Throughout my dad’s Parkinson’s disease journey, I’ve learned a lot about his symptoms. They include facial masking, which can make it difficult for those around him to fully understand his emotional experience. Up until this week, however, I’d never heard that he might have a hard time interpreting…

Gardenin A, a compound found in a common South Asian shrub, lessened both cognitive and motor symptoms of Parkinson’s in a mouse model of the disease, according to a study. The compound reduced the loss of dopaminergic neurons — nerve cells that are gradually lost in Parkinson’s— and decreased…

One of the many annoying, frustrating, and mysterious symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is micrographia. Micrographia is when your handwriting gets teeny-tiny and illegible over time. Like gait freezing, it’s one of those odd motor symptoms of Parkinson’s in which your mind knows what it wants to…

Golexanolone, an investigational small molecule from Umecrine Cognition, reversed cognitive and motor symptoms in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, in addition to easing signs of fatigue, anxiety, and depression. The experimental therapy is in clinical development for hepatic encephalopathy and primary biliary cholangitis, two conditions marked by…

Many of us with Parkinson’s disease experience a shift from our former persona to our new self. Some readers have reported that they can no longer do what they once used to do. Some lost attributes are physical — we can’t walk as far as we used to or participate…

My sister Bev, who has stage 3 Parkinson’s disease (PD), loves to bake. Although she has moderate cognitive issues, baking and gardening are things she can still do well. Despite her Parkinson’s, these hobbies help her to focus and concentrate. Bev says that concentrating deeply on a task helps…

People with type 2 diabetes may have an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and for experiencing faster Parkinson’s progression, according to a large-scale analysis of past research. The study, “Type 2 Diabetes as a Determinant of Parkinson’s Disease Risk and Progression,” was published in the…

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can affect both cognitive and motor symptoms in Parkinson’s patients who undergo the surgery. The procedure gives hope to those who are substantially inhibited by tremors and dyskinesia — people like my dad. After doctors determined he’d make a good candidate for the…