News

People with Parkinson’s disease facing anxiety, depression, apathy, and other mental health challenges when diagnosed are more likely to experience a decline in their cognitive abilities with disease progression, a study reported. “Considering the importance of cognitive dysfunction … it is critical to identify factors that could predict a…

The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a landmark study from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) that aims to better understand how Parkinson’s disease develops and progresses, is expanding to people in Canada. Sites in Canada that include the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro), Toronto…

To celebrate Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Bent Water Brewing Company is releasing a beer, called Common Hope, with the aim of building awareness about Parkinson’s disease and raising money to support new treatments. Marking the second year of this initiative, created in collaboration with The Michael J. Fox…

Black, Hispanic, and Asian people with Parkinson’s disease report lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) than their white counterparts, a recent study showed. Differences in cognitive performance were found to partly underlie these disparities. The study, “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health-Related Quality of Life for Individuals with…

A higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and low lymphocyte counts in the bloodstream, thought to reflect greater systemic inflammation, were associated with fewer dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients, a study showed. These immune alterations were also generally linked to worse motor function across both groups. The…

Home initiation of under-the-skin (subcutaneous) apomorphine infusion — a treatment for motor fluctuations — is faster at improving the life quality of Parkinson’s disease patients than in hospital initiation, a French study has shown. Continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion (CSAI) initiation at home for Parkinson’s was found to be feasible…

Physical exercise interventions can lessen Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms — and these beneficial effects are similar for both aerobic and nonaerobic activity. That’s according to the findings of a new meta-analysis of published studies, which involved 25 articles relating to interventions spanning 4-26 weeks. “This review provides…

Dysphagia, or swallowing difficulties, is associated with a higher risk of death among people with advanced Parkinson’s disease who are treated with Duodopa/Duopa, a levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG), a study shows. Notably, “dysphagia was the only significant predictor of death in our cohort [group], confirming and highlighting the…

With bipartisan support, the National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House and Senate. The legislation aims to unite the federal government in a coordinated effort with the private sector to cure and prevent the neurodegenerative disease. Said to be the first legislation devoted…

The greater the loss of dopamine transporter (DAT) protein in a brain region significantly affected by Parkinson’s disease — the striatum — the more severe are patients’ motor and nonmotor symptoms over time, particularly for men, a study reported. DAT levels were assessed with DAT imaging, a scanning technique…