Parkinson's Disease News and Research

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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.

Scientists Synthesize Rare Sea Sponge Molecules to Boost Future Cancer Drug Development

Florida State University chemists have synthesized new molecules derived from bacteria found in a Pacific Ocean sea sponge, a breakthrough for the future of drug development, particularly for rare forms of cancer.

21 May 2026

Study Reveals How Neurons Sense Bacterial Signals in Nematodes

Neural interaction with bacteria, e.g. in the gut microbiome, has important effects on brains of animals from worms to people.

21 Apr 2026

Janelia Scientists Develop New Method To Study Blood-Brain Barrier Proteins

Think it was hard to get into Studio 54? Try getting through the blood-brain barrier.

10 Apr 2026

New PanNDA Atlas Maps Protein Networks in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases form a tangled biological web with overlapping molecular signatures and symptoms. To decode this complexity, a multi-institute collaboration led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists developed the pan-neurodegeneration atlas (PanNDA).

24 Mar 2026

ANKIB1 Identified as the Essential Master Switch for Innate Immunity

Innate immune sensors – known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) – detect specific molecular components of bacterial or viral intruders.

9 Mar 2026

Genetically Engineered Stem Cells Successfully Overcome Immune Rejection in Mice

A study published today in Stem Cell Reports demonstrates that genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can overcome immune rejection in mice with humanized immune systems, surviving for five months in a stringent transplantation model.

6 Mar 2026

Human 3D Model Shows How the Gut Drives Neurodegeneration

Research on a 3D microfluidic model highlights gut-brain interactions, offering new insights into inflammatory processes linked to neurodegenerative diseases.

18 Feb 2026

Fly Pigmentation Study Uncovers Genes Influencing Dopamine, Sleep, and Movement

Dopamine in the brain influences movement, learning, motivation and sleep. In humans, problems with dopamine are linked to conditions like Parkinson's disease, depression and sleep disorders.

14 Jan 2026

Machine Learning Models Identify Early Metabolic Shifts

Acute systemic inflammation has long been suspected to trigger harmful processes within the brain, contributing to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. A new study published online in the Journal of Proteome Research on November 30, 2025, led by Professor Kei Zaitsu from the Faculty of Biology-Oriented Science and Technology, Kindai University, Japan, now provides compelling evidence that such inflammation causes region-specific metabolic disruption, identifying biochemical pathways that fail during the early stages of neuroinflammation.

22 Dec 2025

Syntax Bio Develops CRISPR Technology to Program Stem Cell Gene Activity

Syntax Bio, a synthetic biology company programming the next generation of cell therapies, today announced the publication of new research in Science Advances detailing the company's CRISPR-based Cellgorithm™ technology, which lays the groundwork for programmable control of gene activity in human stem cells and offers an alternative to the slow, variable manual processes researchers use today.

8 Dec 2025

UBQLN2 Liquid Droplets Found to Catalyze Early α-Synuclein Aggregation

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The hallmark of PD pathogenesis is the Lewy bodies (LBs) that accumulate in neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain, damaging these neurons and leading to the motor symptoms of the disease. α-synuclein (α-syn), a misfolded protein, aggregates and forms fibrils, which leads to the formation of LBs.

27 Nov 2025

New Technique Reveals Synaptic Vesicle Dynamics in Living Brain Tissue

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have used a "zap-and-freeze" technology to watch hard-to-see brain cell communications in living brain tissue from mice and humans.

25 Nov 2025

Targeted Genetic Testing Revolutionizes Diagnosis of X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism

Scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School have developed a targeted genetic test to improve diagnosis for X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP), a rare and disabling movement disorder that affects primarily men of Filipino ancestry.

17 Nov 2025

Scientists Uncover How "P Bodies" Guide Stem Cells to Their Destinies

How do stem cells know what to become? Nearly three decades after scientists isolated the first human embryonic stem cells, researchers are still working hard to understand precisely how a single, undifferentiated cell can become any one of the roughly 200 cell types that make up the human body.

4 Nov 2025

How GBA Mutations Drive Cognitive Decline in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease causes both movement and cognitive deficits, and for a long time both were thought to be caused by the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain.

3 Oct 2025

Cryo-EM Study Uncovers Hidden Steps in NMDA Receptor Activation

When it comes to brain proteins, small changes can make a dramatic difference. Researchers studying NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors, which are essential for learning, memory and moment-by-moment consciousness, know that even slight changes in their activity level can mean the difference between normal function and serious neurological disorders.

25 Sep 2025

Study Uncovers Connection Between Neuronal Overactivation and Parkinson’s Disease

Certain brain cells are responsible for coordinating smooth, controlled movements of the body. But when those cells are constantly overactivated for weeks on end, they degenerate and ultimately die.

28 Aug 2025

Exploring the Regulatory Potential of "Junk DNA"

The non-coding genome, once referred to as "junk DNA," is now understood to be a fundamental regulator of gene expression and a key factor in understanding complex diseases.

25 Aug 2025

Discovery of New Mitophagy Trigger Offers Hope for Parkinson’s Disease

Autophagy is essentially the 'rubbish collection' of our cells. If there are problems in this process, which is so important for our health, diseases such as Parkinson's can result. In their latest study, leading cell biologists at the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna investigated mitophagy – a form of autophagy – and came to a remarkable conclusion: the researchers have described a new trigger for mitophagy.

29 Jul 2025

Parse Biosciences GigaLab to Support Mount Sinai Researchers in Generating One of the Largest Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Single Cell Datasets

Parse Biosciences today announced their commitment to support researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in generating one of the largest single cell datasets focused on understanding alternative splicing events in the cells of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients.

From Parse Biosciences 26 Jun 2025