Parkinson disease

by Sanjukta Mondal, Medical Xpress edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan  Editors’ notes  The GIST Add as preferred source Parkinson’s disease variants of α-synuclein protein drive Lewy body formation. Credit: PxHere Proteins form the building blocks of life, but when they form unusual clumps inside the brain, they raise an alarm that something isn’t right. A […]

by Katana Smith, Neuroscience Research Australia edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Andrew Zinin  Editors’ notes A schematic representing the variations in the cerebrovasculature in PD in the substantia nigra and occipital cortex compared to healthy controls. Credit: bioRxiv (2025). DOI: 10.1101/2025.03.09.641541 New research has revealed that Parkinson’s disease causes significant and progressive changes to blood vessels in the brain,

Researchers have been chasing the causes of Parkinson’s disease for more than a century, yet its hallmark feature — microscopic protein clumps called Lewy bodies — remains enigmatic: Patients with just a few Lewy bodies can be devastatingly ill, while others with neurons packed full of them sometimes show milder symptoms. Another culprit has emerged. Nanoscale

by Yale School of Medicine edited by Stephanie Baum, reviewed by Robert Egan  Editors’ notes Cell type distribution and differential gene expression in the cortex. Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) dimension reduction for A Gba (Amber), B Gba-SNCA (Green) and C SNCA tg (Red) overlayed over WT (Black) mouse cortical snRNAseq expression. D UMAP showing clusters of cortical cell types identified by expression signatures. In A–D,

by National Taiwan University edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan   Credit: Biomaterials (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2025.123268 Researchers at National Taiwan University developed a biodegradable, electroconductive self-healing hydrogel combined with acupuncture that restores motor function and protects brain neurons in Parkinson’s disease models. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes tremors, slowed movement, and difficulty with coordination.

by Elana Gotkine edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin For patients with early Parkinson’s disease (PD), regular physical activity is associated with a slower rate of neurodegeneration, according to a study published online in Neurology. Patricia Diaz-Galvan, Ph.D., from the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain, and colleagues conducted a longitudinal, observational cohort study using data from

  By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D.Reviewed by Lauren HardakerJul 31 2025 By analyzing what’s on the surface of the tongue, scientists uncover powerful clues to detecting Parkinson’s disease: no needles, no scans, just a simple swab. Study: Microbiome and metabolome integrated analysis: exploring potential diagnostic approaches for Parkinson’s disease using tongue coating samples. Image credit: Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com Researchers at

by Institute of Science Tokyo edited by Stephanie Baum, reviewed by Andrew Zinin Mutation of DJ-1 is implicated in hereditary Parkinson’s disease. However, the exact molecular mechanism of its pathophysiological role was unknown. Researchers from Japan used molecular simulations and biochemical mutational assays to reveal the key residues involved in its catalytic function of converting cyclic 3-phosphoglyceric anhydride—a