Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder. It occurs when certain nerve cells (neurons) in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die or become impaired. When approximately 80 percent of neurons are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear. Parkinson's disease affects 1 in 100 people over the age of 60, with the average age of onset being 60 years. The risk of developing Parkinson's disease increases with age. In the United States, it is estimated that 60,000 new cases of Parkinson's disease are diagnosed each year, with 1.5 million Americans currently living with the disease.

What is Parkinson's Disease?

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disease of the brain. It affects parts of the brain that are associated with normal movement and balance.

Parkinson's Disease Pathophysiology

Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis

Parkinson's Disease Treatment

Parkinson's Disease Prognosis

Parkinson's Disease History

Parkinson's Disease Research

Parkinson's Disease Support

Herpes Virus and Parkinson's Disease

Physiotherapy for Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's Compared to Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)

VPS35 Gene and Parkinson's Disease

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Parkinson's Disease and the Gut Microbiome

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Does Exercise Slow Parkinson's Disease Progression?

Human brain may stay active for hours after death

Neurophysiotherapy for Parkinson's Disease

Thalamotomy, Pallidotomy and Subthalamotomy

Estrogen as a Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease and Sleeping Disorders

Uncovering Hidden Symptoms: Hallucinations and Delusions in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson's Disease and the Gut Microbiome

Gut Bacteria Affecting Parkinson’s Treatment

Identifying Early Symptoms in Parkinson’s

Do Antioxidants Benefit Patients with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s?

Insulin Resistance and Parkinson's Disease

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) Versus Parkinson's Disease

Parkinsonism in Spinocerebellar Ataxia

Where Does Parkinson’s Disease Originate?

Is Appendectomy Linked to Parkinson’s Disease?

Bipolar Disorder and Parkinson’s

Gene Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease

Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

Study identifies drug target to prevent autonomic dysfunction after spinal cord injury

In response to stressful or dangerous stimuli, nerve cells in the spinal cord activate involuntary, autonomic reflexes often referred to as "fight or flight" responses.

12 Jun 2024

Transplanted gut microbes from aged mice trigger inflammation in young germ-free mice

When scientists transplanted the gut microbes of aged mice into young "germ-free" mice -; raised to have no gut microbes of their own -; the recipient mice experienced an increase in inflammation that parallels inflammatory processes associated with aging in humans.

10 Jun 2024

Dundee scientists unlock key mechanism in Parkinson's disease defense

Scientists at the University of Dundee have uncovered the inner relay of a molecular switch that protects the brain against the development of Parkinson's disease.

7 Jun 2024

New brain scan tool reveals key insights into childhood brain development

Study demonstrates that the OPM-MEG tool effectively tracks brain development and neural oscillations in individuals aged 2 to 34, offering new insights into neurological health and development.

6 Jun 2024

White House enlists doctors and hospitals to combat gun violence

The White House is calling on hospital executives, doctors, and other health care leaders to take bolder steps to prevent gun violence by gathering more data about gunshot injuries and routinely counseling patients about safe use of firearms.

6 Jun 2024

Developing pre-symptomatic diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's disease using long-read RNA sequencing

Researchers at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging are working to develop a pre-symptomatic disease diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease.

6 Jun 2024

Chronic caffeine intake may impact brain chemistry in Parkinson's disease

Regular high caffeine consumption affects dopamine function in patients with Parkinson’s disease, shows a new international study led by the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland. Caffeine consumption before undergoing diagnostic brain dopamine imaging may also affect the imaging results.

3 Jun 2024

Scientists locate the source of stuttering in the brain

An international research group led by researchers from the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland has succeeded in identifying the probable origin of stuttering in the brain.

3 Jun 2024

US DoD funds Australian research on Parkinson's disease treatments

Researchers based at Australia’s Translational Research Institute (TRI) have received major funding from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to develop Parkinson’s disease (PD) treatments by targeting the gut microbiome.

3 Jun 2024

Study: 13% of older adults diagnosed with traumatic brain injury

Some 13% of older adults are diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to a study by UC San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Health Care System

31 May 2024

New research center delves into ubiquitin's role in cancer

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has now approved a new Collaborative Research Centre in the search for innovative therapies against cancer: Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Goethe University Frankfurt and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have joined forces for this purpose.

31 May 2024

Exercise pattern study reveals lower Parkinson's risk for weekend warriors and regulars alike

A recent study in npj Digital Medicine found that both "weekend warrior" and regular exercise patterns significantly reduce Parkinson's disease (PD) risk. The findings suggest exercise duration is more critical than frequency in mitigating PD risk.

28 May 2024

High caffeine consumption linked to changes in dopamine function in Parkinson's patients

Regular high caffeine consumption affects dopamine function in patients with Parkinson's disease, shows a new international study led by the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland.

28 May 2024

Study uncovers probable origin of stuttering in the brain

An international research group led by researchers from the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland has succeeded in identifying the probable origin of stuttering in the brain.

28 May 2024

Phytochemicals show promise in treating neurological disorders by influencing the gut-brain axis

Researchers reviewed the potential therapeutic effects of phytochemicals on the gut-brain axis, finding they could influence brain function and reduce neurological symptoms by modulating gut microbiota.

26 May 2024

Revolutionizing neurological research: Barrow Neuro Analytics Center opens in Phoenix

Barrow Neurological Institute has opened a new cutting-edge research center that is expected to revolutionize neurological research and expand Phoenix's research footprint into the areas of environmental neurology and health equity.

24 May 2024

Scientists uncover protein folding secrets through sound

By converting their data into sounds, scientists discovered how hydrogen bonds contribute to the lightning-fast gyrations that transform a string of amino acids into a functional, folded protein.

21 May 2024

Boosting mitochondrial health can reverse protein clumping in aging and Alzheimer's

It has long been known that a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and most other neurodegenerative diseases, is the clumping together of insoluble protein aggregates in the brain.

16 May 2024

Novel gene-delivery vehicle shows promise for treating brain disorders

In an important step toward more effective gene therapies for brain diseases, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have engineered a gene-delivery vehicle that uses a human protein to efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier and deliver a disease-relevant gene to the brain in mice expressing the human protein.

16 May 2024