TL;DR: In a small Spanish trial, people with early Parkinson’s who did 12 weeks of strength training, with or without added thinking tasks, got faster on a walking test and stronger on a chair-stand test than people who did not exercise. Adding the thinking tasks gave no clear extra benefit. Key Findings 24 people, 3 …
TL;DR: An iPad app that tracks 52 facial movements told apart people with Parkinson’s from people without it about 4 times in 5 in a 70-person study. Lopsided expressions mattered as much as smaller ones. Key Findings 34 people with Parkinson’s, 36 without: Each made 53 cued faces in front of an iPad. Best model …
TL;DR: In female mice without ovaries, a model of menopause, the osteoporosis drug raloxifene and the hormone progesterone each protected brain dopamine from a toxin that mimics Parkinson’s. Giving both together worked no better than either alone. Key Findings Toxin cut dopamine by 57%: In the movement-control area of untreated mice. Each drug prevented the …
TL;DR: In 86 people from one hospital in China, those with Parkinson’s and mild thinking problems showed changes in how water moves through parts of the hippocampus, a memory center. The hippocampus was not measurably smaller, suggesting a diffusion scan may pick up changes that size alone misses. Key Findings No size difference: None of …
TL;DR: During Parkinson’s surgery, 19 people played a game where they accepted or rejected money splits. Dopamine-like neurons deep in their brains fired more when an offer beat what the person expected, and this signal was stronger when the offer seemed to come from a person rather than a computer. Key Findings Better or worse …
TL;DR: A single long-read DNA test covering 564 genes found 17 of 20 known disease-causing changes in 18 people with Parkinson’s or inherited repeat disorders. It missed three large or repetitive changes, so it needs more work before it could replace several separate tests. Key Findings 17 of 20 found (85%): In people whose genetic …
TL;DR: Ambroxol, an old cough medicine, can boost a key brain enzyme in lab studies, but a review of 20 clinical reports found no proven benefit in Gaucher disease or GBA1-linked Parkinson’s. In a randomized trial of people with GBA1-linked Parkinson’s, ambroxol did not improve thinking-test scores over 1 year; scores slightly favored placebo. Key …
TL;DR: Across 12 small trials, people with Parkinson’s who trained on walking robots scored a bit better on balance and a timed walking test than people who got other therapy. The evidence is low quality, so the true benefit may be smaller. Key Findings 12 randomized trials: Mostly from China and Italy, mostly mild to …
TL;DR: Pooling 20 small trials in Parkinson’s disease, structured exercise improved movement-exam scores, freezing while walking and one balance test compared with usual care. The strongest evidence was for the movement exam, and no one type of exercise stood out. Key Findings 20 trials, 714 people: Tai chi, dance, treadmill, yoga, strength, water exercise and …
TL;DR: Among 183 people with Parkinson’s in Finland, daytime sleepiness, napping, restless legs, sleep talking and nightmares all became more common over five years. Insomnia stayed about the same. Key Findings Daytime sleepiness: 31% to 39%. Daily naps: 21% to 32%. Sleep talking at least weekly: 17% to 30%. Restless legs and nightmares also rose. …
