Oct 9, 2026
PD-CoRE improves memory, problem-solving, and depression in small study
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Sept. 29, 2026
- Parkinson's disease often causes nonmotor symptoms such as cognitive decline, memory loss, impaired problem-solving, and depression.
- The PD-CoRE rehabilitation program utilizes structured group sessions to teach practical problem-solving strategies and coping mechanisms.
- Participants showed significant improvements in global cognition and practical judgment, and a reduction in depression severity after the intervention.
A rehabilitation program called PD-CoRE was shown to help adults with Parkinson’s disease improve their cognitive function and lessen symptoms of depression in a recent study.
The program uses group sessions to teach practical problem-solving strategies, giving participants tools to manage the daily cognitive challenges that often accompany the neurodegenerative condition.
“PD-CoRE appears to be a promising intervention for enhancing cognitive functioning and aspects of well-being in individuals with [Parkinson’s],” researchers wrote, calling for more studies to further validate and refine the program.
The study, “Parkinson’s disease cognitive rehabilitation of executive functioning (PD-CoRE): A community-based intervention study,” was published in Parkinsonism and Related Disorders.
Oct 8, 2026
Neurosurgery team performs first dual-target approach in the Rocky Mountain region
5 minute read
by Chris Casey | September 15, 2026
The takeaway:
Researchers and physicians at CU Anschutz performed the Rocky Mountain region’s first dual-target high-intensity focused ultrasound procedures for people with advanced Parkinson’s disease who were not candidates for deep brain stimulation. By targeting two brain pathways during the same outpatient procedure, the team saw immediate improvements in tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement, although longer-term outcomes require further study.
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.
What’s behind these dramatic patient outcomes? A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure that targets two tracts of the brain only a few millimeters – six to nine, 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 motor performance symptom relief 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), where surgeons implant electrodes in a targeted area of the brain, has been used to treat motor problems of 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.
Oct 7, 2026
ACI-7104 was generally safe, triggered an immune response against its target
Written by Andrea Lobo | Sept. 28, 2026
- The experimental vaccine ACI-7104 targets early Parkinson’s disease by aiming to reduce toxic alpha-synuclein clumps in the brain.
- Initial Phase 2 trial results showed the vaccine was safe and successfully triggered a strong immune response.
- The study will advance into Part 2 to gather further clinical proof-of-concept data and monitor symptom progression.
ACI-7104, AC Immune’s experimental vaccine for early Parkinson’s disease, was generally safe and triggered an immune response against aggregated alpha-synuclein, according to results from the first part of a Phase 2 trial.
The findings from the VacSYn study (NCT06015841) included 34 participants, 25 who received ACI-7104 and nine who received a placebo. The company said the first part of the study met all primary goals, including those related to safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity, or the ability to generate an antibody response to the vaccine’s target.
“The results from the complete data set at week-100 in Part 1 are encouraging, with all primary endpoints met, strong immunogenicity demonstrated, and a 100% response rate,” Martin Zügel, MD, AC Immune’s interim CEO, said in a company press release.
The VacSYn trial continues in Part 1 and is advancing toward the initiation of Part 2. The final design of the second part of the study will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for review, with meetings expected early in 2027. The second part aims to generate clinical proof-of-concept data and to monitor the progression of Parkinson’s symptoms, as well as digital, imaging, and fluid biomarkers.
“We will now refine our approach to the next development steps in the program and discuss our plans with regulators before embarking on an expanded Phase 2 trial designed to provide evidence of clinical activity as the basis for entry into Phase 3,” Zügel added.
Oct 6, 2026
By Isabella Backman
September 10, 2026
A new clinical trial led by Yale School of Medicine's Jesse Cedarbaum, MD, professor of neurology, and David Hafler, MD, William S. and Lois Stiles Edgerly Professor of Neurology, is the first such study to test whether a drug can slow or prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease in people at risk.
The first warning signs of Parkinson’s disease can manifest decades before the onset of motor problems. One of these is a sleep condition in which individuals act out their dreams, often violently. Known as rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), up to 90% of cases progress to Parkinson’s disease or a related brain disorder.
