Parkinson’s disease

Vanderbilt researchers are studying aspects of dopamine release and its regulation in Parkinson’s patients with and without impulsive-compulsive behaviors.

A pair of ultra-thin electrodes surgically implanted deep into the brain might slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease, according to five-year outcomes from a 30-patient randomized clinical trial conducted by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Mallory Hacker, PhD, research assistant professor of Neurology, is the 2019 recipient of the Kumar New Investigator Award from the North American Neuromodulation Society.

A decade after taking part in the first clinical trial of deep brain stimulation (DBS) administered during very early-stage Parkinson’s disease, participants will return to Vanderbilt University Medical Center this year to be re-evaluated.

June 29, 2018 - Analysis of data from a clinical trial conducted at Vanderbilt suggests that deep brain stimulation (DBS) administered to patients with very early-stage Parkinson’s disease slowed the progression of rest tremor. The study, published June 29 in Neurology, is significant because it is the first evidence of a treatment that may possibly delay the progression of one of the cardinal features of Parkinson’s disease.

Blocking a nerve-cell receptor in part of the brain that coordinates movement could improve the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, dyskinesia and other movement disorders, researchers at Vanderbilt University have reported.

A noninvasive MRI technique may help predict a troubling side effect of common medications for Parkinson’s Disease and improve clinical treatment plans.