Xiaoman Yang, Zhuoran Ma, Piaopiao Lian, Yi Wu, Ke Liu, Zhaoyuan Zhang, Zhicheng Tang, Yan Xu, Xuebing Cao
{"title":"Disruption of axonal transport in Parkinson’s disease: the role of pathological α-Syn and AMPK/p38 MAPK signaling","authors":"Xiaoman Yang, Zhuoran Ma, Piaopiao Lian, Yi Wu, Ke Liu, Zhaoyuan Zhang, Zhicheng Tang, Yan Xu, Xuebing Cao","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00926-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00926-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The accumulation of α-synuclein within Lewy bodies is a critical factor in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease, with potential implications for axonal transport deficits. Activated asparagine endopeptidase enzymatically cleaves α-synuclein and tau, resulting in the formation of α-SynN103 and tauN368, which are markedly elevated in the brains with Parkinson’s disease. In this study, rats received intrastriatal injections of 15 µg of preformed α-SynN103 and tauN368 fibrils, and their behaviors were evaluated after a 2-month period. Subsequent analyses investigated alterations in axonal transport and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our findings indicated that preformed fibrils reduced kinesin levels and excessively activated the AMPK and p38 MAPK, thereby compromising the function of kinesin and dynein in axonal transport. Pharmacological inhibition of AMPK and p38 MAPK ameliorated these dysfunctions in rat models, which identified Compound C and SB203580 as potent inhibitors, offering evidence for early interventions of Parkinson’s disease.</p><figure><p>Mechanisms by which PFFs caused axonal transport defects of dopamine neurons in PD-like models. (A) Shows normal axonal transport. (B) Demonstrates how PFFs increase ?-Syn accumulation, reducing PIKE expression and triggering AMPK/p38 MAPK over-activation, which lowers kinesin levels and motor-cargo interaction. (C) AMPK activity inhibition with C.C significantly improves these deficits. (D) The p38 inhibitor enhances kinesin transport by preventing p38 MAPK over-activation, reducing its inhibition of kinesin-cargo binding.</p></figure>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143909979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hong-Qi Yang, Ran Xin, Ning-Ning Che, Qiu-Huan Jiang, Shuai Chen, Si-Yuan Chen, Zhi-Kun Sun, Wei-Min Yang, Xue Li, Jian-Jun Ma, Jie-Wen Zhang, Rayaz A. Malik
{"title":"Corneal confocal microscopy differentiates patients with secondary parkinsonism from idiopathic Parkinson’s disease","authors":"Hong-Qi Yang, Ran Xin, Ning-Ning Che, Qiu-Huan Jiang, Shuai Chen, Si-Yuan Chen, Zhi-Kun Sun, Wei-Min Yang, Xue Li, Jian-Jun Ma, Jie-Wen Zhang, Rayaz A. Malik","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00969-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00969-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, while secondary parkinsonism (SP) may be due to drugs, vascular, infectious, inflammatory, or even paraneoplastic etiologies. There is currently no biomarker that accurately distinguishes SP from PD. Corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) identifies corneal nerve loss which is associated with motor, cognitive and autonomic dysfunction in PD patients. This study enrolled participants with PD (<i>n</i> = 45) and SP (<i>n</i> = 25). A subset of patients underwent L-6-<sup>18</sup>F-fluoro-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (<sup>18</sup>F-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET) scan which showed bilateral decreased dopamine uptake in the putamen and caudate of patients with PD, but not in those with SP. Corneal nerve fiber density (CNFD) (<i>P</i> < 0.001) was lower and corneal nerve branch density (CNBD) (<i>P</i> = 0.007) was higher in the PD group compared to the SP group. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that combined CNFD and CNBD showed excellent discrimination between SP and PD, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.924. CCM may have clinical utility in differentiating patients with SP from PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"281 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143909978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matteo Guidetti, Tommaso Bocci, Marta De Pedro Del Álamo, Guenther Deuschl, Alfonso Fasano, Raul Martinez-Fernandez, Carmen Gasca-Salas, Clement Hamani, Joachim K. Krauss, Andrea A. Kühn, Patricia Limousin, Simon Little, Andres M. Lozano, Natale V. Maiorana, Sara Marceglia, Michael S. Okun, Serena Oliveri, Jill L. Ostrem, Emma Scelzo, Alfons Schnitzler, Philip A. Starr, Yasin Temel, Lars Timmermann, Gerd Tinkhauser, Veerle Visser-Vandewalle, Jens Volkmann, Alberto Priori
{"title":"Will adaptive deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease become a real option soon? A Delphi consensus study","authors":"Matteo Guidetti, Tommaso Bocci, Marta De Pedro Del Álamo, Guenther Deuschl, Alfonso Fasano, Raul Martinez-Fernandez, Carmen Gasca-Salas, Clement Hamani, Joachim K. Krauss, Andrea A. Kühn, Patricia Limousin, Simon Little, Andres M. Lozano, Natale V. Maiorana, Sara Marceglia, Michael S. Okun, Serena Oliveri, Jill L. Ostrem, Emma Scelzo, Alfons Schnitzler, Philip A. Starr, Yasin Temel, Lars Timmermann, Gerd Tinkhauser, Veerle Visser-Vandewalle, Jens Volkmann, Alberto Priori","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00974-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00974-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>While conventional deep brain stimulation (cDBS) treatment delivers continuous electrical stimuli, new adaptive DBS (aDBS) technology provides dynamic symptom-related stimulation. Research data are promising, and devices are already available, but are we ready for it? We asked leading DBS experts worldwide (<i>n</i> = 21) to discuss a research agenda for aDBS research in the near future to allow full adoption. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, along with a Delphi method, was employed. In the next 10 years, aDBS will be clinical routine, but research is needed to define which patients would benefit more from the treatment; second, implantation and programming procedures should be simplified to allow actual generalized adoption; third, new adaptive algorithms, and the integration of aDBS paradigm with new technologies, will improve control of more complex symptoms. Since the next years will be crucial for aDBS implementation, the research should focus on improving precision and making programming procedures more accessible.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143909983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shizhuang Wei, Xiaoyu Song, Yakui Mou, Ting Yang, Yao Wang, Hanrui Wang, Chao Ren, Xicheng Song
