Zonisamide, an epilepsy medication approved in the U.S. for some seizure-causing disorders, may reduce the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, according to a review study of clinical trial data. The findings also suggest the therapy is associated with improvements in daily life activities for Parkinson’s patients, and with reductions…

Researchers have developed a test that may help to more accurately diagnose Parkinson’s disease and monitor its progression. It combines two already-used laboratory techniques to measure clumps of alpha-synuclein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Alpha-synuclein is the protein that progressively builds to toxic levels in the brain and…

Using a newly created probe and non-invasive PET scans, researchers were able to visualize sites of alpha-synuclein protein clumps — associated with nerve damage in Parkinson’s disease — in the brains of living patients, scientists reported. This method may help in diagnosing conditions related to alpha-synuclein clumping, referred to…

Enrollment is now complete for a Phase 2 trial of NYX-458, Aptinyx’s investigational therapy to treat cognitive impairment in people with Parkinson’s disease. After a pause in enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial resumed enrolling in April 2021. Now, a total of 99 adults, ages…

Seelos Therapeutics has been awarded a grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to advance the development of its gene therapy candidate SLS-004 in people with Parkinson’s disease. SLS-004 aims to regulate the expression, or levels, of the SNCA gene, which provides instructions to produce…

Sleep disturbances are common in people with diseases marked by alpha-synuclein buildup, but they are especially problematic among Parkinson’s disease patients on dopaminergic medications, a study suggests. Parkinson’s patients tend to have more arousals during sleep and fewer normal sleep cycles than people with isolated rapid eye movement (REM)…

Note: This story was updated Aug. 18, 2022, to reflect researchers awarded The Stanley Fahn Junior Faculty Award will receive a total maximum grant of $300,000 over three years.  The Parkinson’s Foundation announced it is investing $5.7 million across 33 research grants as part of its commitment to speed innovative…

Scientists have compared three techniques – handwriting, cameras, and wearable sensors – and found sensors to be the most reliable in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease, although they are uncomfortable for patients in the later stages of the disease. “Not all people with Parkinson’s show each and every symptom of the…

The accumulation of toxic clumps of the protein TDP-43 — rather than alpha-synuclein protein, considered the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease — likely was the cause of death of nerve cells in a 60-year-old Japanese man diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease, a case report shows. The findings suggest the need…

Scientists in Germany have developed the first highly sensitive test to detect altered alpha-synuclein proteins in blood samples from patients with Parkinson’s disease. The test accurately distinguishes people with Parkinson’s from those without the disease and has the potential to detect the disease early, before symptoms start, according to…