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Although Parkinson’s disease is often associated with motor symptoms such as stiffness, poor balance and trembling, the first symptoms are often sensory and include a reduced sense of touch and smell. In a study on mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now been able to identify neural circuits and mechanisms behind this loss of sensory perception. The study, which is published in the scientific journal Neuron, may open avenues to methods of earlier diagnosis.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have made significant progress in the search for new treatments for Parkinson’s disease. By manipulating the gene expression of non-neuronal cells in the brain, they were able to produce new dopamine neurons. The study, performed on mice and human cells, is published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Biotechnology.

The growth factor IGF-2 can prevent the death of human nerve cells in the incurable disease ALS, according to a study by researchers at Sweden´s Karolinska Institutet and the University of Milan in Italy. The study, which is published in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrates that degeneration-resistant oculomotor neurons can be used as a tool to identify factors able to prevent the degeneration of vulnerable neurons caused by this deadly disease.