Sep 24, 2026
by Chris Casey, CU Anschutz Medical Campus
edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Andrew Zinin
A woman began walking with a more fluid gait, while another patient could suddenly eat using utensils. Both patients, in advanced stages of Parkinson's disease, experienced immediate relief from severe tremor on one side of their body.
The technology behind these dramatic patient outcomes is a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure that targets two tracts of the brain only a few millimeters—6 to 9, to be precise—apart.
The two recent treatments were performed by the Advanced Therapies in Movement Disorders (ATMD) Program at CU Anschutz. They were the first dual-target procedures using HIFU in the Rocky Mountain region.
Immediate symptom relief
The team leading the procedure included Drew Kern, MD, MS, associate professor of neurology, and Daniel Kramer, MD, associate professor of neurosurgery, both at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine. While the treatments provided immediate relief of motor symptoms for the two patients, further study is needed to determine HIFU's durability, potential cognitive effects and the merits of a bilateral treatment approach.
"We did it one week, and it worked great," Kern said of the dual-target procedure performed on the woman. "Then we thought about it for another patient—a man who had dementia. And sure enough, afterward he had zero rigidity and very little slowness of movement, plus no tremor. His wife said that was the best night of sleep they've had in years because he wasn't having a tremor. And, for the first time, he actually ate breakfast without any difficulty."
Dyskinesia, or involuntary movement, and bradykinesia, or slowness of movement, are among the motor complications affecting people with advanced Parkinson's disease. More than 1.2 million Americans have Parkinson's, a progressive neurological disorder with no cure.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS), in which surgeons implant electrodes in a targeted area of the brain, has been used to treat motor problems caused by Parkinson's disease for decades. In recent years, another therapeutic option, incisionless HIFU, has become available for patients with advanced Parkinson's who haven't found symptom relief from medications and aren't candidates for DBS due to infection risk and other reasons.
Sep 23, 2026
PRISMS is enrolling adults with REM sleep behavior disorder in US and Canada
Written by Andrea Lobo | Sept. 18, 2026
- PRISMS is testing whether targeting early inflammation can prevent or slow Parkinson’s before motor symptoms emerge.
- Participants are adults ages 50 to 80 with REM sleep behavior disorder and a reduced sense of smell.
- Researchers are testing adalimumab or placebo injections every two weeks for two years.
A new clinical trial led by scientists at the Yale School of Medicine is testing whether targeting inflammation in people at high risk of Parkinson’s disease can prevent or slow disease development.
In the PRISMS study (NCT06996652), which recently enrolled its first participant, researchers are testing adalimumab, an anti-inflammatory medication sold under the brand name Humira and approved for several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
RBD may offer an early window for intervention
The study is recruiting adults ages 50 to 80 with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) at several sites across the U.S. and Canada. RBD causes people to act out their dreams, sometimes violently, and can develop years before Parkinson’s disease or a related disorder.
“This is the first clinical trial of its kind to use an immunologically-based approach to try to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease,” Jesse Cedarbaum, MD, professor at Yale School of Medicine and the study’s lead investigator, said in a university news story.
Parkinson’s disease is caused by the loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger that helps control movement. These cells are primarily located in a region of the brain called the substantia nigra. As these cells are lost and dopamine signaling is disrupted, motor symptoms such as tremor, rigidity, and slowed movements can develop.
Exactly what triggers the loss of these nerve cells is not fully understood, but several processes may contribute. These include abnormal clumping of a protein called alpha-synuclein and neuroinflammation, or inflammation in the brain.
Current treatments can ease Parkinson’s symptoms, but they do not stop the disease from progressing. That has increased interest in identifying Parkinson’s-related changes earlier, before substantial nerve cell loss has occurred, and testing treatments that could change the course of the disease. RBD may offer one such opportunity for earlier intervention.
“People who come to see their doctor for the first time with RBD are at high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or a related disorder at a rate of 6% per year,” Cedarbaum said. “The transition can happen anytime over a span of 15 to 20 years.”
Sep 22, 2026
Monitoring panel recommends SER-252 trial advance to second dosing group
Written by Andrea Lobo | Sept. 21, 2026
- SER-252, a long-acting apomorphine therapy delivered via a wearable device, eased motor symptoms in some trial patients with advanced Parkinson's.
