Movement disorders News and Research

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Multidisciplinary approach improves quality of life in functional movement disorders

The research team of the Neurology Department Movement Disorders Unit at the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital and the Movement Disorders group of the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville - IBiS, in collaboration with researchers from the Mental Health Clinical Management Unit and the Translational Psychiatry group coordinated by Benedicto Crespo Facorro (HUVR-IBiS/CIBERSAM), has published a randomized clinical trial demonstrating for the first time that a multidisciplinary approach integrating specific physiotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in improving the symptoms and physical aspects of the quality of life of patients with functional movement disorders.

12 Oct 2024

New magnetogenetics technology holds promise as a powerful tool for studying the brain

A new technology enables the control of specific brain circuits non-invasively with magnetic fields, according to a preclinical study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

10 Oct 2024

Study identifies ophthalmic acid as an alternative to dopamine in motor control

A research team from the University of California, Irvine is the first to reveal that a molecule in the brain – ophthalmic acid – unexpectedly acts like a neurotransmitter similar to dopamine in regulating motor function, offering a new therapeutic target for Parkinson's and other movement diseases.

4 Oct 2024

Researchers use smartphone data for early detection of Alzheimer's

Researchers from DZNE and Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg have identified individuals with increased risk for dementia using mobility data, recorded during a smartphone-based wayfinding task on the university campus.

3 Oct 2024

NYU Langone secures NIH award to explore eye imaging for early detection of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Researchers at NYU Langone Health were awarded $1.6 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate changes in the eye that may indicate early signs of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

2 Oct 2024

Deep brain stimulation shows promise for improving arm and hand function after injury

Deep brain stimulation may provide immediate improvement in arm and hand strength and function weakened by traumatic brain injury or stroke, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers report today in Nature Communications.

1 Oct 2024

Computational study identifies spinal circuit that modulates stretch reflexes

How did the bodies of animals, including ours, become such fine-tuned movement machines? How vertebrates coordinate the eternal tug-o-war between involuntary reflexes and seamless voluntary movements is a mystery that Francisco Valero-Cuevas' Lab in USC Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, set out to understand.

26 Sep 2024

New biomarkers offer hope for early detection and prevention of Alzheimer's

The failure to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia in the elderly, at an early stage of molecular pathology is considered a major reason why treatments fail in clinical trials. Previous research to molecularly diagnose Alzheimer's disease yielded "A/T/N" central biomarkers based on the measurements of proteins, β-amyloid ("A") and tau ("T"), and "N" encompassing neurodegeneration. A/T/N can be measured in brain tissue, by in vivo brain imaging techniques, and by analysis of cerebrospinal fluid and plasma.

18 Sep 2024

New biomarker helps differentiate Alzheimer’s from primary 4-repeat tauopathies

A new biomarker makes it easier to distinguish between Alzheimer's and primary tauopathy.

13 Sep 2024

Study links protein increases to cognitive improvement in Alzheimer's

A study published in the journal Brain shows that increases in protein levels with new Alzheimer's drugs can explain the slowing of cognitive impairment at least as well as the reduction in amyloid plaques.

11 Sep 2024

Major trial to test multiple drugs for progressive supranuclear palsy

A clinical trial that will test three drugs concurrently, and could include more, represents new hope for patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that usually kills within seven years after symptoms start.

3 Sep 2024

Dengue increases risk of heart and neurological complications compared to COVID-19

People who caught dengue and recovered are more likely to face long-term health complications about a year later compared to those who contracted COVID-19, according to the findings of a nationwide study led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore).

27 Aug 2024

UCSF studies point the way toward continuous care for people with Parkinson's disease

Two new studies from UC San Francisco are pointing the way toward round-the-clock personalized care for people with Parkinson's disease through an implanted device that can treat movement problems during the day and insomnia at night.

19 Aug 2024

Expanding horizons in Parkinson's disease care with non-pharmacological interventions

The field of non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) is reaching maturity and has the potential to substantially improve patient care in the future.

13 Aug 2024

Vanderbilt to introduce focused ultrasound for treating essential tremor and Parkinson's disease

The movement disorder neurology and neurosurgery team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is set to add focused ultrasound treatment (FUS) as a new tool in the treatment of essential tremor and Parkinson's disease.

1 Aug 2024

Machine learning revolutionizes Parkinson's disease symptom tracking and progression prediction

Research develops an automated system using machine learning to quantify motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease and predict disease progression, offering new therapeutic insights.

28 Jul 2024

Scientists explore early life factors contributing to SMA

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe neurological disease for which there is presently no cure, although current therapies can alleviate symptoms. In the search for better treatment options, scientists at DZNE and the Dresden University of Technology are now drawing attention to previously unnoticed abnormalities in embryonic development. They base their argument on studies of so-called organoids: Laboratory-grown tissue cultures that can reconstruct disease processes. Their findings are published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

27 Jul 2024

Study links OCD improvement to brain activity shift

A recent study from Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital has identified a specific neural activity pattern as a novel biomarker to accurately predict and monitor the clinical status of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who have undergone deep brain stimulation (DBS), a rapidly emerging therapeutic approach for severe psychiatric disorders. The study, led by led by Drs. Sameer Sheth and Wayne Goodman along with co-lead authors, Drs. Nicole Provenza, Sandy Reddy, and Anthony Allam, was published in Nature Medicine.

13 Jul 2024

Decoding cerebellar neural patterns in movement disorders

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that helps us refine our movements and learn new motor skills.

3 Jul 2024

Monocyte signature predicts dexamethasone response in severe COVID-19 patients

Dexamethasone is one of the most important drugs in the treatment of severe COVID-19, but patients respond very differently to the therapy.