Male and female mice show different responses to toxic alpha-synuclein clumps, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease, with males experiencing faster and more aggressive neurodegeneration and females showing earlier brain damage before motor symptoms appear, a study has found. Understanding these sex differences could help develop better, more personalized…

A global team of researchers has identified the molecular switch in a protein complex that regulates how cellular waste disposal mechanisms clean up and recycle unwanted materials — like the toxic alpha-synuclein protein clumps, or aggregates, that drive the death of nerve cells in Parkinson’s disease, according to a…

People with chronic kidney disease, a condition characterized by a progressive loss of kidney function, have alpha-synuclein protein deposits in their kidneys, a study in China has found. Alpha-synuclein is a key marker of Parkinson’s disease, suggesting a possible link between kidney function and the neurodegenerative condition. “These findings are…

The U.S. Department of Defense has granted $4 million in funding to support an investigation by U.S. researchers into the underlying factors contributing to the increased risk of Parkinson’s disease in people who experience sleep disturbances and post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD. The focus for the researchers is…

Despite an accuracy rate of 91% in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease, misdiagnoses still occur in the clinic, particularly with Lewy body dementia being mistaken for Parkinson’s — the two share some symptoms — or people with Parkinson’s being incorrectly told they have Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report. “The findings of…

In people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease who had yet to be treated, high levels of the proteins tau and P-tau181 in the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF — the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord — predicted faster motor and cognitive decline, per a new study with eight years…

A 45-year-old man initially deemed to have depression was later diagnosed with parkinsonian syndrome following a skin biopsy that detected alpha-synuclein, a protein that forms toxic clumps in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a case study from researchers in Miami. After receiving a combination of carbidopa…

A framework called the neuronal alpha-synuclein disease integrated staging system (NSD-ISS) to stage patients in the early stretch of Parkinson’s disease, or who have yet to manifest symptoms, can help predict how quickly they may progress to clinically meaningful milestones. In a study led by Tanya Simuni, MD,…

People with Parkinson’s disease who have orthostatic hypotension — that’s where the blood pressure drops suddenly upon standing up from a sitting or lying position — appear more likely to develop heart and digestive problems, act out their dreams, and go through motor fluctuations, a study finds. These clinical…

CND Life Sciences has been awarded a $4.2 million grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) toward a study that will evaluate the use of an alpha-synuclein skin test to aid in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease and tracking its progression. The Syn-Q clinical trial…