News

Richard Myers, a Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) professor of neurology, has just received a $100,000 grant from the Ellison Foundation to investigate new targets for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Myers’ focus is on genetic research methods into diseases with adult onset, like PD, Huntington’s, or obesity. His research team has been examining the…

Researchers have discovered that a protein called Nrf2 is capable of maintaining healthy levels of certain proteins linked to Parkinson’s disease, so as to protect neurons from cell death. The research could lead to new therapeutic targets for Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The study, “Nrf2 mitigates LRRK2- and α-synuclein–induced…

Researchers have discovered that welders develop symptoms of parkinsonism — a general term referring to disorders that cause movement problems that resemble those of Parkinson’s disease — because of prolonged exposure to manganese, a chemical element from welding fumes. The finding was reported in the study “Dose-dependent progression of parkinsonism…

PRX002, a drug candidate under development for the potential treatment of Parkinson’s disease is safe and well tolerated, according to the results of a Phase 1 clinical trial (NCT02095171) conducted on healthy volunteers and published in the scientific journal Movement Disorders.

An international post-mortem brain study of Parkinson’s disease shows altered levels of the LRRK2 protein are associated with different stages of the disease. The study, “LRRK2 levels and phosphorylation in Parkinson’s disease brain and cases with restricted Lewy bodies,” was published in the journal Movement Disorders. Previous studies…

President Obama recently signed into law the $6.3 billion 21st Century Cures Act, giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more leeway to work with pharmaceutical companies and evaluate new treatments, including stem cell therapies. The “Moonshot” bill, named in memory of Vice President Joe Biden’s son Beau, who lost his…

Evotec and Celgene Corporation are collaborating on disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The companies will use Evotec’s induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform to develop the treatments. IPSC involves reprogramming body cells to act like embryonic stem cells. The reprogramming gives other cells the ability to…

Researchers used brain stimulation to improve the time-assessment skills of mice whose dopamine  neurotransmitter had been removed, raising the possibility that such stimulation could be used to improve Parkinson’s disease patients’ time judgment. The study, “Optogenetic Stimulation of Frontal D1 Neurons Compensates for Impaired Temporal Control of Action…

Sage Therapeutics has started a Phase 2 clinical trial of its drug candidate SAGE-217 in both mood and movement disorders. The first patients have been dosed with SAGE-217 in the proof-of-concept trial evaluating the drug in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The company also announced it has started recruiting…

Researchers have discovered that midbrain dopamine neurons — the neurons that die in patients with Parkinson’s disease — control how the passage of time is perceived, explaining the inability of Parkinson’s patients to properly judge time. The study, “Midbrain dopamine neurons control judgment of time,” was published…