Stem cell implantation is a step closer to becoming the next strategy against Parkinson's disease. Two clinical trials, one in phase I and the other in phase I/II, have demonstrated their safety and potential to restore dopamine production in the brains of patients with this currently incurable neurodegenerative condition. The number of participants in the study is still small, and further research is needed to demonstrate the clinical benefits of these cell therapies.

Researchers from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology have developed an electrotechnical patch, printed on a wearable substrate, capable of detecting dopamine and glucose levels in real-time. They published their work in Analytica.

The HIV regulatory protein transactivator of transcription (Tat) is a viral protein believed to play a key role in the neurotoxicity and cognitive impairment seen in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Tat allosterically modulates dopamine (DA) reuptake through the human DA transporter (hDAT). In the current study, researchers from University of South Carolina and affiliated organizations aimed to assess the effects of the novel allosteric modulator of DAT, SRI-32743, on the Tat-DAT interaction.

Investigators at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine have used a new mouse model of Parkinson’s disease to confirm a causal role for mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. More surprisingly, the same model has called into question previously uncontroversial notions about the motor features that are PD’s most conspicuous feature.

Children are more susceptible to developing allergic asthma than adults. An estimated 6 million children have allergic asthma, making asthma one of the most common long-term diseases of childhood. Asthma is potentially life-threatening, yet there is no cure, rather only management of symptoms. Progress in understanding the disease was reported in the Dec 17, 2019, issue of Immunity.