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Parkinson’s disease

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 20, 2020·4 min read

Further evidence autoimmunity plays a role in Parkinson’s disease

T cells that react to alpha-synuclein are most abundant in the early stages of Parkinson's disease but tend to disappear as the disease progresses. Signs of autoimmunity can appear in Parkinson's patients up to ten years before a diagnosis of the neurodegenerative disease. The detection of T cell response could be an early biomarker for Parkinson's, long before the physical symptoms begin to manifest.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 14, 2020·4 min read

Being “right-brained” or “left-brained” comes down to molecular switches

Epigenetic regulation controls whether certain genes on each side of the brain are switched on or off. The findings shed light on why Parkinson's disease often affects one side of the body before the other.

Closeup images of neurons with markers labeled shown.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·March 26, 2020·3 min read

Jumping Genes Help Make Neurons in a Dish

Converting skin cells to functional brain cells relies on precise insertion of Line-1 retrotransposons.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·March 20, 2020·3 min read

Worldwide Study Unlocks Genetic Secrets of the Gray Matter

Researchers have created the first genetic map of the cerebral cortex, which identifies over 300 genetic variants that influence the structure of the brain region.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·March 13, 2020·5 min read

‘Natural killer’ cells could halt Parkinson’s progression

Natural killer cells may play a critical role in regulating and restraining neuroinflammation and protein clumping associated with Parkinson's disease.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·March 11, 2020·5 min read

New target for Parkinson’s therapies identified

Two regions outside of the non-amyloid-beta-component play a critical role in controlling amyloid formation of alpha-synuclein.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 23, 2020·4 min read

Iron in brain shows cognitive decline in people with Parkinson’s

The measure of iron in the brain may help doctors predict which patients with Parkinson's disease are most likely to develop dementia.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·February 18, 2020·5 min read

Parkinson’s biomarker may originate in gut

Using mouse models, researchers seeded alpha-synuclein aggregates in gut neurons and discovered the clumps can travel to neurons in the brain.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 16, 2020·4 min read

Cough syrup drug being trialed as Parkinson’s treatment

Ambroxol, a medication approved to treat coughs, may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. The medication is able to effectively cross the blood-brain barrier and increases levels of GCase in patients' brains. Ambroxol also appears to reduce Parkinson's-related alpha-synuclein levels.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 5, 2020·5 min read

What the brain really thinks about forever chemicals

Exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, so-called "forever chemicals," results in a decline of both dopamine levels and dopamine neurons in roundworms.