Parkinson's Research News

July 6, 2025

Top Headlines

Cough Medicine Turned Brain Protector? Ambroxol May Slow Parkinson’s Dementia

July 6, 2025 — Ambroxol, long used for coughs in Europe, stabilized symptoms and brain-damage markers in Parkinson’s dementia patients over 12 months, whereas placebo patients worsened. Those with high-risk genes ...

Parkinson’s Reversal? One Drug Brings Dying Brain Cells Back to Life

July 3, 2025 — Stanford researchers discovered that dialing down an overactive enzyme, LRRK2, can regrow lost cellular “antennae” in key brain cells, restoring vital dopamine communication and neuroprotective signals in a mouse model of genetic Parkinson’s. ...

Scientists Just Found a Sugar Switch That Protects Your Brain from Alzheimer's

June 30, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a surprising sugar-related mechanism inside brain cells that could transform how we fight Alzheimer’s and other dementias. It turns out neurons don’t just store sugar ...

The Gene That Hijacks Fear: How PTEN Rewires the Brain’s Anxiety Circuit

June 29, 2025 — Deleting a gene called PTEN in certain brain cells disrupts the brain’s fear circuitry and triggers anxiety-like behavior in mice — key traits seen in autism. Researchers mapped how this genetic tweak throws off the brain's delicate balance of ...

Parkinson’s May Begin Decades Earlier — and Your Immune System Might Know First

June 27, 2025 — Misbehaving T cells light up long before Parkinson’s symptoms show, zeroing in on vulnerable brain proteins. Their early surge could double as an alarm bell and a target for stop-it-early ...

The Molecule That Might Save Your Sight—and Your Heart

June 25, 2025 — Washington University researchers found that raising a molecule called ApoM helps eye cells sweep away harmful cholesterol deposits linked to age-related macular degeneration, potentially preventing vision loss, and the same trick might aid failing ...

Why Your Diet Might Be Making You Sad--Especially If You're a Man

June 7, 2025 — New research reveals a surprising downside to calorie-cutting diets: a link to higher levels of depressive symptoms, especially in men and those who are overweight. Despite popular beliefs that healthy eating boosts mental wellness, real-life ...

A Switchboard With Precision: How the Brain Licenses Movements

May 29, 2025 — Neurons deep in the brain not only help to initiate movement -- they also actively suppress it, and with astonishing precision. The findings are especially relevant for better understanding neurological disorders such as Parkinson's ...

Promising New Way to Modulate Brain Cell Activity to Potentially Treat Major Depressive Disorder in Adults

May 21, 2025 — A mechanism involving potassium channels in the brain that control brain cell activity could provide a new and fundamentally different way of treating depression symptoms in adults with major ...

Can the Brain Be Targeted to Treat Type 2 Diabetes?

May 16, 2025 — Successfully treating type 2 diabetes may involve focusing on brain neurons, rather than simply concentrating on obesity or insulin resistance, according to a new study. For several years, researchers have known that hyperactivity of a subset of ...

Mindfulness Course Effective in People With Difficult-to-Treat Depression

May 15, 2025 — Mindfulness-based therapy can offer significant relief for individuals who are still depressed after receiving treatment, according to a new clinical ...

'Sweet Spot' for Focused Ultrasound to Provide Essential Tremor Relief

May 14, 2025 — For millions of people around the world with essential tremor, everyday activities from eating and drinking to dressing and doing basic tasks can become impossible. This common neurological movement disorder causes uncontrollable shaking, most often ...

Latest Headlines

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Postpartum Depression and Bonding: Long-Term Effects on School-Age Children

May 14, 2025 — Postpartum maternal mental health and mother-to-infant bonding are well-established as critical factors in a child's psychosocial development. However, few studies have explored the combined impact ...

May 13, 2025 — Researchers confirm and explore the role of estrogen-related receptors in regulating energy production in muscle cells during exercise. The findings ...

Hormone Cycles Shape the Structure and Function of Key Memory Regions in the Brain

May 13, 2025 — Hormone levels fluctuate like the tides, ebbing and flowing according to carefully orchestrated cycles. These hormones not only influence the body, ...

Molecular Double Agent: Protein 'Eato' Plays Surprising Role in Protecting the Brain

May 4, 2025 — A team of researchers has made a discovery in fruit flies that could change the way we understand brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in ...

Teenage Years Crucial for Depression Intervention

May 1, 2025 — Depression in young teens could be easier to treat than in adulthood due to the symptoms being more flexible and not yet ingrained, a study ...

Can Hormone Therapy Improve Heart Health in Menopausal Women?

Apr. 22, 2025 — Oral hormone therapy may benefit heart health in menopausal women. A new analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative found that estrogen-based oral hormone therapy had a long-term beneficial ...

Father's Mental Health Can Impact Children for Years

Apr. 21, 2025 — Five-year-olds exposed to paternal depression are more likely to have behavioral issues in grade school, researchers ...

Cerebral Palsy Medications Given to Adults May Not Match Needs

Apr. 18, 2025 — Some medications are seen as a 'fix-all' solution, not addressing the root ...

Golden Eyes: How Gold Nanoparticles May One Day Help to Restore People's Vision

Apr. 16, 2025 — A team of researchers has identified a promising new approach that may one day help to restore vision in people affected by macular degeneration and ...

