People with Parkinson’s disease and cognitive impairment experience more severe symptoms and require more care but appear to use healthcare services less often, a European study has found, suggesting that new models of care are needed to better support these patients. “Healthcare should be more targeted to help this group of people, given their higher […] The post Researchers urge better care for patients with cognitive impairment appeared first on Parkinson's News Today ..read more

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015, I didn’t know anyone else with the disease. Then I joined Rock Steady Boxing, a program designed specifically for those of us with Parkinson’s. I’d found my people! I had read about the program and its benefits, but thought it was weird. Eventually, though, I decided to […] The post Fitness, friendships, and fun: The benefits of boxing with Parkinson’s appeared first on Parkinson's News Today ..read more

Nearly one-quarter of deceased athletes with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head impacts, experienced Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms during their lives, according to a study researchers said is the largest to date exploring the links among contact sports, CTE, and parkinsonism. The researchers found that the association between CTE and parkinsonism […] The post Study probes contact sports, CTE, parkinsonism links appeared first on Parkinson's News Today ..read more

The Digital Medicine Society or DiMe, working with The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and the Critical Path Institute (C-Path), has added digital tools for Parkinson’s disease research and clinical care to its library of digital health technologies. The interactive Library of Digital Measurement Products is an open-access repository of digital clinical measures, measurement tools, […] The post New tools for Parkinson’s added to Digital Medicine Society library appeared first on Parkinson's News Today ..read more

Brenig Therapeutics has raised $65 million to advance its lead candidate, LRRK inhibitor BT-267, into human clinical trials as a possible treatment for idiopathic (of unknown cause) and LRRK2-associated Parkinson’s disease. The funds will be used to test BT-267 in healthy volunteers in a first-in-human study, Brenig said. After confirming the candidate’s safety in healthy […] The post Brenig raises $65M to advance LRRK2 inhibitor BT-267 to trials appeared first on Parkinson's News Today ..read more

Home-based exercise, such as aerobic, strength, or balance exercises, helps relieve overall motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, according to a meta-analysis. But benefits were only seen when patients exercised for a minimum of eight weeks, and no less than 30 times. The findings provide “clinicians and patients with clear evidence-based clinical practice” for the benefits of home-based exercise, the researchers wrote in the study, “The effect of home-based exercise on motor symptoms, quality of life and functional performance in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis ..read more

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has awarded a $6 million grant to Lario Therapeutics to advance early studies into CaV2.3 calcium channel inhibitors as a potential disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Lario’s preclinical program is being developed in collaboration with the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre, which will test various inhibitor compounds in stem cell models derived from Parkinson’s patients. Richard Wade-Martins, a professor of molecular neuroscience at the University of Oxford and head of the Parkinson’s center, will lead the testing e ..read more

GUCY2C — a protein found mainly in the gut, but also in the brain — appears to be produced in greater amounts in Parkinson’s disease as a mechanism to protect nerve cells from damage and toxic insults, a preclinical study found. While the findings come from mice, they put forward GUCY2C as a potential therapeutic target to prevent the loss of dopaminergic neurons — the nerve cells that produce dopamine for good motor control — and ease Parkinson’s symptoms. The study, “GUCY2C signaling limits dopaminergic neuron vulnerability to toxic insults,” was published in npj Parkinson’s disease. There ..read more

Clumps of alpha-synuclein, the protein responsible for nerve cell death in Parkinson’s disease, initially form under medium salt conditions. However, over time, these clumps, or aggregates, transform into droplets through a process called liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), effectively preventing further clumping, or aggregation, of alpha-synuclein, a study has shown. These results suggest that understanding and modulating LLPS could potentially be explored as a therapeutic approach for Parkinson’s, with the aim of reducing the toxic effects of alpha-synuclein aggregates on nerve cells. Ta ..read more

Scientists have discovered a link between a mutation in the CARS gene and late-onset neurological disorders with symptoms, such as movement disorder, similar to those seen in Parkinson’s disease patients. The mutation, known as CARS E795V, was identified as the cause of a neurological condition affecting nine people from four related families. This condition is characterized by mobility problems and signs of neurodegeneration. The mutation is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, meaning that having the mutation in just one copy of the gene is enough to cause the condition. “The research ..read more