Parkinson’s
The first patient has been enrolled in a Parkinson’s drug trial evaluating a new treatment for advanced Parkinson’s disease. The Phase 1b registrational study is assessing safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and early effectiveness in patients whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by standard treatments. It focuses on people experiencing motor fluctuations, meaning unpredictable shifts between good [...]
Early biological signs of Parkinson’s disease have been detected in blood years before symptoms appear, raising the prospect of earlier diagnosis and future treatment. The findings suggest key disease processes leave measurable traces in blood for a limited time, creating a window for early detection. Blood tests could begin to be trialled in healthcare within [...]
An epilepsy drug firm has secured US$2.4m in grant funding to expand its precision medicines platform for neurological disorders. Lario Therapeutics is developing selective small-molecule inhibitors targeting voltage-gated neuronal calcium channels, proteins that regulate calcium flow into nerve cells and are central to brain signalling. The funding will support work in Parkinson’s disease and exploration [...]
Depression can appear years before a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia, new research has revealed, suggesting it may be an early indicator of neurological disease. A long-term study found people who later developed Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia were significantly more likely to experience depression than those with other serious chronic [...]
Advanced MRI analysis could improve early diagnosis of two rare conditions often mistaken for Parkinson’s disease, research suggests. The study indicates that detailed assessment of brain scan patterns can distinguish between progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD), even at early stages. Both conditions are neurodegenerative diseases that cause balance problems, falls, stiffness and [...]
A clinical trial is investigating whether specialised stem cells implanted in the brain can treat Parkinson's disease. Although available treatments can help manage symptoms, there is currently no cure or therapy proven to slow the progression of the disease. The condition is associated with reduced dopamine release in the brain. Dopamine is a [...]
A new study shows how the Parkinson's protein alpha-synuclein harms brain cells by disrupting mitochondria. Abnormal clumps of alpha-synuclein can injure neurons. Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, and their failure starves cells of power. The work clarifies how these problems connect, pointing to a direct interaction that undermines mitochondrial function. Researchers from [...]
Newly discovered blood markers could underpin a Parkinson's blood test that flags the disease years before symptoms appear, researchers said. While there is currently no cure for the degenerative brain condition and no test to diagnose it, early detection is crucial to start treatments that may slow progression. A blood test for these markers could [...]
Hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of Parkinson's disease (PD), a new study of US veterans suggests. The research examined 7,296,051 US veterans who had an audiogram, a hearing test that measures hearing thresholds, between 1 January 1999 and 30 December 2022. People with hearing loss had a higher risk of later developing [...]
REM sleep disorder may mark early cognitive decline and raise risk of diseases such as Parkinson's, a long-term study suggests. Researchers studied people with long-term isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD), a condition where sleepers act out dreams, often screaming, laughing or making violent movements. The term "isolated" means no other neurological disease. They found [...]
