A new machine learning model is able to identify Parkinson’s disease more accurately than other models based on electroencephalography (EEG) readings of the brain’s electrical activity, a study found. “The proposed model holds promising potential as a valuable and enduring aid for experts and clinicians in diagnosing” Parkinson’s, researchers wrote in the study, “An efficient Parkinson’s disease detection framework: Leveraging time-frequency representation and AlexNet convolutional neural network,” which was published in Computers in Biology and Medicine. There is no test that can conclusivel ..read more

Rumble Boxing, a U.S. fitness brand, is partnering for the second year with Team Fox, the grassroots fundraising community of The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), to raise awareness and funds during Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month this April. Among Rumble’s planned activities is a multicity tour panel with its co-founder Noah Neiman, together with MJFF community members affected by the disease. Rumble also will offer open houses across its studios nationwide, featuring donation-based classes, with an aim of bringing awareness to the benefits of boxing for people with movement disorders s ..read more

I’m fortunate to have two daughters who are my pride and joy. We get along extremely well, and they’ve always been supportive of me, especially during my Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2015. After I had deep brain stimulation surgery in 2021, they both came to our farm to see me, cook meals, and take me for walks every day for a solid month. They are remarkable and kind young women. We text one another every morning, often our Wordle scores, and then again if something exciting happens during the day. And boy, are they ever fast at texting! They can get 10 texts in while I try to type just one. I k ..read more

The first patient has been dosed in a first-in-human trial testing Vanqua Bio’s VQ-101 as an oral therapy for Parkinson’s disease linked to mutations in the GBA gene, the company has announced. The Phase 1 clinical trial is assessing the safety, tolerability, and pharmacological properties of VQ-101 in both healthy volunteers and Parkinson’s patients with or without GBA gene mutations, according to a company press release. The participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the experimental therapy, at single or multiple ascending doses, or a placebo. Vanqua Bio last year announced V ..read more

A widening of tiny, fluid-filled spaces in certain brain regions could be used as an imaging marker of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) in people with Parkinson’s disease, a study showed. Perivascular spaces, or PVSs, were larger in Parkinson’s patients with LID — a condition in which standard Parkinson’s medications lead to involuntary movements — than in healthy people or Parkinson’s patients without LID in a brain area implicated in motor control. The larger the PVS in that area, the more substantial the dyskinesia symptoms were. “Our investigation may offer a potential supplement for the ..read more

NeuroVigil has launched its iBrain personal brain monitor — an investigational portable device that can noninvasively record the brain’s electrical activity in people with neurological conditions — in the U.S., according to a company press release. In the second phase of the launch, NeuroVigil will use a smaller version of the device specifically to detect signs of Parkinson’s disease. iBrain is based on electroencephalogram (EEG) technology, commonly used to measure brain electrical activity and identify evidence of neurological changes. The device can be used by patients at home, and during ..read more

The first patients received doses of an oral thin-film formulation of montelukast in a clinical trial testing the treatment’s potential for Parkinson’s disease. The placebo-controlled MONTPARK trial will test how well a high dose of Montelukast VersaFilm, a proprietary formulation being developed by IntelGenx, can slow the progression of early- to moderate-stage Parkinson’s, a disease thought to be driven in part by brain inflammation. “Dosing of the first [Parkinson’s] patients in the Phase 2 MONTPARK trial represents a major milestone in the clinical development of Montelukast VersaFilm,” D ..read more

Levels of two markers of intestinal inflammation — beta-defensin 2 and lactoferrin — were elevated in the stools of Parkinson’s disease patients when compared with healthy adults, and were associated with a likelihood of developing the disease, a study found. Calprotectin, a marker of tissue inflammation, wasn’t found to be higher in Parkinson’s patients, but was linked to disease duration and severity of several nonmotor symptoms, including depression and gastrointestinal symptoms. “Our study provided evidence for intestinal inflammation in PD [Parkinson’s disease], establishing links with a ..read more

DrTalks, a platform that aims to advance wellness and medicine by connecting people with health experts, has set the dates for its virtual meeting in November — dubbed the Parkinson’s Solutions Summit 2.0 — designed to provide insights into how to better manage and treat the progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The free event, set for Nov. 5-11 and targeting patients, caregivers, and anyone interested in learning more about managing Parkinson’s disease, will feature a host of leading neurologists and experts in related fields. More than a dozen experts, including clinicians, have already s ..read more

Anxiety is common among people with Parkinson’s disease and contributes to a worse life quality for patients irrespective of motor symptom severity, according to a new German study. Nearly 40% of the patients in the small study were found to have clinically relevant anxiety — and those with more severe anxiety also reported experiencing both more severe motor symptoms and worse quality of life. Nonetheless, models indicated that both anxiety and symptom severity are independent contributors to worse health-related quality of life, known as HRQoL, the researchers noted. Given these findings, t ..read more