- A safety panel recommended the Phase 1b trial advance to a second dosing group.
- The trial is enrolling patients at sites in the U.S. and Australia.
A Parkinson’s disease therapy delivered through a wearable device eased motor function in some patients with advanced Parkinson’s, according to preliminary observations from an ongoing Phase 1b trial.
An independent safety monitoring committee recommended that the trial of SER-252, Serina Therapeutics’ long-acting form of apomorphine, advance to a second dosing group. The panel reviewed safety and tolerability data from the first eight patients, who received the lowest dose of the drug. This dose provided the sustained exposure to apomorphine that the treatment aims to deliver.
“These initial observations strengthen our confidence in SER-252 and are consistent with the profile the program was designed to achieve,” Steve Ledger, Serina’s CEO, said in a company press release.
The Phase 1b trial (NCT07422675) is still enrolling patients at sites in the U.S. and Australia. The company expects to report top-line data in the first half of 2027.
Parkinson’s disease develops as dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells that produce dopamine, gradually die. Dopamine is important for controlling movement, and its loss contributes to motor symptoms such as tremor, stiffness, and slowed movement.
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Sep 21, 2026
September 30, 2022 | Susan McDonald This story was medically reviewed by: Jeffrey Lahrmann, MD
Tremors and jerking movement make people think of Parkinson’s disease, but a Hartford HealthCare movement disorders neurologist said it can easily be a sign of dystonia as well.
Dystonia, which is actually a symptom of Parkinson’s disease, is characterized by sustained or involuntary muscle contractions that result in abnormal movements or postures, explained Jeffrey Lahrmann, MD, with the Ayer Neuroscience Institute Chase Family Movement Disorders Center.
“These contractions are commonly associated with either initiating or continuing on with voluntary movements,” he said.
Commonly misdiagnosed
Symptoms of dystonia regularly lead healthcare providers to the wrong conclusion. Those symptoms can be:
- Twisting movement
- Tremors
- Pain in the affected area
“These can cause misdiagnosis as bone and joint disease, essential tremor or other neurologic conditions,” Dr. Lahrmann said. “It’s important to seek a diagnosis by a movement disorders specialist, who conducts a detailed personal history and specialized physical exam.”
Sep 18, 2026
- Smoking history and exhaled carbon monoxide levels are both associated with a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
- In a new study, researchers set out to better understand this link. They found that participants who had not smoked but had high exhaled carbon monoxide levels also had lower risk of Parkinson’s disease.
- Having higher exhaled carbon monoxide levels was not linked to a lower risk of other neurodegenerative diseases.
A new study may have shed some light on the peculiar association between smoking and a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
The study, published in JAMA Neurology, reports that exposure to carbon monoxide may contribute to this link.
Parkinson’s disease is a brain condition that is growing increasingly common. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that its prevalence has doubled in the past 25 years.
The disease causes damage to nerve cells in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra, resulting in symptoms such as tremors and coordination problems. Some people with Parkinson’s go on to develop dementia over time.
Experts are unsure what causes Parkinson’s at present, but believe that genetic changes or environmental exposures may play a role.
Previous population studies have noticed a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease among people who smoke.
While studies in rodent models led researchers to suggest that nicotine might have some kind of protective effect, a recent randomized clinical trial found that nicotine therapy provided no benefit to people with Parkinson’s. In fact, the trial suggested the nicotine may have even made their symptoms worse.
Other studies in cells and animals have suggested that carbon monoxide, another by-product of smoking, might also play a protective role.
As a result, an international team of researchers set out to see how carbon monoxide exposure might relate to the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers examined data from 512,701 participants in the China Kadoorie Biobank, a cohort coming from 10 different urban and rural areas within China. The participants had a mean average of 52 years at the beginning of the study.
Participants provided information about their smoking history along with other aspects of their lifestyle and medical history via questionnaires. Clinicians also measured the amount of carbon monoxide they exhaled.
The researchers examined the health outcomes of the participants over a follow-up period of 12 years. During this time, they noted a total of 1,131 people developing Parkinson’s disease and 2,949 developing other forms of neurodegenerative disease.
They then looked to see if there were any patterns between these health outcomes, smoking histories, and measurements of exhaled carbon monoxide taken at the beginning of the study period.
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