The focus of this year’s Parkinson’s Awareness Month, starting today, is on research and a better understanding of the neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 10 million people globally. World Parkinson’s Day on April 11 is at the center of the observance. Parkinson’s disease can cause a broad array…
News
Defects in the VPS13C protein, which have been linked to early-onset Parkinson’s disease, disrupt the function of lysosomes, the cell’s recycling compartments, in dopamine-producing nerve cells that are lost in the neurodegenerative condition. Without functional VPS13C, the Rab10 protein can’t respond properly to lysosomal stress, causing dysfunction in the…
New study findings strengthen scientists’ belief that neuroinflammation — an inflammatory response in the central nervous system — is linked to mood disturbance in people with early Parkinson’s disease. Specifically, elevated levels of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were found to be significantly correlated with worse…
Rock Steady Boxing, an exercise program designed for Parkinson’s disease, will participate as a national team in Moving Day, a Walk for Parkinson’s, a fundraiser sponsored by the Parkinson’s Foundation. Between April 6 and June 10, participants will “move for Parkinson’s from anywhere” to raise funds…
After years of delays, medical device company Photopharmics has started a pivotal clinical trial to test its Celeste device, a noninvasive treatment tool that aims to use light to manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The long-awaited trial has been in the works since 2020, shortly after…
A test that uses skin biopsies was able to detect the form of alpha-synuclein protein that causes toxic clumps in the brain of people with Parkinson’s disease and similar conditions in more than 90% of the patients enrolled in a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored clinical trial.
Increasing levels of a gut metabolite — a molecule that results from the digestion of certain foods — eased neurodegeneration and improved motor function in a worm model of Parkinson’s disease, a study found. Researchers identified a feedback loop in which nerve cell accumulation of alpha-synuclein, the protein that…
Note: This story was updated March 27, 2024, to correct that the Michael J. Fox Foundation is not funding the LEARNS study. Merck, known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, has joined the observational LEARNS study to investigate the potential of digital biomarkers to evaluate and predict disease…
Irlab Therapeutics is preparing to start a Phase 3 clinical trial of mesdopetam, its experimental oral treatment intending to ease levodopa-induced dyskinesia, the uncontrolled movements affecting people with Parkinson’s disease. After announcing results of a Phase 2 trial of mesdopetam, Irlab requested an end-of-Phase 2…
A $50 million donation to the Baptist Health Foundation is set to expand care for people with Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases across South Florida and to advance research into these disorders. The donation from Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of the Miami-based hedge fund Citadel,…
Recent Posts
- When caregiver stress hits, I remember to have ‘just a little patience’
- Japan grants conditional approval to Amchepry cell therapy for Parkinson’s
- Good design for those of us with mobility issues is good design for all
- Brain implant detects walking in Parkinson’s patients in real time: Study
- Energy shortage in cells may drive toxic dopamine buildup in Parkinson’s