Parkinson’s
The UK health watchdog is reviewing whether warnings on Parkinson's drugs should be strengthened after links to gambling and sex addictions. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it would examine whether more steps are needed to ensure patients have enough information when prescribed the drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease. A group [...]
An oral drug may cut Parkinson’s falls when it reaches the right blood level, according to clinical trial data presented in Europe. Falls are among the most common and serious complications of Parkinson’s, driven by balance and gait problems, and there is currently no satisfactory treatment. The Phase 2b trial tested pirepemat, an [...]
A pesticide used in the US food supply may raise Parkinson’s risk, with research suggesting long-term exposure could increase the chance of the disease. The study compared 829 people with Parkinson’s to 824 people without the disease over a 45-year period, focusing on their proximity to chlorpyrifos, a chemical used on crops including soybeans, fruit [...]
Plastic bottles have been turned into a Parkinson's drug using bacteria, in what researchers say is a first for a neurological disease. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh engineered E. coli bacteria to turn a plastic widely used in food and drink packaging, polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, into L-DOPA, also called levodopa, which is used [...]
A US$6.92m grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation will help prepare OPM-201 for clinical studies in people with early Parkinson's disease. Oncodesign Precision Medicine has been awarded the research grant to prepare its LRRK2 inhibitor. A Phase 1b trial, along with a Phase 2 study, is expected to start in 2027. The funding follows OPM's [...]
A brain implant detected walking in people with Parkinson's at home with more than 95 per cent accuracy, a study has found. Researchers said the findings could help pave the way for more personalised and responsive therapies for Parkinson's, which is caused by the loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a chemical involved in [...]
Microplastics may disrupt brain processes linked to Parkinson's, with a review suggesting pollution could play a part in rising cases. Cases of Parkinson's have doubled over the past 25 years, and researchers said rising levels of plastic pollution in the environment may be partly responsible. The review drew on more than 100 earlier studies, including [...]
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 [...]
