News

Emory University researchers, investigating the role of dopamine in the regulation of vocal learning through auditory feedback, observed that reducing this neurotransmitter in a specific brain area, the basal ganglia, considerably impairs learning. The study, in songbirds called Bengalese finches, further illuminate the role of dopamine in vocal behavior, and is relevant to Parkinson’s disease,…

For the first time, researchers have identified the point at which alpha-synuclein – the protein whose aggregation leads to Parkinson’s disease – becomes toxic. The findings, published in the journal PNAS, shed new light on the toxicity processes leading to disease development and might provide clues in the…

The 10th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy), a leading venue for researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders to discuss everything from the latest advances to unresolved issues in the field, will meet this week, March 17-20, at the Sana Lisboa Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal.

Researchers at American University in Washington, D.C. studied the rapid response that takes place in the brains of zebra finches in response to trauma and found that estrogen, produced by glial cells in the brain in response to injury, has the ability to control excessive inflammation. These findings might represent a new…

Researchers have discovered the molecular mechanisms behind calorie restriction’s neuroprotective effect in Parkinson’s disease, and propose a new therapeutic approach that uses existing drugs to reproduce the effects demonstrated in an animal model of the disease. The study by Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute scientists, “Ghrelin-AMPK Signaling Mediates the Neuroprotective…

Scientists have discovered a mechanism preventing Lewy bodies from forming in laboratory animals, allowing for the development of better animal models of the disease. This will likely speed up research into the disease and aid in the development of drug therapies. The main feature of the brains of Parkinson’s patients is the presence…

In an editorial published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, scientists and clinicians working in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) voiced concern over largely ignored research indicating that certain microbes — namely, the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), Chlamydia pneumoniae, and several types of spirochaete — might be involved in Alzheimer’s pathogenesis. The…

International Stem Cell Corporation is now enrolling patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial of its lead product candidate, ISC-hpNSC — human parthenogenetic stem cell-derived neural stem cells — for patients with moderate to severe Parkinson’s disease. Parthenogenesis uses unfertilized eggs to create pluripotent human stem cells and hopes to significantly advance the field of…

Early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) are crucial to halting its progression, since the process of neuron destruction is irreversible once it starts. However, only 50 percent of patients are correctly diagnosed with this neurodegenerative condition during a first visit with a neurologist. An international team of researchers, led by Dr. David…

An unparalleled dataset capturing the everyday experiences of the more than 9,500 people enrolled in the mPower mobile research study of Parkinson’s disease was released this month, and made available to the Parkinson’s research community worldwide. The ongoing study, which aims to help speed scientific progress toward treatments,…