People with dementia related to Parkinson’s disease are at increased risk of death after undergoing surgery to address broken hips, a new study reports. Data suggest this increased risk is higher in people with Parkinson’s-related dementia than other types of dementia. “Our analysis of dementia subtypes reveals that not…

Nuplazid (pimavanserin) outperformed a placebo at managing psychosis in people with Parkinson’s disease dementia in a Phase 3 clinical trial. This finding “supports the maintenance of antipsychotic efficacy and safety of [Nuplazid] in patients with Parkinson’s disease dementia and psychosis,” the researchers wrote. Their study, “…

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…

Athira Pharma is completing its Phase 2 clinical trial of the experimental therapy fosgonimeton in people with Parkinson’s disease dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies with fewer participants than its initial target enrollment. According to a recent corporate update, the company has closed recruitment with 28 of…

Aptinyx’s investigational therapy NYX-458 failed to be superior to a placebo at improving cognitive function in people with dementia due to Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia in a Phase 2 clinical trial. These findings prompted the company to stop development work on NYX-458. “We are very disappointed…

Levels of the GFAP protein in blood are significantly higher in Parkinson’s disease patients with cognitive impairment — particularly those with dementia — compared with healthy people, a new study shows. According to researchers, blood GFAP levels could accurately identify Parkinson’s patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who ended…

Early studies in nerve cells and a rat model of Parkinson’s disease support the potential of fosgonimeton, also known as ATH-1017, to be neuroprotective and possibly disease modifying, Athira Pharma, the therapy’s developer, reported. Data from preclinical work showed that the therapy increased cell survival in the…

Among Parkinson’s patients, those carrying GBA and APOE gene mutations have a significantly faster cognitive decline and a higher risk of progression to dementia, a study in more than 1,000 patients across Northern Europe reported. Notably, the dementia risk was even higher when mutations in both genes were present. No significant associations…

PIAS2, a protein that suppresses the immune interferon (IFN)-beta signaling, is found at higher-than-normal levels in neurons of sporadic Parkinson’s patients, particularly in those with Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), a study shows. Overproduction of this protein was sufficient to cause PDD-like motor and cognitive symptoms in mice, while…

Crazy. That’s what yesterday was. Crazy. And that’s how Parkinson’s can make me feel. Crazy! Today was the first gorgeous spring day of the year. It was clear, blue skies as far as the eye could see. I walked into the kitchen and took a detour, pouring myself a glass…