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.
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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,…
A new system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze videos of people walking may help speed the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Scientists at China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) in Taiwan developed the technology, which can help physicians diagnose Parkinson’s more efficiently and get patients faster access to treatment,…
Encapsulating precursor nerve cells in a collagen hydrogel can enhance the efficacy of stem cell transplantation to the brain, a potential treatment to replace dopamine-producing nerve cells that are lost in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a preclinical study. “Our hydrogel nurtures, supports and protects the cells after…
Mesdopetam (IRL790), an investigational therapy for levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease, was found to reduce signs of psychosis in a rat model, a study reported. Psychosis is a common nonmotor symptom in people with Parkinson’s, characterized by hallucinations and/or delusions — hallucinations being things patients see, hear, or feel that…
U.S.-based Psomagen, a contract research services provider, has announced that it will lead an analysis of data from the 80,000 participants enrolled in the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) — an initiative seeking a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease. Results from the analysis,…
A new population study has provided evidence of a potential causal link between exposure to an air pollutant called fine particular matter (PM2.5) and the development of Parkinson’s disease in the U.K. Data also showed that exposure to ground-level ozone, a gas that can damage the lungs, was not…
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