Jul 8, 2026
23 Jun 2026 Jess Nicholson American Medical Journal
OPTHALMIC imaging features linked to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease phenotypes, following an integrated multi-omics analysis combining artificial intelligence (AI)-derived imaging embeddings with physiological, radiomic, metabolomic and genomic datasets.
AI-Derived Retinal Features Reveal Links to Systemic Disease Risk
A new research article leveraged UK BioBank data to investigate whether retinal features extracted from optical coherence tomography (OCT) and colour fundus photography (CFP) could serve as high-dimensional biomarkers of systemic disease. Findings indicated that AI-derived retinal representations were associated with both prevalent and incident cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative outcomes, including ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
Retinal imaging was processed using a deep-learning based adversarial autoencoder framework, generating 256-dimensional latent embeddings from OCT and CFP data. These embeddings were evaluated against longitudinal disease outcome and multi-layered biological datasets.
Retinal Signatures Reflect Vascular, Metabolic and Neurological Changes
Saliency mapping identified cardiovascular associates were predominantly localised to the choroid and retinal vascular network, while neurodegenerative associations were more strongly linked to the optic nerve head and neurosensory retinal layers.
Metabolomic analysis also found links between retinal features and lipid metabolism, suggesting that changes seen in the eye may reflect shared metabolic processes that contribute to both cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration.
In addition, analysis of brain imaging data showed that retinal features were associated with differences in brain structure, including regional brain volumes and measures of white matter organisation.
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Jul 7, 2026
23 Jun 2026 Anaya Malik American Medical Journal
PARKINSON disease outcomes may be stronger in early-stage patients who maintain regular long-term aerobic exercise habits.
Parkinson Disease Exercise Linked to Better Function
Regular moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise may help preserve physical function in early-stage Parkinson disease, according to a cross-sectional study comparing active and low-active individuals with Parkinson disease with healthy controls.
The study included 70 low-active individuals with Parkinson disease, 35 highly active individuals with Parkinson disease, and 35 healthy controls. Highly active participants were defined as those reporting moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise at least twice weekly for more than 3 months. Low-active participants reported this level of exercise no more than twice weekly over the same period.
Assessments covered a broad range of motor, physical, cognitive, and patient-reported outcomes. These included the Timed Up and Go Test, Six Spot Step Test, 6-Minute Walk Test, Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test, lower extremity muscle peak power, aerobic capacity, physical activity, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire, Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire, Falls Efficacy Scale-International, European Quality of Life Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the Movement Disorders Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale.
Active Patients Showed Stronger Motor Outcomes
Highly active individuals with Parkinson disease outperformed low-active participants with Parkinson disease across physical function outcomes, motor symptom severity, physical activity levels, and nonmotor symptoms. In several measures of physical and cognitive function, as well as physical activity level, their results were comparable with healthy controls.
By contrast, low-active participants showed impairments in several physical function and activity outcomes compared with healthy controls. Cognitive function outcomes were similar across the two Parkinson disease groups, although healthy controls performed better in processing speed. No significant differences were observed between participant groups for quality of life or depressive symptoms.
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Jul 6, 2026
Foundation plans to use results to guide future education and programs
Written by Andrea Lobo | June 23, 2026
- Top concerns of the Parkinson's community's include disease symptoms and medication knowledge, a survey found.
- Motor (tremor, gait, balance) and nonmotor (sleep, mood, cognitive) symptoms were most concerning.
- Respondents cited the need more information on symptoms/treatments, better care access, and increased research funding.
According to this year’s Parkinson’s Foundation State of the Community Survey, disease symptoms and medication knowledge are top concerns for the Parkinson’s disease community.
More than half of the participants identified motor symptoms (61%), especially tremor, gait, and balance issues, and nonmotor symptoms (52%), including sleep, mood, and cognitive problems, as the most concerning.
Participants also expressed interest in learning more about the disease symptoms, treatment options, and research updates. The foundation plans to use these data to guide future education and programs.
“I believe in narrative medicine, where I encourage patients to share their Parkinson’s story — focusing on the symptoms [that] affect them the most and working together to create a personalized care plan that empowers them to take an active role,” Sneha Mantri, MD, Parkinson’s Foundation chief medical officer, said in a press release.
Barriers include lack of knowledge on available services
This year, more than 9,000 responders, mainly people with Parkinson’s (70%), but also care partners, family members, friends, and health professionals across the U.S. and other countries, participated in the survey in English or Spanish. This represents a 30% jump from 2025. The survey provides a global overview of the community’s experiences and needs, according to the foundation.
Another challenge reported by participants was understanding which questions to ask and symptoms to talk about with their healthcare team. Many considered it difficult to discuss mental and emotional health. Most people also noted only spending 15 to 30 minutes with their provider.
The most commonly reported barriers included a lack of knowledge on available services and how to access them, and difficulties getting appointments or having to travel long distances to get care. For Spanish speakers, barriers included service costs, language issues, and insufficient available services.
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Jul 3, 2026
NeuroEXPLORER can image small brain regions involved in the disease
Written by Andrea Lobo | June 18, 2026
- NeuroEXPLORER PET can image small, deep brain regions involved in Parkinson’s and other conditions.
- The scanner may help detect early brain changes linked to neurodegenerative diseases and support more precise diagnosis.
- It may aid DBS planning and help researchers monitor how treatments affect targets in the brain.
UZ Leuven and KU Leuven, two institutions in Belgium, have introduced NeuroEXPLORER PET into clinical practice. The ultra-high-resolution PET scanner, developed by United Imaging Healthcare, is designed to visualize small, deep brain regions, including those involved in Parkinson’s disease.
