease may in part be driven by autoimmune processes, according to researchers who discovered that certain immune cells react to alpha-synuclein — a protein that accumulates in the brains of Parkinson’s patients. The findings, published in the journal Nature, raise the possibility that immunotherapy could be used to…

An enzyme called asparagine endopeptidase may participate in the development of Parkinson’s disease by cleaving alpha-synuclein protein into toxic fragments, according to new research. The study, “Asparagine endopeptidase cleaves α-synuclein and mediates pathologic activities in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. The…

Parkinson’s disease patients have a significantly higher risk of developing melanoma, and the opposite is also true, according to a new study. But researchers aren’t sure of the cause. The study, “Parkinson Disease and Melanoma: Confirming and Reexamining an Association,” was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.