Jul 29, 2026
Study found benefits with tavapadon after 26 weeks of treatment
Written by Margarida Maia, PhD | July 22, 2026
- Tavapadon significantly eased motor symptoms and daily-function problems in people with early Parkinson’s.
- Benefits compared with a placebo were seen by week 5 and continued through the end of treatment.
- Side effects were mostly mild to moderate, and an FDA decision on tavapadon is expected later this year.
Once-daily treatment with tavapadon, an experimental oral small molecule being developed by Abbvie, outperformed a placebo at easing motor symptoms and problems with daily functioning in people with early Parkinson’s disease, while somnolence, or excessive sleepiness, and impulse control disorders occurred infrequently.
These are six-month data from TEMPO-2 (NCT04223193), a Phase 3 clinical trial that tested the safety and efficacy of tavapadon in adults with early Parkinson’s who had received little or no previous treatment for their symptoms.
“The short observation period limits conclusions about long-term tolerability,” researchers wrote. However, data from the long-term open-label extension study TEMPO-4 (NCT04760769) supported tavapadon’s longer-term safety and effectiveness in easing Parkinson’s symptoms. Most participants did not need to begin levodopa or increase their existing levodopa dose during the study.
FDA decision expected later this year
Abbvie has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval of tavapadon, with a decision expected later this year.
The data, “Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of flexible-dose tavapadon for Parkinson’s disease (TEMPO-2): a phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial,” were published in The Lancet Neurology. The study was funded by Abbvie.
Parkinson’s symptoms develop when nerve cells that produce dopamine — a brain chemical that helps control movement — gradually die. A standard treatment is oral levodopa, which the body converts into dopamine. However, its effects may become less consistent over time, and it can cause involuntary movements known as dyskinesia.
Tavapadon is a dopamine agonist designed to selectively and partially activate two dopamine receptor proteins, called D1 and D5, to mimic some of dopamine’s effects. This is expected to strengthen dopamine signaling without directly increasing dopamine levels, as levodopa does. Tavapadon may therefore ease motor symptoms with a lower risk of certain side effects associated with other dopamine agonists. As a once-daily medication, it also may make treatment schedules easier to manage.
The TEMPO-2 clinical trial involved 304 adults who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease within the previous three years. About two-thirds (66%) had been diagnosed less than a year earlier. They were randomly assigned to receive tavapadon or a placebo once daily for 27 weeks, or just over six months. Tavapadon was gradually increased to a dose of 5 mg and could then be adjusted up to 15 mg daily, based on tolerability. More than half of the participants (56%) were men.
The trial’s main goal was to compare changes in the combined Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Parts II and III score after six months of treatment with tavapadon or a placebo. Part II measures how Parkinson’s affects daily activities, while Part III assesses motor symptoms during a clinical examination. Lower scores indicate fewer or less severe problems.
Jul 28, 2026
Specialists weigh MoCA results alongside patients’ health information
Written by Michela Luciano, PhD | July 21, 2026
- Specialists assess cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s using MoCA performance patterns and patient health information
- Test results are interpreted alongside factors such as education, medications, hearing, vision and medical history.
- Researchers say this pattern-based approach could support earlier detection and more timely interventions.
Specialists evaluating cognitive impairment in people with Parkinson’s disease rely on much more than the score from a commonly used cognitive screening test. They also look for patterns in how patients performed on the test alongside their medical history and other health-related information, according to a new U.S. study.
“Extracting these patterns clinicians recognized provides deeper insights into how they interpret cognitive health creating a blueprint for future efforts to tailor the exam for detecting cognitive impairment in people with [Parkinson’s disease],” the researchers wrote.
The study, “A qualitative approach to extract diagnostic patterns of cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease,” was published in Scientific Reports.
Cognitive changes can be difficult to detect in Parkinson’s
Parkinson’s disease is best known for its motor symptoms, but many people also develop cognitive problems ranging from mild difficulties with thinking, language, and memory to dementia. Mild cognitive impairment is an intermediate stage between normal cognition and dementia, but it does not progress the same way in everyone. Some people remain stable for years, some return temporarily to normal cognition, and others eventually develop dementia.
Because cognitive impairment can be subtle and vary considerably from person to person, detecting it early remains challenging. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is one of the most widely recommended screening tests for cognitive impairment in people with Parkinson’s. The 30-point test measures skills such as memory, attention, language, and visuospatial abilities. A person’s total score is traditionally evaluated against a standard cutoff.
