Sep 11, 2026
Study ties score derived from gene activity to cognitive changes, gait freezing
Written by Steve Bryson, PhD | Sept. 1, 2026
- Blood gene activity scores can effectively predict Parkinson’s complications like cognitive impairment and gait freezing, a study showed.
- Scores derived from inflammatory blood gene signatures independently correlated with risk of developing cognitive and movement issues.
- While these blood biomarkers show strong predictive value for long-term outcomes, external validation is needed.
A score derived from gene activity measured in blood samples can predict a higher risk of developing cognitive impairment and gait freezing in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a study.
The findings demonstrate that gene activity signatures in blood capture aspects of Parkinson’s biology that are not fully explained by neurodegeneration, and may serve as potential biomarkers for cognitive impairment and freezing of gait (a brief, sudden inability to move), the researchers said.
The study, “Peripheral blood transcriptomic signature is associated with cognitive impairment and freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: a data-driven approach,” was published in npj Parkinson’s Disease.
Parkinson’s is marked by motor symptoms such as bradykinesia (slowed movement), rigidity, and tremor, along with a range of nonmotor symptoms. The disease varies considerably among patients, and its underlying biology involves several overlapping processes, including clumps of proteins called Lewy bodies, impaired cellular waste clearance, and inflammation.
Because of this complexity, scientists have struggled to identify reliable blood-based biomarkers for diagnosing Parkinson’s and for subtyping or predicting its course.
Sep 10, 2026
Cell study links abnormal LRRK2 activity to oxidative stress and ferroptosis
Written by Andrea Lobo | Sept. 4, 2026
- Parkinson’s-linked LRRK2 mutations were associated with abnormal iron buildup in neurons and astrocytes in laboratory cell models.
- The mutations were also linked to oxidative stress and lipid damage associated with ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death.
- Experimental LRRK2 inhibition reduced excess iron and lipid peroxidation in the cell models, pointing to iron regulation as a potential therapeutic target.
Disease-causing mutations in the LRRK2 gene may disrupt iron regulation and promote cell damage, potentially contributing to the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells in Parkinson’s disease, a study found.
The findings suggest that abnormal LRRK2 protein activity may contribute to iron accumulation inside cells and promote oxidative stress and processes linked to ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death.
“What we discovered is that mutations in the LRRK2 gene directly change the way cells handle iron,” Matthew J. LaVoie, PhD, director of the University of Florida’s Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease and one of the researchers who led the study, said in a press release.
LRRK2 mutations may link Parkinson’s to abnormal iron buildup
The study, “Parkinson’s disease LRRK2 mutations dysregulate iron homeostasis and promote oxidative stress and ferroptosis in human neurons and astrocytes,” was published in Molecular Neurodegeneration.
Parkinson’s disease is caused by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, nerve cells that produce dopamine, a signaling molecule involved in motor control. These neurons are primarily found in a brain region called the substantia nigra.
Iron accumulation is thought to contribute to neuronal damage by promoting oxidative stress, an imbalance between harmful free radicals and the body’s antioxidant defenses, and ferroptosis. Mutations in LRRK2, among the most common genetic causes of Parkinson’s, have previously been linked to higher levels of iron in the substantia nigra.
However, how LRRK2 mutations affect iron regulation in human neurons and astrocytes, nerve-supporting cells that help regulate iron availability, and whether this contributes to neuronal damage, remain poorly understood.
“For the longest time, we’ve seen a correlation in living patients between iron deposition in affected regions of the brain and Parkinson’s disease, but we couldn’t understand it,” said study author Adam Mamais, PhD, a research assistant professor of neurology.
To investigate these questions, researchers used both patient-derived and gene-edited human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models carrying disease-causing LRRK2 mutations, including G2019S, R1441C, R1441G, and Y1699C, to study their effects on iron regulation. iPSCs are made by reprogramming adult cells into a stem cell-like state, after which they can be guided to develop into different cell types.
Sep 8, 2026
Web-based study tracks motor and memory tasks from home devices
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Sept. 2, 2026
- Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder causing motor and nonmotor symptoms.
- Traditional in-person clinical evaluations present challenges, prompting the need for remote assessment solutions.
- Scientists have compiled a large data set to train and test AI for objective, remote Parkinson's diagnosis.
