Thursday, April 11, 2024

Ozempic-like drug slowed progression of Parkinson's disease in new trial

A promising new trial found that an Ozempic-like drug used to treat diabetes might also help patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Lixisenatide — a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist like Ozempic and Wegovy — previously showed neuroprotective properties in a mouse model of the degenerative brain condition, according to the results of the phase-two, placebo-controlled human trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

In this latest study, the drug, manufactured by Sanofi, helped slow the progression of motor disability after 12 months in people in an early stage of PD. Motor disability includes symptoms such as tremors, rigid muscles, slowed movement known as bradykinesia, impaired posture and balance, and speech changes. Click here to learn more. 

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for essential tremor and Parkinson's disease

In a new review published in the journal Meta-Radiology, a team of researchers from the People's Liberation Army General Hospital and Medical School in China summarized the clinical trials of high-intensity focused ultrasound in the treatment of intracranial diseases. “According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria for initial literature screening,” reported corresponding author Xin Lou, “we identified several current intracranial applications of magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MRgFUS), [including] essential tremor and Parkinson's disease. We found that MRgFUS has emerged as a novel therapeutic approach in functional neurosurgery.” Click here to learn more.

Microfluidic chips advance Parkinson's, Huntington's disease research

A review article published in the journal Nature Communications provides a detailed overview of recent developments in microfluidic chip models for neurodegenerative diseases. Microfluidic chips can be used for replicating several anatomical and physiological systems, including the neuromuscular junction, corticostriatal pathway, substantia nigra, blood-brain barrier, glymphatic system, neurovascular unit, and gut-brain axis.

Early pathologies of Parkinson’s disease have been studied by forming synaptic connections between cortical axons and striatal dendrites through microchannels of different lengths and a separate synaptic channel. Corticostriatal on-a-chip also has been developed to study how mutant huntingtin protein reduces the cortical axonal transport of brain-derived neurotrophic factors to trigger striatal neuron degeneration. Click here to learn more. 

Antipsychotic cariprazine may ease Huntington’s motor symptoms

Cariprazine, an oral medication approved for schizophrenia, may ease some motor symptoms people with Huntington’s disease (HD) experience across different stages of the condition, according to a study published in the Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases.

How cariprazine works in Huntington’s still isn’t clear, but researchers think it may balance out dopamine levels when they’re too high, as in the early stages of the disease, or too low, like in the later stages. “Our findings indicate that cariprazine is a promising medication that has the potential to alleviate both motor and nonmotor symptoms of HD while being well-tolerated by patients,” wrote researchers. Click here to learn more. 

Stool transplant shows promise for improving symptoms of Parkinson's disease

A groundbreaking clinical study conducted by researchers at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium has shown the potential of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to improve symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, the research provides promising evidence that FMT could be a valuable new treatment for PD.

The team wanted to investigate whether an FMT with ​healthy gut bacteria could have a significant impact on the evolution of PD symptoms over a year. “Our results are really encouraging!” said Prof. Arnout Bruggeman, the study’s first author. “After 12 [months], participants who received the healthy donor stool transplant showed a significant improvement in their motor score, the most important measure for Parkinson's symptoms.” Click here to learn more.