News

IRL757, potential 1st apathy treatment, begins Phase 1 testing

Dosing has begun in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of IRL757, an oral candidate for apathy treatment in people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions. Irlab Therapeutics, the therapy’s developer, recently announced the trial’s launch following approval by the Swedish Medical…

Researchers propose prescribing exercise as medicine in Parkinson’s

Physical exercise may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, as well as effectively control patients’ symptoms, according to a review analysis by researchers in Europe. Moreover, some studies suggest that exercise might be a potential disease-modifying treatment, working to slow disease progression and stabilizing, or even reducing, the…

Scientists develop human model of blood-brain barrier

In a first-of-its-kind development, a team of scientists created a lab model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) surrounding the brain. The new model represents “a game-changing technology with broad implications for neuroscience, drug discovery, and personalized medicine,” Ziyuan Guo, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati department of pediatrics…

4 biomarkers may point to early Parkinson’s disease: Study

A diagnostic panel of four biomarkers that combines the blood levels of a molecule called N-acetylputrescine (NAP) with three clinical features often present in Parkinson’s disease — loss of smell, depression, and acting out dreams — may help identify the disease at its earlier stages, a study found. The…

Companies partner on wearable apomorphine injection system

Serina Therapeutics has partnered with Enable Injections to advance SER-252 (POZ-apomorphine), Serina’s lead treatment candidate for advanced Parkinson’s disease, in combination with the enFuse wearable delivery system. EnFuse is designed to allow patients to self-administer SER-252 subcutaneously (under the skin) in a faster, simpler, and more…

Apomorphine oral spray safe, efficient in Parkinson’s, study finds

An oral spray was safe and efficient at delivering apomorphine to people with Parkinson’s disease, a study found. A subcutaneous injection formulation of apomorphine, sold as Apokyn, is approved in the U.S. to treat off episodes — periods in which symptoms return between doses of levodopa treatment — in…

Targeting specific alpha-synuclein region may thwart toxic aggregation

A region in the alpha-synuclein protein has been identified as a possible target for inhibiting the conversion of oligomers — early aggregates, or clumps, of the protein — into toxic fibrils, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study. Mutations in this region are also associated with…