News

Researchers from the University of Maryland Medicine and from its Center for Metabolic Imaging and Image-Guided Therapeutics (CMIT) are conducting the first clinical trial with ultrasound waves to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), they guide ultrasound waves through the intact skin and skull to a deep brain…

Neuroscientists from the University of Adelaide are leading a first-of-its-kind study on a type of dementia commonly observed in patients with Parkinson’s disease, which the scientists hope lead to a potential new therapy. From September 1-7, 2015, during the Parkinson’s Awareness Week, the University of Adelaide’s School of Medicine’s Dr. Lyndsey Collins-Praino will be…

According to two new research papers led by University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) scientists, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with similarities to Parkinson’s disease, is caused by a newly discovered type of prion, a variant of the misfolded proteins associated with incurable progressive brain diseases…

The National Parkinson Foundation’s (NPF) medical director, Michael S. Okun, M.D., recently published a new book, titled, “10 Breakthrough Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease,” which is a follow-up of his previous Amazon bestseller “Parkinson’s Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life.” The sequel provides updated information to patients and their…

In a new study entitled “Elevated mitochondrial bioenergetics and axonal arborization size are key contributors to the vulnerability of dopamine neurons” scientists discovered why dopamine producing neurons are particularly vulnerable in Parkinson’s disease. These new findings point towards a key role for mitochondria and these neurons’ high energy requirements…

Researchers at Università degli Studi di Perugia and Ospedale Santa Maria della Misericordia in Italy recently published an article entitled “The changing tree in Parkinson’s disease” in the journal Nature Neuroscience. This report focused on recent findings, entitled “Dynamic rewiring…

The Lawson Health Research Institute recently signed a licensing agreement with STEMCELL Technologies to transfer international exclusive rights to commercialize innovative tools for Parkinson’s Disease research. STEMCELL Technologies provides more than 2,000 products to over 70 countries worldwide, including cell culture reagents, instruments and tools designed to support science along the basic to translational…

This week, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researcher, Ann M. Graybiel, Ph.D. whose laboratory is part of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research and is focused on studying brain structures that are important for normal brain function but are also implicated in Parkinson’s disease, released results from a study…

In a new study entitled “VPS35 in Dopamine Neurons Is Required for Endosome-to-Golgi Retrieval of Lamp2a, a Receptor of Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy That Is Critical for α-Synuclein Degradation and Prevention of Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease” scientists discovered that loss of the VPS35 protein expression in Parkinson’s disease interferes…

While scientists already know that the basal ganglia of the brain is related to movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, this structure has always been difficult to study.  This is because the basal ganglia is a very small part of the brain located deep inside its anatomy and the various pathways…