Led by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), an international group of patients, researchers, and industry leaders has proposed a framework for defining and staging Parkinson’s disease based on its underlying biology rather than by hallmark disease symptoms. Called the neuronal alpha-synuclein disease integrated…
Prasinezumab is an investigational antibody against alpha-synuclein, a protein that builds up into toxic clumps in Parkinson’s disease, that is being developed as an intravenous (into-the-vein) infusion to slow the progression of Parkinson’s.
Scientists at Purdue University are advancing in lab studies multiple small molecule compounds aiming to prevent the protein aggregation associated with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and type 2 diabetes, and to safely get rid of existing clumps. Protein aggregation is the term for when proteins — usually abnormal or misfolded…
Phosphorylated alpha-synuclein, a modified form of the protein that forms toxic clumps in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, appears to play an important role in the normal function of nerve cells, a study shows. When it’s modified, alpha-synuclein binds…
A protein called NEMO can dock to misfolded forms of alpha-synuclein — the protein whose toxic aggregates damage and kill nerve cells in Parkinson’s disease — sending them off for recycling in cellular structures called lysosomes, a study reports. But problems with this waste disposal process can lead to…
Alpha-synuclein — the protein that forms toxic clumps in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease — may travel from enteroendocrine cells lining the gut to the brain through the vagus nerve, according to a study aiming to build on previous evidence of a gut-brain axis in Parkinson’s.
Low-dose fosgonimeton (ATH-1017), an investigational small molecule, may have cognitive benefits for people with Parkinson’s disease-related dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies, according to recent data from a clinical trial. The small exploratory Phase 2 study, called SHAPE (NCT04831281), tested the safety and efficacy of fosgonimeton given once…
A five-year project funded by a $3.9 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant will study how team-based palliative care might lead to better health services and ease disparities in Parkinson’s disease and disease-related dementia care. Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals with…
Altered levels of proteins in the amygdala, the brain region involved in memory, decision-making, and emotional responses, were discovered in Parkinson’s disease patients, a study reports. These changes in the amygdala were associated with synapses, the minute gaps between nerve cells through which impulses pass, allowing the cells to…
Positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the heart can help to identify people, known to be at risk for Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia, up to seven years before they go on to develop these disorders, a small study suggests. In the National Institutes of Health (NIH)…
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