{"title":"New insights into pathogenisis and therapies of P2X7R in Parkinson’s disease","authors":"Shizhuang Wei, Xiaoyu Song, Yakui Mou, Ting Yang, Yao Wang, Hanrui Wang, Chao Ren, Xicheng Song","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00980-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00980-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Parkinson’s disease (PD), a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, is linked to genetics and environment, but its mechanisms remain unclear. Emerging evidence connects purinergic signaling-particularly ATP-sensitive P2X7 receptor (P2X7R)-to PD. P2X7R expression is elevated in PD patients, and its antagonist BBG mitigates 6-OHDA-induced dopaminergic neuron death. This review discusses P2X7R’s structure, neural functions, PD-related mechanisms, and therapeutic potential as a targert.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143910299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lin Shi, Yichen Xu, Shiying Fan, Zixiao Yin, Guofan Qin, Jianguo Zhang, Anchao Yang
{"title":"Comparison of oscillatory activity in substantia nigra pars reticulata between Parkinson’s disease and dystonia","authors":"Lin Shi, Yichen Xu, Shiying Fan, Zixiao Yin, Guofan Qin, Jianguo Zhang, Anchao Yang","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00947-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00947-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with disrupted neural activity in the substantia nigra, but its electrophysiological changes remain underexplored. This study investigates the oscillatory patterns of substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) in PD, compared to dystonia (DT). Intraoperative recordings of the SNr were obtained from 20 PD and 16 DT patients during DBS surgery. Spectral power, neuronal firing rate, beta burst dynamics, and correlation analysis of the SNr signal were analyzed. PD patients exhibited increased alpha and beta power, elevated firing rates, and reduced aperiodic exponent values in SNr compared to DT. PD beta bursts showed prolonged durations and fewer short bursts. Beta power negatively correlated with motor symptom improvement rates in PD but not in DT patients. These findings highlight pathological beta power in SNr of PD, which indicates that SNr-DBS may offer a future therapeutic avenue for PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143909982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Smartphone-derived multidomain features including voice, finger-tapping movement and gait aid early identification of Parkinson’s disease","authors":"Wee-Shin Lim, Sung-Pin Fan, Shu-I Chiu, Meng-Ciao Wu, Pu-He Wang, Kun-Pei Lin, Yung-Ming Chen, Pei-Ling Peng, Jyh-Shing Roger Jang, Chin-Hsien Lin","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00953-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00953-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Smart devices can easily capture changes in voice, movements, and gait in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We investigated whether smartphone-derived multimodal features combined with machine learning algorithms can aid in early PD identification. We recruited 496 participants, split into a training cohort (127 PD patients during “on” phase and 198 age-matched controls) and a test dataset (86 patients during “off” phase and 85 age-matched controls). Multidomain features from smartphone recordings were analyzed using machine learning classifiers with integration of a hyperparameter grid. Single-modality models for voice, hand movements, and gait showed diagnostic values of 0.88, 0.74, and 0.81, respectively, with test dataset values of 0.80, 0.74, and 0.76. An integrated multimodal model using a support vector machine improved performance to 0.86 and achieved 0.82 for identifying early-stage PD during the “off” phase. A smartphone-based integrated multimodality model combining voice, hand movement, and gait shows promise for early PD identification.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143909705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stefanie Lerche, Isabel Wurster, Benjamin Roeben, Milan Zimmermann, Marcello Rossi, Angela Mammana, Simone Baiardi, Ann‑Kathrin Hauser, Christian Deuschle, Claudia Schulte, Piero Parchi, Kathrin Brockmann
{"title":"Differences in age-related distribution of CSF alpha-synuclein seeding and Alzheimer profiles between PD with and without GBA1 variants","authors":"Stefanie Lerche, Isabel Wurster, Benjamin Roeben, Milan Zimmermann, Marcello Rossi, Angela Mammana, Simone Baiardi, Ann‑Kathrin Hauser, Christian Deuschle, Claudia Schulte, Piero Parchi, Kathrin Brockmann","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00978-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00978-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We studied the age- and genetic-related prevalence of CSF alpha-Synuclein seeding and Alzheimer profiles in 188 samples from PD participants without <i>GBA1</i> variants (PD<sub>wildtype</sub>) and in 129 samples from PD participants with <i>GBA1</i> variants (PD<sub>GBA1</sub>). While Alzheimer profiles increased with age in PD<sub>wildtype</sub>, it was sparse in PD<sub>GBA1</sub>. Alpha-Synuclein profiles remained stable with age in both cohorts. In PD<sub>wildtype</sub>, combined alpha-Synuclein/Alzheimer profiles were associated with earlier onset of cognitive impairment.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143910298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Kamesh, C. A. Kadgien, N. Kuhlmann, S. Coady, A. Pietrantonio, Y. Cousineau, A. Khayachi, A. Jurado Santos, E. P. Hurley, J. C. Barron, M. P. Parsons, A. J. Milnerwood