This years-long window between the development of RBD and the onset of Parkinson’s disease presents an opportunity to try to prevent the disorder before the motor symptoms arise. Research led by scientists at Yale School of Medicine on RBD and Parkinson’s disease suggests that inflammation in the spinal fluid may be contributing to the disease.
Now, in the new clinical trial, the researchers will investigate whether a drug called adalimumab (Humira), which is already used to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, can prevent the emergence of Parkinson’s disease in individuals with RBD.
The study—An Exploratory Study of the Potential for Rational Immune System Manipulation to Prevent Emergence of Synucleinopathy Manifestations in Persons with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, or “PRISMS” for short—recently enrolled its first participant. It is currently recruiting individuals between the ages of 50 and 80 with RBD across 15 participating sites in the United States and Canada.
“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,” Cedarbaum says.
Oct 5, 2026
Study highlights need for holistic assessment and care plans
Written by Marisa Horak, MS | Sept. 22, 2026
- Parkinson's disease significantly affects a patient's health-related quality of life, beyond traditional motor symptoms.
- Quality-of-life determinants include age, sex, coping strategies, social support, stigma, depression, and sexual dysfunction.
- Experts recommend shifting toward holistic assessment and care plans that integrate mental, social, and sexual health support.
Demographics, social experiences, mental health, and sexual well-being are among factors playing significant roles in shaping health-related quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease, a study from Ethiopia showed.
“The age of participants, sex, coping [strategies], social support, [Parkinson’s]-related stigma, depression, sexual dysfunction and health satisfaction were independent predictors of [health-related quality of life],” the researchers wrote.
The scientists said their finding “underscores the need for holistic assessment and care that integrates psychosocial and sexual health support alongside routine care” in Parkinson’s.
An early-access version of the study, “Sexual, mental, and multidimensional determinants of health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease using the revised Wilson and Cleary model,” was published in Scientific Reports.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that can affect a person’s quality of life in profound ways. The disease is defined by motor symptoms like slowness and balance problems, but people with Parkinson’s also commonly experience nonmotor symptoms, which can range from mental health problems to digestive upset to sexual dysfunction.
Oct 2, 2026
— FDA gives go-ahead to D1/D5 dopamine agonist tavapadon
by Judy George, Deputy Managing Editor, MedPage Today
September 28, 2026
The FDA approved the dopamine agonist tavapadon (Juvmo) to treat adults with Parkinson's disease, drugmaker AbbVie announced Monday.
Tavapadon is an oral selective D1/D5 dopamine agonist that was studied as monotherapy for early Parkinson's in the TEMPO-1 and TEMPO-2 trials, and as adjunctive therapy with oral levodopa in advanced Parkinson's patients who had motor fluctuations in the TEMPO-3 trial.
Dopamine agonists are used to help manage symptoms and reduce reliance on oral levodopa escalation. Tavapadon is the first D1/D5 receptor agonist approved for Parkinson's; other available dopamine agonists primarily target D2/D3 receptors.
"Parkinson's disease treatment has long required healthcare providers to balance the need for dependable motor symptom control with considerations around treatment tolerability," said principal TEMPO trial investigator Hubert Fernandez, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, in a news release.
"Now we have a novel therapy that selectively targets D1/D5 receptors, which addresses a longstanding need for innovation and provides healthcare providers with greater flexibility to tailor treatment to individual patient needs," he added.
In the TEMPO-1 (fixed dose) and TEMPO-2 (flexible dose) studies, participants receiving tavapadon as monotherapy had a significant reduction in Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) part II and III combined scores at week 26 compared with placebo. MDS-UPDRS parts II and III scores reflect activities of daily living and motor performance.
In TEMPO-3, tavapadon adjunctive to levodopa significantly increased daily "on" time without troublesome dyskinesia at 27 weeks compared with placebo. Sustained efficacy to 85 weeks was seen for patients who continued in the open-label TEMPO-4 extension, AbbVie said.
Recent Comments