For the first time, scientists have managed to visualize tiny protein clumps in the brain that are thought to trigger Parkinson’s disease, opening the door for new insights into how the condition develops. In a study detailing their work, the team presented an imaging method able to “generate large-scale…

WTX-607, an oral small molecule being developed by Wavebreak, binds to and blocks the formation of small alpha-synuclein protein clumps — toxic aggregates linked to nerve damage in  Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia — in human brain tissue, according to new data released by the company. The…

People diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in their 80s were significantly more likely to show evidence of brain buildup of amyloid-beta, a protein linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, than those diagnosed at a younger age, a study found. Neither group showed signs of cognitive impairment. The researchers…

An international team of scientists has identified imaging biomarkers that can predict which people with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) will develop Parkinson’s disease, or who might progress to dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Most individuals with RBD — a sleep disorder in which people unknowingly act out…

Researchers have shed light on how alpha-synuclein oligomers, small soluble protein clusters linked to Parkinson’s disease, may disrupt nerve cell function by forming dynamic, reversible pores in their cell membrane. By developing a novel assay that enabled real-time visualization of how these oligomers interact with tiny artificial vesicles resembling…

Ambroxol, a common cough medicine, may help stabilize neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) and shows cognitive promise for patients with mutations in the GBA1 gene, according to results from a Phase 2 clinical trial. While ambroxol is widely used in Europe to treat respiratory conditions, it’s not approved…

People in the prodromal, or presymptomatic, stage of Parkinson’s disease show increased immune activity, with T cells targeting the proteins PINK1 and alpha-synuclein at levels similar to those seen in patients already diagnosed with the neurodegenerative condition, a new study reports. These two proteins — PINK1 and alpha-synuclein —…

Copper supplementation that reaches the brain reduces the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in a mouse model, a study found. Researchers found that copper restored the function of SOD1, an antioxidant enzyme that’s prone to misfolding and forming toxic clumps, impairing the function of dopamine-producing nerve cells that…

Blocking the inflammatory protein ASC with IC 100, ZyVersa Therapeutics’ experimental therapy to reduce inflammation, prevented the activation of the inflammasome in microglia — the brain’s resident immune cells — and the start and perpetuation of an inflammatory response. That’s according to results from a study announced by the…

Inflammation visible in brain scans of people in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease may serve as an early indicator of dementia risk and offer a promising target for interventions aimed at preventing cognitive decline, a study suggests. “[O]ur findings suggest that significant … neuroinflammation in early [Parkinson’s] might…