Small vesicles that contain the protein alpha-synuclein may help distinguish Parkinson’s disease patients from healthy people, according to a meta-analysis. When isolated from easily accessible samples, like the blood, these vesicles may “reflect changes in the brain,” researchers wrote in “Extracellular Vesicles for the Diagnosis of Parkinson’s…
Note: This story was updated July 26, 2023, to correct two errors from the source material: “Parkie Pong” is available at West Hartford Senior Center’s Elmwood location, and Laini Weitz announced the program’s creation during a support group meeting. When a knee injury limited newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease…
Lacosamide, a medication approved to treat epilepsy, showed a potential to be neuroprotective in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. Treatment with lacosamide significantly prevented the loss of dopamine-producing neurons that marks Parkinson’s, boosted dopamine production in key areas of the brain, and improved motor function…
Parkinson’s disease patients’ quality of life significantly improved with Duopa, a formulation of levodopa and carbidopa infused directly into the intestines, and subthalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS), but not with a continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion, according to a real-world, single center study. Apomorphine also didn’t show any major…
A research project to help enhance communication for individuals with Parkinson’s disease has been awarded a multimillion-dollar grant. The five-year grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was given to a team of researchers led by…
The Parkinson’s Foundation is investing $2.8 million in 30 research grants to help advance potential new therapies for Parkinson’s disease. The focus is to accelerate pioneering research into several aspects of the disease, conducted by early career researchers or those more established. The ultimate goal is to find…
Measuring levels of certain molecules made by gut bacteria could help to distinguish between Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, another disorder that’s characterized by tremor as a main symptom. That’s according to the study, “Association of fecal short-chain fatty acids with clinical severity and gut microbiota in essential…
A new grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) will help NysnoBio to advance the development of its experimental gene therapy for Parkinson’s patients with loss-of-function mutations in the Parkin gene — officially the PRKN gene — commonly known as Parkin-PD. The award will…
The immune response triggered by UB-312, an experimental vaccine by Vaxxinity, effectively targeted alpha-synuclein protein aggregates and slowed their toxic buildup in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Parkinson’s disease patients in a Phase 1 trial, compared with those given a placebo, data show. The full target engagement triggered…
A sensor chip that can distinguish harmless single units of proteins tied to diseases like Parkinson’s from those whose toxic aggregates are thought to drive disease — including alpha-synuclein — could help in diagnosing conditions before symptoms are evident, when treatments can work best, a study suggests. In addition…
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