Parkinson’s Research News

Neurologists specialize in diagnosing and treating conditions that affect the nervous system. Here, learn about the conditions they treat and the procedures they perform. ... read more

According to a recent review, individuals with bipolar disorder may have an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life. ... read more

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in brain and muscle function. Here, we look at what acetylcholine does and describe medical conditions linked with it, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and their treatments. ... read more

Military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or concussion suffer from a thrashing form of sleep behavior at a rate that is far higher than the general population, according to a new study. Researchers next want to probe whether the sleep disorder might provide an early signal of the development of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease. ... read more

Researchers haveidentified for the first time the initial steps of alpha-synuclein protein aggregates related to early onsets of hereditary Parkinson cases. The results may help the understanding of the early stages of the disease and how it develops over time. ... read more

Reviewing over thirty years of diaries from a patient diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, linguists discover how writing style changes as dementia progresses. ... read more

  Stanford University researchers have recently published an interesting report in which they not only propose a novel biomarker for Parkinson’s, but also provide some compelling data for a novel therapeutic approach. Their research focuses on a protein called Miro, which is involved in the ... read more

  A lot of Parkinson’s research is focused on antioxidants – molecules that can reduce the level of stress a cell is under when it is not feeling well. One of the most widely discussed antioxidants on Parkinson’s online forums is a molecule called N–acetylcysteine (or NAC). ... read more

Parkinson's disease involves monocytic alterations in the blood. The cells have reduced viability and are unresponsive to specific stimuli, which could have relevant consequences for the progression of Parkinson's. Immune modulation medications may be a new treatment option to inhibit neurodegeneration associated with PD. ... read more

The behavior of immune cells in the blood is so different in patients with Parkinson's disease that it advocate for a new type of supplementary medicine, which can regulate the immune system and thus inhibit the deterioration of the brain. ... read more

  Today’s post will be something a little different: 12 months ago today I stepped away from being a Parkinson’s research scientist and joined the Cure Parkinson’s Trust in a new role of deputy director of Research. It has been an amazing (and very ... read more

Reducing the expression of the protein TOM1 in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease increased the pathology, exacerbated cognitive problems, and raised levels of inflammation in the brain. Restoring TOM1 reversed the effects. Findings suggest a new therapeutic target for treating dementia. ... read more

Researchers have identified a group of genetic variants related to the starting point of Parkinson's disease. These results, published in the journal Movement Disorders, will enable delimiting the research on new therapeutic targets, and could have implications in the diagnosis of the disease. ... read more

  At the end of each month the SoPD writes a post which provides an overview of some of the major pieces of Parkinson’s-related research that were made available during September 2019. The post is divided into seven parts based on the type of research: ... read more

In a new review, scientists sum up the role of biological sex in the development, features, mechanisms, risks, and treatment of Parkinson's disease. ... read more

      Yesterday the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative published a point of view in the scientific journal eLife. It laid out the objectives, themes and philosophy of an enormous new scientific effort to better understand Parkinson’s. The overall project is being led ... read more

Study highlights the role estrogen plays in the differences in the progression of Parkinson's disease between men and women. ... read more

PD is a slowly progressive disorder that affects movement, muscle control, and balance. It is the second most common age-related, neurodegenerative disorder, affecting about 3% of the population by the age of 65 and up to 5% of individuals over 85 years of age. The risk of developing PD is twice as high in men than women, but women experience ... read more

  Theories of viral agents as possible causal (or influencing) factors in Parkinson’s have long existed. This week a research team from Colorado in the USA published a new report demonstrating that mice infected with a mosquito-borne alphavirus (called Western equine encephalitis virus) develop Parkinson’s-like ... read more

People with two common types of dementia, Lewy body dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, have unique walking patterns. The gait type signals subtle differences between the two disorders. Those with Lew body dementia change their steps more, varying the step time and length. They also display more asymmetry in movement compared to those with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers say gait could be ... read more

New research investigates the benefits of an at-home computer game exercising program for people living with Parkinson's disease. ... read more

  This week exciting new research from a collaboration between Chinese researchers and scientists at the University of Iowa has pointed towards a clinically-available, generic drug that could be re-purposed for Parkinson’s. The researchers found a drug called Terazosin – which is used for the treatment of ... read more

While being multilingual did not delay the onset of dementia for those at risk, nuns who spoke four or more languages were significantly less likely to develop dementia than those who spoke just one language. ... read more

  The results of a clinical trial published this week not only provide further evidence that exercise has beneficial effects for people with Parkinson’s, but may also be disease modifying. Researchers in the Netherlands recruited 130 people with Parkinson’s to take part in a study ... read more

  For the last 21 years, the protein alpha synuclein has developed a reputation as public enemy #1 in the world of Parkinson’s. Tiny errors in the DNA that provides the instructions from making the alpha synuclein protein were found to be the first genetic ... read more