Subtyping Parkinson’s disease at diagnosis may predict disease course and survival, providing both doctors and patients with a more accurate prognosis, a study suggests. The study, “Prognosis and Neuropathologic Correlation of Clinical Subtypes of Parkinson Disease,” was published in JAMA Neurology. Parkinson’s disease is characterized…

Scientists have found that an abnormal version of brain cells called astrocytes contribute to the accumulation of alpha-synuclein protein, the main component of Parkinson’s disease hallmark Lewy bodies. Their study, “Patient-specific iPSC-derived astrocytes contribute to non-cell autonomous neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in Stem Cell…

Cutting out a portion of or removing a gene linked to Parkinson’s disease protects against the formation of toxic protein clumps within brain cells, scientists have found. This discovery has the potential to significantly affect the development of next-generation cell-based therapies, which involve injecting healthy cells into brain regions…

A new roadmap for preclinical and clinical trials investigating compounds to treat and prevent Parkinson’s disease was proposed by a team of international academic and industry researchers, the Alpha-Synuclein Clinical Path Working Group, in conjunction with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Parkinson’s News Today provided you with daily coverage of important findings, treatment developments, and clinical trials related to Parkinson’s during 2018. We look forward to bringing more news to Parkinson’s patients, as well as their family members and caregivers, during 2019.

Blocking a key enzyme responsible for the production of a type of fat can become a potential therapeutic approach to treat Parkinson’s disease, Yumanity Therapeutics recently announced. The company revealed that inhibiting an enzyme…

Two compounds found in coffee — caffeine and EHT, a fatty acid molecule derived from serotonin — work together to protect the brain from damage induced by alpha-synuclein, a study in mice reported. The study, “Synergistic neuroprotection by coffee components eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide and caffeine in models of Parkinson’s disease and…

Impaired activity of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase), which is responsible for breaking down and recycling cell waste, boosts neurodegeneration and accumulation of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s, according to a new mouse study. The research, “Development and biochemical characterization of a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease bearing defective…

Inhibiting an enzyme that regulates the production of fatty acids may protect against brain toxicity induced by alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease and may become a therapeutic target for these patients, a study reports. The study, “Lipidomic Analysis of α-Synuclein Neurotoxicity Identifies Stearoyl CoA Desaturase as a Target…

Treatment with PF-360, an investigational leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) inhibitor, can efficiently decrease LRRK2’s phosphorylation levels, known to be elevated in Parkinson’s patients, in the brains of a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, a preclinical study reports. However, despite some observed dose-dependent therapeutic effects, including gait improvement, no robust changes…