Within the first six months, the system supported imaging in more than 400 patients. UZ Leuven also is using the scanner in an ongoing comparative clinical trial to assess its added value over existing PET scanners. Over the next five years, the scanner will support more than 30 large-scale research programs across neurodegeneration, neuromodulation, and inflammation, among others.
Scanner enters clinical use in Belgium
“This technology fundamentally changes how we can investigate the origins and diagnoses of neurological and psychiatric diseases, as well as vascular diseases and head- and neck disorders such as tumours,” Koen Van Laere, MD, PhD, professor at KU Leuven and principal investigator, said in a company press release from United Imaging Healthcare. “It allows us to measure disease processes in very small structures with unprecedented precision.”
Mathieu Vandenbulcke, MD, PhD, chair of the Leuven Brain Institute, added, “The NeuroEXPLORER strengthens Leuven’s international position in brain research and precision medicine. It creates a unique platform for global scientific collaboration.”
Parkinson’s disease is caused by the progressive dysfunction and loss of dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells that produce dopamine, a signaling molecule that allows nerve cells to communicate. These neurons are primarily found in the substantia nigra, a region deep in the brain involved in movement control.
Diagnosing the disease may involve the use of markers of dopamine signaling in high-resolution PET scans to assess dopaminergic function, which may help distinguish Parkinson’s patients from those with other conditions causing similar symptoms.
The NeuroEXPLORER PET scanner uses low-level radioactive tracers to visualize subtle biological and chemical changes in the brain, including deep brain regions, with resolution up to 20 times higher than conventional PET scanners.
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Jul 2, 2026
Medically reviewed by Heidi Moawad, M.D. — Written by Catherine Crider on November 7, 2024
Individuals with Parkinson’s disease should remain as active as possible. Knitting, painting, and doing puzzles can be beneficial along with physical exercises like cycling and yoga.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder where the amount of dopamine in certain areas of the brain decreases. It can cause an individual to experience tremors, loss of balance, and stiffness.
There’s currently no cure for Parkinson’s disease, so treatment often focuses on reducing the severity of one’s symptoms and improving one’s quality of life.
Individuals with Parkinson’s disease should engage in a variety of activities that center on fine motor skills and cognition, as well as physical exercises that require balance and mobility. Staying active can help strengthen muscles and may help prevent dementia.
This article looks at beneficial crafts and activities for those living with or caring for someone with Parkinson’s.
How the stages of Parkinson’s may guide the activities you choose
It’s worth noting that Parkinson’s disease causes a resting tremor. During early stages, the tremor is present at rest and goes away with action.
The activities reviewed in this article can help during the early stages of Parkinson’s by strengthening muscles, improving mood, and maintaining balance.
It’s not until fairly late stages that people begin to have tremors that continue even with action. This can make some of the activities discussed here frustrating or even unsafe. In addition, people with Parkinson’s often have difficulty walking and may feel lightheaded for a few minutes when standing up after being seated or lying down.
Physical exercises that focus on balance and walking safely, especially after getting up after lying down or being seated, are extremely helpful during all stages of Parkinson’s.
Artistic crafts like knitting and painting provide the opportunity to focus on fine motor skills and create something of value.
Those with Parkinson’s disease can experience tremors and have difficulty moving their hands. They may also experience stress and depression as a result of their condition. Creating something from scratch provides an opportunity to:
- focus on hand movements
- reduce stress
- feel a sense of accomplishment
Many communities have opportunities for individuals to come together and practice crafts like crocheting or painting. This can offer a valuable social outlet for those with Parkinson’s disease.
Vocal exercises like singing can help strengthen and control vocal muscles. This may be especially beneficial for those with Parkinson’s disease because vocal tremors or difficulty speaking can develop as the condition progresses.
Singing may also help with recall and memory.
Jun 29, 2026
Medically reviewed by Jillian Foglesong Stabile MD, FAAFP, DABOM — Written by The Healthline Editorial Team — Updated on July 1, 2025
Try these 10 tips to help a loved one live with Parkinson’s disease. These may include listening, getting outdoors, and connecting them with support groups or other resources. Recognizing changing symptoms and patience are also keys to being supportive.
When someone you care about has Parkinson’s disease, you see firsthand the effects the condition can have on someone.
Symptoms like rigid movements, lack of balance, and tremors become part of their daily lives and can worsen as the disease progresses.
Your loved one needs extra help and support to stay active and preserve their quality of life. You can help out in a number of ways — from offering a friendly ear when they need to talk, to driving them to medical appointments.
Here are 10 of the best ways to help someone you love manage Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder. If you’re a caregiver for someone living with Parkinson’s, you’re likely familiar with some of the symptoms of the disease.
But do you know what causes its symptoms, how the condition progresses, or what treatments can help manage it? Also, Parkinson’s doesn’t manifest the same way in everyone.
To be the best ally for your loved one, learn as much as you can about Parkinson’s disease. Do research on reputable websites like the Parkinson’s Foundation, or read books about the condition.
Tag along for medical appointments and ask the doctor questions. If you’re well informed, you’ll have a better idea of what to expect and how to be the most help.
Every day responsibilities like shopping, cooking, and cleaning become much more difficult when you have a movement disorder.
Sometimes people with Parkinson’s need help with these and other tasks, but they may be too proud or embarrassed to ask for it.
Step in and offer to run errands, prepare meals, drive to medical appointments, pick up medications at the drug store, and help with any other day-to-day tasks they have difficulty with on their own.
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