A team of U.S. scientists has compiled a large data set of remotely collected data from people with and without Parkinson’s disease, which the scientists hope will serve as an important tool for developing strategies to diagnose the disorder remotely using artificial intelligence (AI).
“By pairing task-derived behavioral features with device type and handedness metadata, this dataset provides a benchmark resource for evaluating AI robustness, subgroup performance, and generalizability in remote [Parkinson’s disease] assessment,” the scientists wrote in “RobustPDx: A Structured Web-Based Parkinson’s Assessment Dataset and Benchmark for AI Robustness to Device Type and Handedness,” which was published in Scientific Data.
In-person assessment poses logistical hurdles
Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder that causes motor symptoms such as slowness and tremor, as well as nonmotor symptoms that can range from memory problems to digestive complaints.
Assessments conducted by a clinical expert are currently the gold standard for diagnosing Parkinson’s and tracking the disease’s severity. But conducting an in-person assessment poses notable logistical hurdles, especially for people who don’t live near specialty centers, and the reliance on a human evaluator makes the assessments inherently subjective.
As it’s become more common for people to have computers and smart devices at home, scientists are increasingly exploring whether these devices could be used to monitor Parkinson’s remotely, offering greater convenience and objectivity.
AI is a broad field of computational analysis that uses large amounts of data and advanced algorithms to identify patterns. For AI tools to be effective, they need to be trained and tested on large, well-defined data sets.
Sep 7, 2026
Clinical assessments beat brain scans for forecasting long-term trajectory
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Aug. 25, 2026
- Brain imaging data do not improve computer models used to predict long-term Parkinson’s disease progression.
- Incorporating MRI scans and machine learning models sometimes reduced the accuracy of motor symptom predictions.
- A small set of baseline clinical assessments remains the most effective way to forecast long-term cognitive and motor trajectories.
Brain imaging data are not very useful for computer models predicting the long-term trajectory of Parkinson’s disease, a study showed.
Researchers found that computer models aimed at predicting Parkinson’s progression were not meaningfully better when imaging data were included. In fact, some models became less accurate when imaging data were added.
The findings suggest that the best way to predict long-term Parkinson’s trajectories is with a small set of clinical assessments, the researchers said.
The study, “Baseline clinical features outperform structural MRI in predicting rapid cognitive and motor decline in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in npj Parkinson’s Disease.
Parkinson’s is a neurological disease that causes both motor and nonmotor symptoms. The disease is progressive, meaning these symptoms tend to worsen over time. But Parkinson’s doesn’t progress at the same rate for everyone, and there isn’t a reliable way to predict which patients will experience faster disease progression.
Sep 4, 2026
New research links disease's digestive problems to reduced nerve cell activity
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Aug. 25, 2026
- Digestive problems in Parkinson's are linked to decreased nerve cell activity in the brain, new research in animals suggests.
- Electrified acupuncture applied at a specific point below the knee was shown to restore nerve cell activity and ease gut issues in mouse models.
- More preclinical studies are needed to move this strategy toward testing in people with Parkinson's, the researchers noted.
Digestive problems in Parkinson’s disease may be explained by the reduced activity of a specific type of nerve cells, called cholinergic neurons, in a particular brain region that helps regulate unconscious body functions, including digestion, a new study using a mouse model suggests.
The scientists say diminished activity of these neurons in that brain region, called the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, may slow the movement of food through the body, known as gut motility.
But new research in the animal models suggests that electroacupuncture — a type of acupuncture in which an electric charge is delivered through the needle — can restore the normal activity of these nerve cells and improve gut motility. In the mice, the electroacupuncture was applied at a specific point just below the knee.
“These findings highlight a circuit-specific mechanism and a promising neuromodulatory strategy for treating this debilitating gut symptom of [Parkinson’s],” the researchers wrote.
Still, more preclinical studies are needed before this treatment can be tested in people with the neurodegenerative disease, the team noted.
The study, “Impaired brain-gut circuit for gut motility dysfunction in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease,” was published in the journal Cell Reports.
In all humans, the digestive system is surrounded by muscles that help to push food through it. People with Parkinson’s, however, often experience gut dysmotility, where the movement of food through the digestive tract is slowed. This can result in problems such as constipation, which is a common nonmotor symptom of the disease.
Recent Comments