Parkinson's Disease

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delivered a Breakthrough Device Designation to a novel eye-tracking technology that claims to offer objective and early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The FDA designation is hoped to accelerate the approval process for the test offering clinicians a new and reliable way to diagnose the degenerative disease at its earliest stage.

A team of Australian researchers has developed a novel early detection test for Parkinson’s disease based on a short series of drawing and writing tasks. The team is aiming to move through final trial stages and bring the new test to market by 2022.

Fascinating research reveals evidence for the first time suggesting deep brain electrical stimulation directly increases dopamine releases in the brain.

A compelling new study has described a novel association between viral infections, neurodegenerative disease, the gut microbiome, and our immune system. The research suggests gut bacteria disruptions can allow harmful viruses to trigger neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

A rigorous animal study has demonstrated how the misfolded proteins thought to cause Parkinson’s disease may originate in the gut, and travel up to the brain via the vagus nerve. This research builds on evidence pointing to a gut-brain connection in the disease and hints at new treatment pathways.

A new study upends conventional thinking about the origins of Parkinson’s disease. The research reveals distinct changes in the brain’s serotonin system can be identified up to 20 years before any Parkinson’s symptoms appear, suggesting a new biomarker to detect the disease at its earliest stages.

An exciting new study has offered the first rigorous description of how a single bacterial species can specifically disrupt the efficacy of a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease.

A new study has discovered a drug used to treat high blood pressure may also be beneficial for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and dementia. The research has only been verified in animals so far but the scientists are cautiously optimistic it will translate to humans.

​Among the challenges faced by many Parkinson's patients are "medication on-off" motor fluctuations, in which the severity of their symptoms can change quickly and drastically. There could be hope for better managing the condition, however, using body-worn sensors.

​Because it doesn't show up in either blood tests or brain scans, Parkinson's disease can be frustratingly difficult to diagnose. A new device could help, however, by repeatedly bending the patient's finger. It may make diagnoses easier, and allow treatment to start earlier.

There is a lot to learn about Alzheimer’s and how it can be better treated. Scientists now have an inventive new tool with which to look into such matters, in the form of a transparent skull that allows them to peer into heads of mice.

​A team of scientists has solved the mystery of the strange Parkinson's disease smell, revealing a number of skin-secreted volatile biomarkers can be detected in patients suffering from the disease. The next step for the research is to turn this discovery into an early-detection tool.