A region in the alpha-synuclein protein has been identified as a possible target for inhibiting the conversion of oligomers — early aggregates, or clumps, of the protein — into toxic fibrils, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study. Mutations in this region are also associated with…

The protein CD163, which is involved in the immune response, may play a protective role in Parkinson’s, particularly in females, by regulating how immune cells react to the toxic clumps of alpha-synuclein protein that lead to the disease’s symptoms, a study in mice finds. The study, led by Marina…

There were more cases of Parkinson’s disease and cancer than expected among attorneys who worked near a now-closed dry cleaner in Rochester, New York that leaked trichloroethylene (TCE) and other dry cleaning solvents into the soil, a study finds. While they failed to reach statistical significance, the findings add…

Toxic substances that enter via the nose or gut give rise to toxic protein clumps that eventually cause Parkinson’s disease, researchers propose. “In both the brain-first and body-first scenarios the [disease mechanism] arises in structures in the body closely connected to the outside world,” Ray Dorsey, MD, a professor…

A five-year project funded by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant totaling nearly $1.9 million will study amyloid fibrils, protein clumps that are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. This work may shed new light on the disease-causing mechanisms related to these fibrils —…

A test that uses skin biopsies was able to detect the form of alpha-synuclein protein that causes toxic clumps in the brain of people with Parkinson’s disease and similar conditions in more than 90% of the patients enrolled in a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored clinical trial.

Athira Pharma’s fosgonimeton (ATH-1017) shows promise as a therapy for neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson’s disease, according to data presented at the recent International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases and Related Neurological Disorders (AD/PD 2024), in Portugal. The investigational small molecule demonstrated “encouraging pro-cognitive effects” in the exploratory…

An antibody that targets a naturally occurring modified form of alpha-synuclein, a protein that forms into toxic clumps in the brain of people with Parkinson’s, delays its buildup and spread in vivo in a mouse model of the disease. This modified form of nitrated alpha-synuclein is being explored by…

A metabolite called M324 of the cancer medicine rucaparib is able to reduce the abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein protein in nerve cells derived from people with Parkinson’s disease, showing its potential for treating the neurodegenerative disorder, according to a new study. Metabolites are molecules that result from the biochemical…

Vaxxinity has entered into a research collaboration with the University of Florida to advance the development of vaccines for neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. Funded by a grant from the state of Florida, the partnership aims to advance Vaxxinity’s lead immunotherapy candidates, designed to prevent and manage…