BOSTON — There currently is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but scientists may have discovered a potential path to slow or stop the disease. Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that can cause movement problems such as tremors, poor balance, and walking difficulties, and it can also impair cognitive function. There is no cure and treatments aim to simply reduce symptoms. But a new study in mice by researchers at Johns Hopkins offers new hope. They found that the interaction of two proteins is key to the buildup of protein clumps in the brain that damage healthy brain cells in Parkinson’s. They also suggest that disrupting these proteins with a drug already approved by the FDA to treat cancer could potentially slow or stop the brain damage associated with Parkinson’s. The next step would be to conduct clinical trials in humans, but that will take time.

Researchers at University of Michigan have developed a method to produce artificially grown miniature brains—called human brain organoids—free of animal cells that could greatly improve the way neurodegenerative conditions are studied and, eventually, treated.

Over the last decade of researching neurologic diseases, scientists have explored the use of human brain organoids as an alternative to mouse models. These self-assembled, 3D tissues derived from embryonic or pluripotent stem cells more closely model the complex brain structure compared to conventional two-dimensional cultures.

Until now, the engineered network of proteins and molecules that give structure to the cells in brain organoids, known as extracellular matrices, often used a substance derived from mouse sarcomas called Matrigel. That method suffers significant disadvantages, with a relatively undefined composition and batch-to-batch variability.

For patients with schizophrenia, the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs13194504 AA genotype is associated with reduced severity of tardive dyskinesia (TD), but is not associated with occurrence, according to a study recently published in Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental.

Neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI) contrast is associated with psychosis severity in antipsychotic-free patients with schizophrenia, according to a study published online Nov. 8 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Kenneth Wengler, Ph.D., from Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 42 antipsychotic-free patients with schizophrenia, 53 antipsychotic-free individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR), and 52 matched healthy controls to replicate previous findings relating NM-MRI, a proxy measure of dopamine function, to psychosis severity. Data were also included for an external validation sample of 16 antipsychotic-naive patients with schizophrenia.

The researchers found that higher Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale positive total scores correlated with higher mean NM-MRI contrast in the psychosis regions of interest (ROI) in the schizophrenia sample.