Certain biomarkers in the blood may help doctors in determining whether a person has Parkinson’s disease or atypical parkinsonism, both of which show similar symptoms, a study reported. Three biomarkers — neurofilament light chain (NfL) and malondialdehyde (MDA), particularly, but also 24S-hydroxycholesterol (24S-HC) — were found at significantly…

A highly sensitive blood test accurately identified people with synucleinopathies, disorders caused by the abnormal aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein, such as Parkinson’s disease. The test, called immunoprecipitation-based real-time quaking-induced conversion (IP/RT-QuIC), detected early-formed alpha-synuclein fibrils — or seeds — that eventually grew into disease-causing aggregates. Microscopic analysis detected…

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were found to be at a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease or related neurodegenerative conditions, a small meta-analysis suggests. “The small number of studies to date provide preliminary evidence of an association between mid- to late-life onset PTSD and subsequent development of [Parkinson’s]…

An assay using skin biopsies, called the Syn-One Test, was able to detect the alpha-synuclein protein that characterizes Parkinson’s disease and like conditions in more than 90% of the patients enrolled in a clinical trial. “These results validate cutaneous [skin-based] alpha-synuclein as a reliable biomarker for Parkinson’s disease and…

A test called the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay, or alphaSyn-SAA, can detect Parkinson’s disease with high accuracy, a new study reveals. The research was conducted as part of the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), an international study led by the The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research…

Wren Therapeutics has developed oral small molecules that suppress the production of toxic alpha-synuclein protein forms in cellular and mouse models used to study Parkinson’s disease. The potential first-in-class molecules were designed with Wren’s technology platform to hinder processes involved in the generation of alpha-synuclein oligomers, the…

Athira Pharma is completing its Phase 2 clinical trial of the experimental therapy fosgonimeton in people with Parkinson’s disease dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies with fewer participants than its initial target enrollment. According to a recent corporate update, the company has closed recruitment with 28 of…

People with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) — an early nonmotor symptom of Parkinson’s disease — were significantly more likely than others to wrongly think their sense of smell was normal when olfactory deficits were evident, a small study found. Parkinson’s patients with RBD also had a diminished sense…

Treatment with CST-103, CuraSen Therapeutics’ investigational oral molecule, safely led to cognitive improvements in people with Parkinson’s disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to top-line data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. By combining the CST-103, which is able to enter the brain, with a molecule…

SLS-004, Seelos Therapeutics‘ investigational gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, lowered alpha-synuclein levels and prevented the degeneration of dopamine-producing, or dopaminergic, neurons in a mouse model of the disease, the company announced. A hallmark of the neurodegenerative disease, the loss of dopaminergic neurons in a brain region called the…