The Science of Parkinson's

New study "provides evidence that SNCA-A53T transgenic monkeys recapitulate #Parkinsons pathophysiology while demonstrating the utility of longitudinal monitoring in genetically engineered nonhuman primates for tracking neurodegen. disease progression"
academic.oup.com/brain/advanc...

Revolutionizing Parkinson's: Beyond Dopamine Deficits Explore how a groundbreaking study reveals Parkinson's as a complex systemic issue rather than just a dopamine deficit, paving the way for Precision Neurology.

Another interesting take on this research:
tmrwedition.com/2026/02/05/p...

Researchers present an injectable hydrogel bioelectrostimulator enabling wireless deep brain neuromodulation (via electric-field localization under volume conduction); Improved locomotor behavior in a #Parkinsons model
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Leukocytic Dopamine D2 Receptors as Biomarkers for Brain Dopamine Levels in Parkinson’s Disease Having the ability to objectively index dopamine levels in the brain with a peripheral biomarker of brain dopamine would enable the objective monitoring of the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD) ...

People with #Parkinsons "displayed significantly decreased D2R expression in B &T cells, & increased levels in epinephrine, dopamine, norepinephrine, & levodopa" ( vs controls); A sig. negative correlation between blood levodopa & D2R express. in monocytes
ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S000...

Very thorough review of astrocytes: are they guardians or troublemakers of the brain disorder?
www.nature.com/articles/s12...

New paper presents a nationwide (Japan) cohort study that finds Istradefylline was associated with reduced mortality & treatment escalation in people with #Parkinsons, but increased fracture risk (vs COMT inhibitors)
www.prd-journal.com/article/S135...

Galaxy Brain Scientific's Technology Enables Landmark Parkinson's Study Published in Nature, Redefining Disease Mechanism /PRNewswire/ -- A research team led by Prof. Hesheng Liu, founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Galaxy Brain Scientific Inc., has published a study in Nature...

Press summary associated with this research: www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

The investigators found that most existing effective symptomatic therapies for #Parkinsons (L-dopa, DBS, MRgFUS) share a common mechanism: they reduce this abnormally high connectivity between the SCAN & deep brain regions, essentially normalizing the circuit

Researchers propose that the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) "hyperconnectivity is central to PD pathophysiology & its alleviation is a hallmark of successful neuromodulation"; #Parkinsons as a somato-cognitive action network disorder
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

"While the placebo group demonstrated a modest &
sustained improvement (reduction in score), both Vodobatinib groups showed a worsening of motor
symptoms over time"; Serum neurofilament light chains increased significantly in both Vodobatinib groups

Missed our webinar on young onset Parkinson's last week? No problem!

Catch up with the recording, where Edinburgh University’s Professor Tilo Kunath and an expert panel discuss what young onset Parkinson’s (YOPD) is, how it presents, and the potential genetic links.

Watch now: buff.ly/H0tjQ69

A success story for a physician with Alzheimer's which, in spite of the obstacles outlined, is a precursor for our enhanced ability to prevent the disease in the future
gift link
www.wsj.com/opinion/i-ca...

The results of the Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled PROSEEK study evaluating the CNS-penetrant c-Abl inhibitor Vodobatinib in 513 participants with early #Parkinsons have been published; High, dose-related rate of early withdrawal
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Interesting: The investigators found "syringic acid & the piperazine derivative vanoxerine prevent neurodegeneration & propose that they could serve as neuroprotective interventions. In reverse, our approach can also identify neurotoxins that accelerate neurodegeneration"

New research finds that glyoxalase domain-containing protein 4 (GLOD4), a previously uncharacterized protein, is an enzyme that catalyzes nitration of alpha-synuclein in cells & mice, suggesting "damage may not be accidental but rather biologically driven"
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

New study supports "feasibility of using a pragmatic trial design to evaluate antipsychotic treatments in Lewy Body Diseases. The study has achieved strong participant retention & successfully enrolled individuals from a underrepresented ethnic pop"
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Researchers confirm the p.A419V as a significant #Parkinsons risk factor in East Asian populations, as well as highlight disease-relevant variants in the ARM domain & the link with LRRK2-RAB signaling
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

To elucidate whether diff. neuron types differ in their biological aging process, researchers applied "BitAge" (binarized transcriptomic age clock) to 128 different neuron types in C. elegans & found that distinct neurons differ in their biological age
www.nature.com/articles/s43...

Researchers present micro pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics monitoring of anti-#Parkinsons drugs using a microphysiological blood brain barrier-brain organ-on-a-chip; The investigators use pramipexole as an example
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Neurologists ask if Amantadine should be a first option for symptomatic relief in young-onset #Parkinsons
www.prd-journal.com/article/S135...

Researchers report a positive feedback LRRK2–COX19 signaling axis that governs mitochondrial redox homeostasis & COX assembly, highlighting a promising therapeutic target for #Parkinsons & related mitochondrial disorders
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Metabolomic research profiles plasma from 149 #Parkinsons cases (vs 150 controls); Highlights promising biomarkers + a causal chain linking genetic variation to altered gene/protein expression, lipid dysmetabolism, & manifestation of PD
academic.oup.com/brain/advanc...

This is becoming a too regular thing...

Does Europe or Asia have a more reliable equivalent to Pubmed? Perhaps it is time to build some redundancy into the system

New adaptive deep brain stimulation data provides "proof-of-concept that basal ganglia local field potentials can reliably predict a physiological state, highlighting the potential influence of physiological oscillatory activity on pathological bands"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Phase 2 clinical trial of dapansutrile for Parkinson’s confirmed - Cure Parkinson's Cure Parkinson’s, in partnership with Van Andel Institute, is delighted to announce funding for a Phase 2 clinical of dapansutrile, an anti-inflammatory drug, to determine whether it can slow the prog...

Cure #Parkinsons @cureparkinsons.org.uk (in partnership with Van Andel Institute) is funding the Phase 2 DAPA-PD trial being conducted in Cambridge UK (36 participants for 12 months - NCT07157735)
cureparkinsons.org.uk/2024/02/phas...

New preclinical research supports the clinical testing of Olatec's CNS-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor Dapansutrile in #Parkinsons; The agent modulated microglial transcriptome & alleviated α-synuclein-induced progression in 2 mouse models of PD
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New open-label clinical trial imaging results suggest that N-Acetylcysteine (NAC; IV infusion + oral) may "positively affect brain functional connectivity in #Parkinsons patients, with corresponding positive clinical effects" (NCT02445651)
www.prd-journal.com/article/S135...

Researchers investigated the association between monoamine function & 4 specific non-motor symptoms in early #Parkinsons (using PPMI data) & found novel insights regarding the monoaminergic networks underlying depression, anxiety, & RBD in PD
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

New paper mapping cellular vulnerability to #Parkinsons -associated a-synuclein in mice finds"αSyn path. propagates along anatomical pathways, but cell-autonomous factors determine if a neuron exposed to misfolded αSyn will develop Lewy-like path. or not"
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Two lysosomal genes ATP13A2 and GBA1 interact to drive neurodegeneration - Molecular Neurodegeneration Molecular Neurodegeneration - Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a genetically complex disorder in which combinations of heterozygous risk variants may contribute to pathogenesis. Many PD risk loci...

New research reveals that partial loss of #Parkinsons -related GBA1 in glia & ATP13A2 in neurons synergistically disrupts lysosomal pH & neuron-glia GlcCer homeostasis, triggering neurodegen. "GBA1 penetrance is influenced by additional genetic modifiers"
link.springer.com/article/10.1...