News

Gut bacteria Bifidobacteria breaks down levodopa: Study

Bifidobacteria, a type of bacteria found at higher levels in the gut of Parkinson’s disease patients, is capable of breaking down levodopa, the gold-standard therapy for the neurodegenerative disease, according to recent laboratory studies. Levels of the bacteria in the guts of Parkinson’s patients correlated with the dose of…

1st patient dosed in Phase 2 trial testing vaccine for Parkinson’s

The first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2 clinical trial testing AC Immune’s ACI-7104.056, an investigational vaccine targeting toxic alpha-synuclein forms to prevent nerve cell degeneration in Parkinson’s disease. AC Immune expects to complete the enrollment of the first group of patients in the VacSYn…

UK scientist is winner of 2023 MJFF Robert A. Pritzker Prize

U.K. scientist Dario Alessi, PhD, has been named the winner of the 2023 Robert A. Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson’s Research — awarded annually by the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) to a researcher who makes exceptional contributions in the field of Parkinson’s disease and seeks…

Buntanetap lowered TDP-43 blood levels in people with Parkinson’s

Buntanetap significantly reduced the levels of TDP-43 protein in the blood of people with Parkinson’s disease who participated in a Phase 2a clinical trial, according to clinical data from its developer Annovis Bio. The treatment also demonstrated a trend toward reducing other markers of inflammation. “We are pleasantly…

$3.9M NIH grant aims to improve palliative care for Parkinson’s

A five-year project funded by a $3.9 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant will study how team-based palliative care might lead to better health services and ease disparities in Parkinson’s disease and disease-related dementia care. Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals with…

$10M grant will aid development of multiple protein biomarker assay

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has awarded a $10 million grant to Octave Biosciences to advance the development and validation of a protein biomarker panel assay for Parkinson’s disease. A biomarker assay for multiple proteins could offer a better tool to monitor and…