{"title":"Emergent glutamate & dopamine dysfunction in VPS35(D620N) knock-in mice and rapid reversal by LRRK2 inhibition","authors":"A. Kamesh, C. A. Kadgien, N. Kuhlmann, S. Coady, A. Pietrantonio, Y. Cousineau, A. Khayachi, A. Jurado Santos, E. P. Hurley, J. C. Barron, M. P. Parsons, A. J. Milnerwood","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00948-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00948-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The D620N variant in Vacuolar Protein Sorting 35 (VPS35) causes autosomal-dominant, late-onset Parkinson’s disease. VPS35 is a core subunit of the retromer complex that canonically recycles transmembrane cargo from sorting endosomes. Although retromer cargoes include many synaptic proteins, VPS35’s neuronal functions are poorly understood. To investigate the consequences of the Parkinson’s mutation, striatal neurotransmission was assessed in 1- to 6-month-old VPS35 D620N knock-in (VKI) mice. Spontaneous and optogenetically-evoked corticostriatal glutamate transmission was increased in VKI spiny projection neurons by 6 months and was unaffected by acute leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) inhibition. Total striatal glutamate release by iGluSnFR imaging was similar to wild-type. dLight imaging revealed robust increases in VKI striatal dopamine release by 6 months, which were reversed with acute LRRK2 kinase inhibition. We conclude that increased striatal neurotransmission in VKI mice progressively emerges in young-adulthood, and that dopamine dysfunction is likely the result of sustained, rapidly-reversible, LRRK2 hyperactivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"58 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143903121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tabea Thies, Elisa Mallick, Johannes Tröger, Ebru Baykara, Doris Mücke, Michael T. Barbe
{"title":"Automatic speech analysis combined with machine learning reliably predicts the motor state in people with Parkinson’s disease","authors":"Tabea Thies, Elisa Mallick, Johannes Tröger, Ebru Baykara, Doris Mücke, Michael T. Barbe","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00959-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00959-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>It is still under debate whether levodopa treatment improves speech functions in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Therefore, speech functions of people with PD were compared in medication-OFF condition (withdrawal of PD medication for at least 12 h) and medication-ON condition (after receiving 200 mg of soluble levodopa). A total of 78 participants, including 51 males and 27 females, performed predefined standard speech tasks. Acoustic speech features were automatically extracted with the algorithm given by the Dysarthria Analyzer. Results suggest that acute levodopa intake improves phonatory-respiratory speech functions and speech planning abilities, while the articulatory system remains unaffected. Furthermore, the study provided preliminary evidence that speech function is able to predict the medication status in individuals with PD as the constructed speech-based biomarker score did not only correlate with established measures of (speech) motor impairment but could also differentiate between the medication OFF and ON status. A post-hoc machine learning model yielded similar results.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143901268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tali Lang, Iain McLean, Jenna Shin, Victoria Jackson, Isobel Lawrenson, Belinda Zipper, Alex Yeung, Andrew Evans, Grant Dewson
{"title":"The diagnostic pathway of Parkinson’s disease: understanding patient perspectives in Australia","authors":"Tali Lang, Iain McLean, Jenna Shin, Victoria Jackson, Isobel Lawrenson, Belinda Zipper, Alex Yeung, Andrew Evans, Grant Dewson","doi":"10.1038/s41531-025-00968-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-00968-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There is limited data about experiences of people with Parkinson’s (PwP) in Australia. This study, initiated and co-designed by PwP, surveyed 385 participants nationally (335 fully completed the questionnaire). Participants living in capital and regional city centers reported satisfaction with clinical care during diagnostic consultation at approximately 40%, with satisfaction less in rural areas (26%). 68% of participants reported inadequate involvement in discussions about treatment and care planning and 77% were dissatisfied with the support following diagnosis. Respondents reported low referral rates to allied health services such as physiotherapy (22%) and mental health services (17%). Feedback indicated support could improved by increased access to Parkinson’s disease Clinical Nurse Specialists and to educational resources and support. Findings highlight the need to establish Australian guidelines for Parkinson’s clinical management, greater resourcing for clinicians including development of educational programs, and creation of Australian-centric educational resources to improve quality of care for PwP.</p>","PeriodicalId":19706,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Parkinson's Disease","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143893125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}