In people with Parkinson’s disease, shrinkage in tremor-related brain areas is associated with the progression of motor symptoms, according to a study. In the brain’s gray matter, which contains cell bodies of neurons, this shrinkage, or atrophy, of tremor-related regions and the whole brain over two years was associated…

Scientists have identified potential biomarkers for the early detection of Parkinson’s disease in certain people carrying a common disease mutation. Specifically, they found that a combination of four small RNA molecules, called microRNAs (miRNAs), in the blood may help predict disease onset in people who carry a Parkinson’s-associated LRRK2…

Parkinson’s is a progressive brain disease. While symptoms and disease progression are unique to each person, knowing the stages of Parkinson’s can help. Some people experience changes over 20 years or more, while others find that the disease progresses more quickly. During the first five years after…

During my training for the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in 1968, I was exposed to toxic chemicals in the water. Later, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs investigated and found that Parkinson’s disease was strongly associated with exposure to those toxic chemicals. Out of the…

With the overarching goal of helping scientists develop and test targeted therapies in Parkinson’s (PD), The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) is awarding $5 million in grants to three teams conducting genetic studies in African, East Asian and Indian populations. The funding seeks to broaden these studies in…

Viruses that infect bacteria, known as bacteriophages, may contribute to the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease by unsettling the variety and number of the gut’s microbiota, a study reports. These findings, in the study “Bacteriophages: are They An Overlooked Driver of Parkinson’S Disease?”, were recently presented at …

You’ve just returned home from school. A conference. A training course. And now, what is one of the first questions you might be asked? “Did you learn anything?” or “What did you learn?” I remember coming home from elementary school and being asked by my uncle, “Did you…

Genetic and molecular markers of quicker motor decline in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients were identified in a computer modeling study of disease progression. Among already described demographic factors, like older age or male sex, the researchers specifically identified a novel and Parkinson’s-specific genetic interaction between the LINGO2 gene and a…

The antidepressant drug nortriptyline — approved more than 50 years ago for depression and nerve pain — may also slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease by halting the formation of toxic alpha-synuclein aggregates, say researchers at Michigan State University (MSU). Their study, “Nortriptyline inhibits aggregation and neurotoxicity of alpha-synuclein…

Quantifying changes in fluid in a specific brain area, using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based method, could provide a way to track brain damage in patients with Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests. The study, “Progression marker of Parkinson’s disease: a 4-year multi-site imaging study,” appeared in the journal Brain.