AI Tool to Better Assess Parkinson's Disease, Other Movement Disorders

Apr. 14, 2025 — A groundbreaking open-source computer program uses artificial intelligence to analyze videos of patients with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. The tool, called VisionMD, helps ...

Stress, Depression Factor Into Link Between Insomnia, Heavy Drinking

Apr. 14, 2025 — A new study suggests that perceived stress and depression factor into the relationship between insomnia and hazardous drinking -- perhaps not a surprise. But because the relationship between insomnia ...

How Mothers Adapt to the Metabolic Demands of Nursing

Apr. 10, 2025 — Nursing poses major metabolic demands on mothers, to which they respond by eating more and saving energy to sustain milk production. There are significant hormonal changes during lactation, but how ...

Brain's Own Repair Mechanism: New Neurons May Reverse Damage in Huntington's Disease

Apr. 7, 2025 — New research shows that the adult brain can generate new neurons that integrate into key motor circuits, findings that may point to a new way to treat neurogenerative ...

Molecules That Fight Infection Also Act on the Brain, Inducing Anxiety or Sociability

Apr. 7, 2025 — Scientists find the protein IL-17 that fights infection also acts on the brain, inducing anxiety or sociability. This adds to evidence that immune molecules can influence behavior during ...

Thirst and Hunger Neurons

Apr. 3, 2025 — New research shines light on how the brain interprets nutritional and hydration needs and turns them into ...

Neurons in Brain That Regulate Energy Levels and Body Temperature

Mar. 26, 2025 — Scientists have gained greater clarity in the brain regions and neurons that control metabolism, body temperature and energy use. A team of researchers discovered which chemicals influence the ...

Postpartum Female Preference for Cooler Temperatures Linked to Brain Changes

Mar. 25, 2025 — Mothers experience major metabolic adaptations during pregnancy and lactation to support the development and growth of the new life. Although many metabolic changes have been studied, body ...

Biological Pathway in the Brain Could Help Explain Why Teenage Girls Are More Depressed Than Boys

Mar. 25, 2025 — Research has shown that a biological brain mechanism called the 'kynurenine pathway' is imbalanced in adolescents with depression, and this imbalance is more pronounced in teenage girls ...

Nearly Half of Depression Diagnoses Could Be Considered Treatment-Resistant

Mar. 21, 2025 — Almost half of patients diagnosed with depression classify as being 'treatment-resistant' as new research suggests that many don't respond to multiple antidepressant ...

Maternal Depression Can Lead to Children's Emotional Overeating, Study Shows

Mar. 17, 2025 — Up to 25% of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, which can significantly impact their parenting behavior and the wellbeing of their children. A new study looks at long-term effects of ...

New Members of the CDKL Family of Genes Linked to Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Mar. 14, 2025 — Researchers have deepened our understanding of two of the five members of the CDKL family of genes, CDKL2 and CDKL1. They show that variants in these genes can lead to neurodevelopmental conditions, ...

Engineers Turn Skin Cells Directly Into Neurons for Cell Therapy

Mar. 13, 2025 — Researchers devised a process to convert a skin cell directly into a neuron, eliminating the need to generate induced pluripotent stem cells. Such neurons could be used to treat spinal cord injuries ...

Worldwide Study Finds High Rates of Depression and Anxiety in People With Chronic Pain

Mar. 10, 2025 — A novel analysis of more than 375 published studies concluded that the association between chronic pain and rates of depression and anxiety is staggering. The study found that 40% of adults with ...

Artificial Muscles for Tremor Suppression

Mar. 6, 2025 — Scientists have developed a biorobotic arm that can mirror human tremors, such as those experienced by individuals that live with Parkinson's disease. Artificial muscles on either side of the ...

Early Study Shows Promise for Retinal-Surgery Robot

Feb. 20, 2025 — A robotic device allows eye surgeons to perform high-precision procedures on the retina, the fragile lining on the back of the eye that is less than a millimeter ...

Worm Study Shows Hyperactivated Neurons Cause Aging-Related Behavioral Decline

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers found that excessively activated neurons over time, rather than decreased neuronal activity, cause aging-related decline in brain function in ...

Mystery Solved: New Study Reveals How DNA Repair Genes Play a Major Role in Huntington's Disease

Feb. 11, 2025 — A new study has discovered in mouse models that genes associated with repairing mismatched DNA are critical in eliciting damages to neurons that are most vulnerable in Huntington's disease and ...

Breast Cancers Broadly Defined by Their Genome Architecture

Feb. 10, 2025 — Breast cancers at all stages are defined by the structure of their genomes, researchers find. Targeting these processes early is likely to offer unexpected therapeutic ...

Carbohydrate Cravings in Depression

Feb. 5, 2025 — Depression affects 280 million people worldwide. The mental illness has been proven to lead to changes in eating behavior. Researchers have discovered that although patients with depression generally ...

Spinal Cord Stimulation Restores Neural Function, Targets Key Feature of Progressive Neurodegenerative Disease

Feb. 5, 2025 — Boosting communication between the spinal nerves and the muscles using the spinal cord stimulation reverses spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) progression and could be applied to other motoneuron diseases, ...