As one of my sister Bev’s caregivers and a former nurse, I try to educate family members and friends about Parkinson’s disease (PD) to increase awareness and understanding and advocate for my sister. Bev was diagnosed in 2017. She’s now 83 and has stage 3 PD. I am…

SLS-004, Seelos Therapeutics’ experimental epigenetic editing therapy for Parkinson’s disease, effectively reduced the production of alpha-synuclein — the protein that accumulates in toxic clumps in Parkinson’s — in the brains of healthy mice. Epigenetic modifications refer to the addition of chemical marks to DNA by a group of specialized…

The formation of toxic clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease, was not affected by reducing levels of tau, a protein that also forms aggregates in both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, a mouse study suggested. These results imply that the role of tau in…

A new model of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s development, addressing both where aggregates first appear and their spread through the nervous system, may explain the variety of early symptoms, asymmetry in motor symptoms, and variability of disease progression seen in patients, a study reported. The study,…

Aptinyx‘s Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating its investigational oral compound NYX-458 for the treatment of cognitive impairment and mild dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease is resuming patient screening after a temporary pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment is underway at multiple locations in the United States.

Exercise can slow early cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease patients who have a variant of the APOE gene, called APOE4, a recent study has found. “Additional research is needed to confirm our findings, but these results would support the use…

Microbleeds found in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were associated with cognitive decline, a study demonstrated.  Higher levels of a microbleed-associated biomarker also were found in patients with dementia. Moreover, a statistical analysis found the…

Parkinson’s UK has opened a survey aimed at understanding the experiences of caregivers of people who have Lewy body dementia or Parkinson’s disease dementia. The survey seeks to shed light on the support caregivers receive, and caregivers’ and patients’ experiences with the health and social care system in…

People with a sleep disorder marked by the physical “acting out” of vivid dreams — a condition considered an early form of  Parkinson’s disease — show changes in specific immune cells in the blood that directly relate to inflammation and damage to dopamine neurons in the brain, researchers…

Sesaminol, a waste product of sesame oil production with antioxidant properties that might protect nerve cells, was found to prevent some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in a mouse model in a recent study. Treated mice, its researchers reported, showed better balance and fewer gastrointestinal issues than mice in this…