A variant of the apolipoprotein (APOE) protein, called APOE4, has been shown to directly affect Lewy body dementias, such as Parkinson’s disease. Two separate studies, published simultaneously, found that APOE4 directly regulates levels of alpha-synuclein, which clumps  to form the nerve-damaging Lewy…

Scientists have developed a new cellular model that can help reconstruct the entire process of Lewy body formation — a key event that underlies neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease — and that could potentially be used to evaluate the effect of therapeutics on the toxic protein buildup observed during this…

Defects in chaperone proteins that interact with alpha-synuclein and work as a type of “molecular bodyguard” may help drive the formation of Lewy bodies, which are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. The findings were published in the journal Nature, in a study titled “Regulation of…

With the aim of transforming training and education for Parkinson’s disease  and Lewy body dementia (LBD) caregivers and healthcare professionals, Embodied Labs has created a new virtual reality immersive learning lab. Embodied Labs allows caregivers and medical staff to embody a person with a specific condition, and…

ProMIS Neurosciences will present evidence of the selectivity of several of its antibody candidates to target the toxic forms of alpha-synuclein, a key component of Lewy bodies that underlie the development of Parkinson’s disease. Neil Cashman, PhD, chief scientific officer of ProMIS, will present the study, “Targeting of Pathogenic Aggregated…

ProMIS Neurosciences has identified several antibody candidates that specifically target the toxic forms of alpha-synuclein, a key component of Lewy bodies that underlie the development of Parkinson’s disease. In vitro (in the lab) studies have shown that ProMIS’s antibody candidates for Parkinson’s disease have a high specificity for toxic forms of…

Patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) were found to have a mortality rate more than three times higher than the general population, according to researchers in Sweden. The 10-year follow-up study, titled “Relative survival in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies…

Alpha-synuclein (aSyn), a protein linked to Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), exerts its harmful effects by disrupting the normal function of protein production, a study has found. This sheds light on the involvement of the aSyn protein in Parkinson’s disease, confirming its potential as a…

AC Immune has developed antibodies against two proteins that are key players in the neurodegeneration underlying Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases. The Swiss biopharmaceutical company used its proprietary SupraAntigen platform to create the next-generation antibodies, which target abnormal versions of the alpha-synuclein and TDP-43 proteins. AC Immune has already used the platform to produce…

Scientists have developed an experimental gene therapy with the potential to treat early-onset Parkinson’s disease associated with PRKN gene mutations, according to a new preclinical study. Delivery of the gene therapy carrying a functional version of the PRKN gene into the brains of two mouse…