Study Finds Pesticide Use Linked to Parkinson’s in Rocky Mountain, Great Plains Region

Pesticides and herbicides used in farming have been linked to Parkinson’s disease in the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains region of the country, according to a preliminary study released today, February 27, 2024, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 76th Annual Meeting taking place April 13–18, 2024, in person in Denver and online.

Johns Hopkins Medicine Scientists Create Nanobody That Can Punch Through Tough Brain Cells and Potentially Treat Parkinson’s Disease

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have helped develop a nanobody capable of getting through the tough exterior of brain cells and untangling misshapen proteins that lead to Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and other neurocognitive disorders caused by the damaging protein.

Gut-Brain Connection Research Gets Boost of $8.9 Million

Johns Hopkins Medicine is one of three research institutions with scientists awarded $8.9 million to study the growing body of evidence that Parkinson’s disease originates among cells in the gut and travels up the body’s neurons to the brain. The research aims to develop treatments to prevent or halt progression of the disease.

FSU College of Medicine research links Parkinson’s disease and neuroticism

New research from the Florida State University College of Medicine has found that the personality trait neuroticism is consistently associated with a higher risk of developing the brain disorder Parkinson’s disease.

The research by Professor of Geriatrics Antonio Terracciano and team, published in Movement Disorders, found that adults in the study who scored in the top quartile of neuroticism had more than 80% greater risk of Parkinson’s, compared to those who scored lower on neuroticism.

Henry Ford Health System First in the U.S. to Offer Next Generation Deep Brain Stimulation System For Parkinson’s Disease

The Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Center at Henry Ford Health System was the first in the United States to offer a new FDA-approved device to help treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Neurosurgeon Jason Schwalb, M.D. surgically implanted the Vercise Genus™ Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System, which stimulates a targeted region of the brain through implanted leads that are placed in the brain.

Researchers Discover Neuroprotective Treatment for Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of cognitive impairment that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite growing awareness about the debilitating and lifelong progressive consequences of TBI, there are currently no treatments that slow the deteriorative process. TBI survivors are currently treated with extensive physical and cognitive rehabilitation, accompanied by medications that may mitigate symptoms yet do not halt or slow neurodegeneration. Now, researchers have found for the first time that this process can be pharmacologically reversed in an animal model of this chronic health condition, offering an important proof of principle in the field and a potential path to new therapy.

University of Minnesota, Van Andel Institute earn $6M to study aging’s role in Parkinson’s

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Sept. 21, 2020) — A collaborative team between the University of Minnesota Medical School and Van Andel Institute (VAI) will soon begin a $6.2 million study that seeks to define the molecular linkages between aging and Parkinson’s disease — an approach for new treatment targets not yet explored by many researchers. The group recently earned a three-year grant from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s initiative, an international collaborative research effort partnering with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to implement its funding.