However, the specialists interviewed in this study described looking at patterns in a patient’s test performance alongside other health information rather than relying only on the total score to assess cognitive function.
“These health-related contextual dependencies are of particular interest, as understanding the patterns that clinicians identify as representative of [mild cognitive impairment] could lay the groundwork for developing a new method of interpreting the MoCA that improves the sensitivity and specificity for people with [Parkinson’s],” the researchers wrote.
To better understand how clinicians interpret the MoCA in real-world clinical settings, researchers reviewed medical records from nine people with Parkinson’s, including six with mild cognitive impairment and three with dementia.
For each person, the researchers compiled a patient profile containing one completed MoCA exam and one detailed neuropsychological report. The report included information about the person’s medical history, ability to perform daily activities, psychiatric symptoms, cognitive test results, and diagnosis.
Six clinicians who specialized in movement disorders each reviewed three patient profiles during individual interviews. As they assessed each person’s cognitive health, the clinicians explained how they reached their conclusions.
During one interview, findings from one patient profile were identified as more consistent with delirium than with Parkinson’s-related cognitive impairment. The researchers therefore excluded that profile from the analysis.
Jul 27, 2026
Study highlights practical challenges, ways patients protect independence
Written by Andrea Lobo | July 21, 2026
- Parkinson’s symptoms, fatigue and balance problems can make daily mouth care difficult.
- Some patients are reluctant to accept help because they view mouth care as private and closely tied to independence.
- Adaptive tools and individualized support from a multidisciplinary care team may help patients maintain their oral health.
People with Parkinson’s disease who participated in a U.K. study said maintaining their oral health helped preserve their independence and well-being, although they faced challenges performing mouth care at home.
Interviews with patients and care partners showed that Parkinson’s symptoms, including impaired hand control, fatigue, and balance issues, often made toothbrushing difficult. Despite these challenges, many patients were reluctant to accept assistance because they viewed toothbrushing as a private task, while care partners were uncertain about how and when to help.
“The findings suggest that oral health is not well integrated into the broader management of Parkinson’s” and highlight that a “proactive, multidisciplinary approach providing earlier information and tailored practical support will be beneficial in supporting [people with Parkinson’s] to maintain their oral health at home,” the researchers wrote.
Study explores mouth care at home
The study, “If you don’t sort out these problems, you end up building problems”: a qualitative study exploring mouthcare at home with people with Parkinson’s and their partners in care,” was published in Disability and Rehabilitation.
Parkinson’s disease is marked by the progressive death of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a signaling molecule involved in motor control. The resulting loss of dopamine causes many of the disease’s hallmark motor symptoms. Both motor and nonmotor symptoms may impair patients’ ability to perform mouth care. Previous studies have found that 29% to 47% of people with Parkinson’s report difficulty brushing their teeth.
To learn more about people’s experiences with mouth care at home, two researchers in the U.K. conducted a qualitative study based on interviews with 13 people with Parkinson’s, 61.5% of whom were men, and seven care partners.
Overall, researchers identified three themes: maintaining normality, familiar and unexpected problems, and negotiating help.
Participants viewed maintaining good oral health as an important part of preserving their identity, confidence, and social connections, as well as a sense of normality. Some saw healthy teeth as a visible sign of overall well-being and a way to influence how others perceived them.
“Trying to look healthy even if you’re not feeling healthy gives an impression to the outside world that you’re coping. If people see that your teeth are declining because you got Parkinson’s, that’s yet another thing that is a minus on your CV,” one participant said.
Many participants worried that the appearance of their teeth or bad breath could affect social interactions, and they saw maintaining a healthy mouth as one way to support positive connections with others. Another participant said that “smiling’s hard enough, so … on the occasions that you actually manage it, you want to flash a nice pair of gnashers, don’t you?”
Jul 24, 2026
Written by Alicia Racelis, PhD, Keri Wiginton
Medically Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD on November 06, 2025
What Is Tardive Dyskinesia?
Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is an involuntary movement condition, meaning you can't control your movements. "Tardive" means late, and "dyskinesia" means uncontrolled movements.
It's often a side effect of medication that blocks dopamine. That's a brain chemical that helps your nerves and body function.
“Tardive dyskinesia is really an umbrella term for a number of involuntary movements that affect the face, mouth, trunk, or other muscles in the body,” says Aderonke Pederson, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. “Sometimes it can be very subtle when it starts.”
Because TD can take months or even years to appear, it’s sometimes hard to diagnose. When it does, you may have stiff or jerky movements in your face or body. You might blink often, stick out your tongue, or move your arms or legs without meaning to.
