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Parkinson's & Movement disorders news

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

'Harmless' virus might trigger Parkinson's disease, researchers say

A common virus once thought harmless to humans might be linked to Parkinson's disease, a new study says. The germ, Human Pegivirus (HPgV), was found in half the autopsied brains of patients with Parkinson's, but not in any ...

Neuroscience

Parkinson's disease: How the affected side shapes the disease's course

Parkinson's disease affects approximately 10 million people worldwide. It typically begins asymmetrically, initially impacting only one side of the body. Although it first manifests through motor symptoms—such as tremors, ...

Neuroscience

Burden of tremor recognized for Parkinson's disease patients

Some 25 years ago, a young Parkinson's disease investigator, Robert Hauser, MD, stepped to the podium at an American Academy of Neurology Conference to present findings from his patient survey that didn't quite jibe with ...

Neuroscience

Q&A: Are mitochondria the key to a healthy brain?

Elizabeth Jonas first got interested in mitochondria by chance. In 1995, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Yale, working at the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where she was trying to record electrical ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Theater can improves emotional symptoms of people with Parkinson's

A research team at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, working with the Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona, has shown that theater can improve the emotional well‐being of people with Parkinson's disease. The study, "Efficacy ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia

Blood test shows promise for early dementia with Lewy Bodies diagnosis

A research team has made a significant finding that sheds new light on dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). The team was led by Associate Professor Ayako Okado-Matsumoto from the Department of Biology at Toho University in collaboration ...

Genetics

Gene therapy may slow loss of motor function in ALS

Researchers have developed a gene therapy that significantly slowed motor function loss in preclinical models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), offering new hope for treating the devastating neurodegenerative disease.

Parkinson's & Movement disorders

'ALS on a chip' model reveals altered motor neuron signaling

Using stem cells from patients with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Cedars-Sinai has created a lifelike model of the mysterious and fatal disease that could help identify a cause of the illness as well as effective treatments.

Parkinson's & Movement disorders

Ear wax as a possible screening medium for Parkinson's disease

Most treatments for Parkinson's disease (PD) only slow disease progression. Early intervention for the neurological disease that worsens over time is therefore critical to optimize care, but that requires early diagnosis. ...

Neuroscience

How Parkinson's disease affects emotion recognition of voices

A new study in Neurodegenerative Diseases looks closely at how Parkinson's disease can affect something as everyday and essential as recognizing emotion in someone's voice. The research suggests that both the side of the ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders

Mouth and gut bacteria linked to brain changes in Parkinson's disease

Scientists have discovered a link between bacteria in the mouth and gut and the progression of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease. Specific changes in these bacteria, known as the microbiome, have been associated with ...

Medications

Asthma drug could help to treat a rare neurological disorder

The asthma medication theophylline is a suitable drug for treating the rare neurological disorder ADCY5-related dyskinesia, according to a new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), which was published ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Autism linked to elevated risk of Parkinson's disease

People with an autism diagnosis are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease early in life, a large-scale study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Neurology reports. The researchers believe that the two ...

Genetics

Diagnosing Parkinson's using a blood-based genetic signature

Parkinson's disease is best known for its effects on the central nervous system. In addition, recent scientific advances generally emphasize the role of the immune system in the presence and development of the disease.