The Science of Parkinson's

α-syn status (CSF seeding amp. assay) was assessed in 269 clinically unimpaired individuals; 9% of samples = +ve; Compared to -ve samples, +ve cases were older, showed lower synaptic integrity, & performed worse on executive function/memory tests alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/al…

Findings of a systematic review & meta-analysis (9 longitudinal cohorts; n=900; 6.4 yrs follow-up) finds that pure autonomic failure "may be a prodromal presentation of #Parkinsons, DLB, or MSA with phenoconversion incidence rates similar to those of RBD" jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

Evaluation of serum samples from 40 #Parkinsons patients finds GDF-15 levels are linked to both motor & non-motor aspects, & may reflect overall disease burden; Larger, longitudinal studies are needed to validate onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/pa…

New viewpoint: Rethinking mitochondrial #Parkinsons in the α-Syn Seed Amplification assays era; "We propose MitoPD as an etiological-biological-pathological-clinical subtype of PD"; "a multi-layered biomarker roadmap intended to guide empirical validation" …mentdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/md…

The immune system in centenarians is remarkably youthful, far less prone to inflammaging @NatRevImmunol nature.com/articles/s4157…

Stem cells and Parkinson’s: hope, hype, and hard truths. Stem cells are special cells that can develop into many different cell types, including dopamine producing brain cells. Stamper, Bulstrode and Barker describe in a new paper in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease how stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease have evolved, and where science meets misconception. Key points: - Dopamine cell therapy aims to replace lost dopamine-producing neurons, however it is not a cure because it does not stop the underlying disease process. - Early and current clinical trials show modest and variable benefits, w/ ongoing challenges in cell survival, delivery and integration into brain circuits. - Safety signals so far are encouraging, however long term risks, optimal patient selection and dosing strategies remain to be fully defined. My take: This is a thoughtful and grounded review. I had the honor of interviewing Roger Barker for our book the Parkinson's Plan. Stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease is real science, not science fiction, however it is also not ready to meet the expectations that frequently circulate online. Progress is steady, and the field is learning from each step forward and each misstep. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me: 1- Stem cell therapies are designed to repair dopamine systems, not to cure Parkinson’s disease. 2- Results so far show signals of benefit, however they are inconsistent and not yet transformative. 3- Safety appears reassuring in early trials, however long term follow up is essential before broad adoption. 4- Not every patient will be an ideal candidate, and timing of therapy will likely matter. 5- The future may depend on improving delivery, survival of transplanted cells and integrating therapies w/ precision medicine approaches. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11… #parkinson @ParkinsonDotOrg @journal_PD

Missed our Spring Research Update Meeting? You can now catch up with the recordings online. The event featured talks on carnosic acid in models of Parkinson's and discussions on the phase 2 trials of azathioprine and dapansutrile. Watch now: buff.ly/nlcckC6

133 isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) patients & 101 non-RBD cases were followed for a mean of 6.9  yrs; Motor & global cog. functions exhibited nonlinear progression in iRBD, with marked acceleration before parkinsonism or dementia diagnosis …mentdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/md…

@ADssx Wow, how did you spot that? Interesting read - "Doctored": amazon.co.uk/Doctored-Fraud…

@ScienceofPD #NoComment

Researchers report that the KL-VS genetic variant of KLOTHO, linked to⬆️circulating klotho levels, associated with better executive cognition in individuals with #Parkinson across 2 independ. cohorts; Transgenic elevation of klotho in mouse PD model⬇️α-syn jneurosci.org/content/early/…

Researchers present the Generalizable Protein-based Neurodegenerative disease artificial intelligence (GPND-AI) classifier using the NUcleic acid-Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay (NULISA) central nervous system (CNS) panel (GPND-AI NULISA) alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/al…

New analysis of 3 cell transplantation trials "that mark a signif. leap forward for #Parkinsons therapy"; "The path forward requires larger, blinded trials, protocol optimization, & long-term monitoring"; “How can we make this better & available for all?” link.springer.com/article/10.118…

Remember GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonists? Yeah me, too. And then there were the triple agonists? Mmm, I remember them as well Well, now we have quintuple agonists (GLP-1R–GIPR–PPARα/γ/δ) nature.com/articles/s4158…

New paper from @SoaniaMathur & colleagues discusses their approach to initiating a collaboration between industry & the #Parkinsons community that explores the needs of people with early-stage PD & their care partners link.springer.com/article/10.100…

The trial protocol for the Syn-Q study has been published. Quantifying cutaneous phosphorylated alpha-synuclein across a range of #Parkinsons severity & in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder, & measure changes in phosphorylated alpha-synuclein over time frontiersin.org/journals/neuro…

“To Bean or Not to Bean” - interesting piece on the use of Mucuna pruriens in #Parkinsons management "Despite its natural origin, MP is a potent dopaminergic therapy requiring the same caution as commercially available levodopa-based medications" journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/18…

New review explores new insights into PINK1/parkin-associated autophagy implicated in #Parkinsons; "The complexity is astounding as we continue to learn more about the many players involved" degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/1…

Analysis of tissue-specific mitochondrial RNA processing of 377k @uk_biobank cases finds "signif. associations between predicted mtDNA transcript abundance & multiple common diseases & quantitative traits"; #Parkinsons associations involve Complex I genes nature.com/articles/s4146…

Here is the previous prebiotic study: nature.com/articles/s4146…

Analysis of plasma extracellular vesicles from participants of a prebiotic intervention study finds that EV proteomic profiles differs btwn #Parkinsons & controls (plus btwn unmedicated & medicated PD; Prebiotic shifted EV proteomic profiles to control nature.com/articles/s4159…

Researchers report impaired sleep microarchitecture is associated with locus coeruleus degeneration in #Parkinsons; Disrupted sleep spindles is (but reduced slow wave sleep is not) associated to locus coeruleus degeneration prd-journal.com/article/S1353-…