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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Latest Parkinson's Disease News and Research

MRI sensor reveals how dopamine drives brain activity

Using a specialized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sensor, MIT neuroscientists have discovered how dopamine released deep within the brain influences both nearby and distant brain regions.

1 Apr 2020

Scientists model human CMV-induced microcephaly using brain organoids

A City of Hope scientist is one step closer to discovering what weakens a pathogen that appears to cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads.

30 Mar 2020

MIT engineers develop soft, flexible neural implants

The brain is one of our most vulnerable organs, as soft as the softest tofu. Brain implants, on the other hand, are typically made from metal and other rigid materials that over time can cause inflammation and the buildup of scar tissue.

30 Mar 2020

Global scientific collaboration produces first genetic map of the cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex is the relatively thin, folded, outer "gray matter" layer of the brain crucial for thinking, information processing, memory, and attention.

27 Mar 2020

FDA approves immune-modulating therapy for treatment of multiple sclerosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ozanimod, an immune-modulating therapy invented at Scripps Research, for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

26 Mar 2020

Jumping genes help make functional brain cells in a lab dish

The process of making functional brain cells in a lab dish requires the precise activation of selfish genetic elements known as LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons.

26 Mar 2020

Insights into diagnosis and treatment of rare pediatric brain cancer

Ependymoma is a rare form of brain cancer that implicates children and is often tricky to diagnose.

26 Mar 2020

Novel imaging technique sheds light on Alzheimer's disease

To understand what happens in the brain when Alzheimer's disease develops, researchers need to be able to study the molecular structures in the neurons affected by Alzheimer's disease.

25 Mar 2020

Researchers invent new method to map sugar structures of blood-thinning drug

The blood-thinning drug heparin is used all over the world. But, the underlying sugar structures of heparin and the wider family of heparan sulfate sugars in cells have not been fully mapped.

22 Mar 2020

Neuroscientists investigate how the brain controls the voice

Bats are famous for their sonar-based navigation. They use their extremely sensitive hearing for orientation, emitting ultrasound noises and receiving an image of their surroundings based on the echo.

22 Mar 2020

Study uncovers a new childhood-onset neurodegenerative disorder

A study has uncovered a new neurodegenerative disorder in which children experience developmental regression and severe epilepsy.

21 Mar 2020

Research provides better understanding of how tremor happens

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital have improved our understanding of how tremor -- the most common movement disorder -- happens, opening the possibility of novel therapies for this condition.

19 Mar 2020

Using 'organs-on-a-chip' to study chronic inflammatory diseases

MIT biological engineers have created a multitissue model that lets them study the relationships between different organs and the immune system, on a specialized microfluidic platform seeded with human cells.

18 Mar 2020

Cannabinoid 1 receptor expression displays sexually dimorphic pattern in the mouse brain

A major challenge in neuroscience lies in understanding how molecular and circuit differences in the brain synergistically contribute to sex differences in behavioral phenotypes. Sex differences in the brain may arise from the identity, distribution and relative abundance of cell types.

17 Mar 2020

'Natural killer' cells could help stop progression of Parkinson's disease

Researchers at the University of Georgia's Regenerative Bioscience Center and their colleagues have found that "natural killer" white blood cells could guard against the cascade of cellular changes that lead to Parkinson's disease and help stop its progression.

16 Mar 2020

Technology effectively detects harsh side effect of breast cancer treatment

Some 20 percent of breast cancer survivors will suffer from lymphedema, a potentially severe side effect of treatment that makes arms swell with lymph. The disease is often overlooked, but commercially available app-based technology now makes early detection easier, allowing for proactive treatment.

16 Mar 2020

Scientists discover link between Parkinson's and gene targeted by blue-green algae toxin

Scientists have discovered a possible link between Parkinson's disease and a gene impacted by a neurotoxin found in blue-green algae.

16 Mar 2020

Blood stem cells conserve epigenetic memory of previous infections to boost immunity

These findings should have a significant impact on future vaccination strategies and pave the way for new treatments of an underperforming or over-reacting immune system. The results of this research are published in Cell Stem Cell on March 12, 2020.

13 Mar 2020

NTHU research team develops new treatment for Parkinson’s disease

Ultrasound is widely used for conducting physical examinations, and plans are underway for expanding its application to the treatment of Parkinson's disease, dementia, and diabetes.

12 Mar 2020

Protective brain-cell housekeeping mechanism may also be involved in regulating sleep

An important biological mechanism that is thought to protect brain cells from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's may also be involved in regulating sleep, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

12 Mar 2020