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A hand-grip test is one of the best measures of muscle decline in Parkinson’s disease, research indicates. Two University of British Columbia researchers, Jenn Jakobi and Gareth Jones, researched methods used to monitor the progression of Parkinson’s. Their study, “Handgrip Strength Related to Long-Term Electromyography,” was published in the…

An optimal Parkinson’s disease treatment would need to target both accelerator and brake functions in the brain to be effective without producing side effects like the jerky movements associated with L-dopa treatment. Using an advanced method to manipulate the activity in the two brain pathways that act as the accelerator…

Administering a naturally occurring growth factor to a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease reduced inflammation and prevented neurons from dying, suggesting that such factors have the potential to stop or slow the progression of disease. The study, “Activin A Inhibits MPTP and LPS-Induced Increases in Inflammatory Cell Populations…

The first patient has been dosed in a two-part Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating KM-819, Kainos Medicine’s potential disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD), the company announced in a press release. The dose-escalation clinical trial (NCT03022799) will evaluate the drug’s safety, tolerability, and biochemical properties following single…

Researchers have identified more than 300 genes that influence alpha-synuclein’s toxicity, and among them are many known to predispose individuals to Parkinson’s disease (PD), researchers said. The finding provides new insight into what mechanisms lead to the disease. The hallmark of Parkinson’s disease is the formation of alpha-synuclein protein aggregates, which…

Advanced Brain Monitoring, Inc. (ABM) has been declared the Most Innovative Medical Device Company by trade magazine Global Health and Pharma’s 2016 Healthcare and Pharmaceutical awards committee. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based medical technology company’s portfolio includes technology that can help the assessment of brain impairment in Parkinson’s disease.

In recent decades studies have shed new light on Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the cause of the neurodegenerative disease is still unknown and there are currently no effective treatments. But recent findings that describe new mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA deregulation may help better understand Parkinson’s and potentially lead to new therapeutic…

It’s widely recognized that falling poses a significant risk for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), but most scientists thought patients tended to fall in later stages of the disease. Researchers in Norway have found that 25 percent of Parkinson’s patients fell in the first year of their diagnosis. Parkinson’s disease…

Shortfalls in instrumental daily activities such as housework, meal preparations, money management, and shopping, which require both motor and non-motor skills precede difficulties in more physically oriented daily activities in patients with pre-diagnostic Parkinson’s disease, according to a study published in the scientific journal Brain.

Astrocytes are brain cells usually known for their protective role toward neurons in various conditions, such as stroke and spinal cord injury. Researchers have now found they also can exert a damaging effect in neurons under certain circumstances and lead to several diseases, such as Parkinson’s. The research work establishes that…