Clinical Trials
Adaptive DBS reduced falls in pilot
A blinded randomized crossover trial tested gait-synchronized adaptive deep brain stimulation in five people with Parkinson's disease. The system adjusted stimulation during walking, was feasible and safe, and reduced falls compared with continuous stimulation, but the sample was very small and larger trials are needed. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govLarge prasinezumab trial is recruiting
ClinicalTrials.gov lists PARAISO, a phase 3 randomized trial testing intravenous prasinezumab against placebo in 900 people with early Parkinson's disease. Prasinezumab targets alpha-synuclein, a protein that forms harmful clumps in Parkinson's, but this recruiting record reports no efficacy results yet. *
clinicaltrials.govDapansutrile inflammation trial is recruiting
A phase 2 Cambridge trial is recruiting 36 people with Parkinson's disease to test dapansutrile, an oral medicine aimed at calming the NLRP3 inflammasome, a driver of inflammation. The study is randomized and placebo-controlled, so it may help clarify whether reducing inflammation changes symptoms or progression, but results are not available yet. *
clinicaltrials.gov
Breakthrough Treatments
Dual-gene therapy cleared safety milestone
A multicenter phase 1 trial delivered BBM-P002, an AAV gene therapy carrying two dopamine-making enzymes, into the putamen of 10 people with moderate-to-advanced Parkinson's disease. The treatment met its 12-month safety and tolerability goal with no dose-limiting toxicities or drug-related serious adverse events, but the open-label study was too small to prove clinical benefit. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govTavapadon improved daily symptom control
In the phase 3 TEMPO-3 trial, once-daily tavapadon added to levodopa improved daily good on-time by 1.10 hours and reduced off-time by 0.94 hours compared with placebo. Most side effects were mild to moderate, but nausea, dyskinesia, and dizziness were more common, and tavapadon remains investigational pending regulatory review. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Lifestyle Interventions
Cycling boosted daily activity
A secondary analysis of the CYCLE-II randomized trial found that a 12-month home stationary-cycling program increased overall daily activity in people with Parkinson's disease. Participants assigned to aerobic exercise averaged about 19% more activity, roughly 1,000 extra steps per day, than usual care, although both groups still declined gradually over the year. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govBaduanjin outperformed brisk walking
A 12-week randomized trial compared Baduanjin, a slow mind-body exercise, with brisk walking in 32 people with early-to-mid-stage Parkinson's disease. Baduanjin produced greater gains in motor scores and some gait measures, with signals for anxiety and cognition, but the study was small and balance outcomes were not consistently better than walking. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govLight therapy aided sleep symptoms
A crossover pilot trial tested one month of bright versus dim light therapy in 33 people with Parkinson's disease. Both approaches improved subjective sleep quality; bright light helped daytime sleepiness more, while dim light helped anxiety more, but objective sleep and EEG measures did not clearly favor one intensity. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Emerging Research
Skin biopsy detects synuclein
A multisite study tested small skin biopsies analyzed with alpha-synuclein seed amplification assays across independent laboratories. The test showed moderate sensitivity and variable specificity for Lewy body disease, including Parkinson's disease, suggesting possible value for trials or progression tracking but not as a stand-alone diagnostic test. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAcetylation dampens synuclein spread
Researchers studied N-terminal acetylation, a natural chemical modification of alpha-synuclein, in Parkinson's disease models. Acetylated alpha-synuclein formed fewer harmful aggregates and seeded fewer pathological inclusions in cell and mouse models, pointing to a protective mechanism that remains preclinical. *
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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