TD is most often linked to certain antipsychotic or antiemetic medicines. Antipsychotics treat mental health conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Antiemetics prevent nausea and vomiting.
Not everyone who takes these medications will get tardive dyskinesia. But if it happens, TD can sometimes last even after stopping the drug. That’s why it’s important to tell your doctor right away if you notice new or uncontrollable movements after starting a drug or changing the dose.
Your doctor can help find out what’s causing the movements and adjust your treatment safely. They may lower your dose, switch you to another medication, or add a drug to help manage TD symptoms.
“The hope is always to catch those side effects and address them early because we have alternative options to medications," Pederson says.
Tardive Dyskinesia Symptoms
Tardive dyskinesia can be different for everyone. It's a complex health condition causing stiff, uncontrolled, repeated movement. TD can affect the muscles in your face (orofacial dyskinesia) or your arms and legs (dyskinesia of the limbs).
Orofacial dyskinesia or oro-bucco-lingual dyskinesia. These are uncontrolled movements in your face — namely your lips, jaw, or tongue.
The muscles in your face might cause you to:
- Stick out your tongue without trying
- Blink your eyes fast or twitch
- Chew, smack, or pucker your lips
- Puff out your cheeks
- Frown
- Grunt
Dyskinesia of the limbs. It can affect your arms, legs, fingers, and toes. TD can cause your muscles to:
- Wiggle your fingers, sometimes called "piano-playing"
- Tap your feet
- Flap your arms
- Cross your legs repeatedly
- Shrug your shoulders
- Twist or stretch your neck
- Thrust out your pelvis
- Sway from side to side
These movements can be fast or slow. You may find it hard to work and stay active.
Jul 23, 2026
Medically reviewed by Brenda B. Spriggs, M.D., MPH, FACP — Written by Yvette Brazier — Updated on July 15, 2025
Key takeaways
- Parkinson’s disease can start with subtle symptoms like sleep disturbances, loss of smell, slight tremor, small handwriting, difficulty moving, constipation, reduced facial expression, or a soft voice.
- The primary motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease involve slow movement, tremor, muscle stiffness, and impaired balance, typically starting on one side of the body.
- Beyond motor skills, Parkinson’s can also cause changes to the autonomic nervous system, leading to issues like constipation, urinary problems, and blood pressure fluctuations, as well as affecting emotions, thinking, and senses.
The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) usually begin gradually, and they affect each person differently. The symptoms a person has will vary widely, regardless of how severe they are or how quickly they develop.
Read on to find out more about the different types of symptoms and how to recognize the early symptoms of PD.
The symptoms of PD affect individuals differently, but some can be an early sign of the disease.
These are:
- REM sleep disorder and other sleep problems
- the loss of the sense of smell
- tremor, especially in one hand
- a smaller size of handwriting
- difficulty moving or walking or a stooping gait
- constipation
- loss of facial expression, that may make the person look emotionless
- a low or soft voice
The four main signs and symptoms include:
- slow physical movements, known as bradykinesia
- shaking, or tremor
- muscle stiffness, or rigidity
- problems with balance and coordination, known as postural instability
Symptoms often start on one side first.
Slow physical movement
The person finds it hard to start moving. Starting to get up from a chair can become more difficult, for example. It takes longer than before to do physical tasks. A lack of coordination can cause the person to fall or drop things.
The difficulty is not only with carrying out the movement itself, but also with planning and starting it.
Many people may experience slower movements and attribute these to older age, but sometimes they are a sign of PD.
Tremor
Tremor is a familiar symptom of PD to many people. The shaking often starts in one hand.
It may start in one foot, or the person may begin rubbing their forefinger and thumb together, back-and-forth. Less commonly, it starts in the jaw or face. Many people do not have a severe tremor.
It is usually more likely to happen when the affected part of the body is resting. Stress or anxiety may make it more noticeable.
Other conditions that may lead to tremor include:
- multiple sclerosis
- encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain
- alcohol use disorder
The presence of tremor is not necessarily a sign of PD.
However, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, around 70 percent of people with PD experience a slight tremor at some time during the disease.
Rigidity
The muscles feel stiff, and this can make some everyday tasks troublesome, such as getting out of a chair, rolling over in bed, using body language appropriately, or making fine finger movements.
Stiffness is most common in the limbs and neck. Severe stiffness can reduce a person’s range of movements. Sometimes there is pain.
Recent Comments