Women and Parkinson's Archives

Women and Parkinson's

Francisca Ruiz González on making women with Parkinson’s visible
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Women and Parkinson's

Kathleen Reardon on diagnosis and being heard by doctors
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Women and Parkinson's

Four women with Parkinson’s share their experience of lockdown
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“Helping women with Parkinson’s know they are not alone”

Francisca Ruiz González on making women with Parkinson’s visible

“Finding information about being a woman with Parkinson’s was challenging”

Kathleen Reardon on diagnosis and being heard by doctors

“Life isn’t easy”: how coronavirus is affecting women with Parkinson’s

Four women with Parkinson’s share their experience of lockdown

“We still have some way to go”

To mark International Women’s Day, we share our campaign highlights

The women blazing the trail in Parkinson’s tech and innovation

Have you heard about these Parkinson’s technology inventions?

“Incompetence, racism and prejudice delayed my diagnosis”

Manon Day on being a young black woman with Parkinson’s

7 famous women with Parkinson’s

Can you name a well-known woman with Parkinson’s?

“Recognising gender difference is essential for Parkinson’s research”

The research gap, revealed by neurologist Marina Picillo

“We need to be having more conversations about menopause”

One woman’s story about the approach of menopause

Women and Parkinson’s: menstruation, medication and motherhood

Our podcast shines a light on how women experience the condition

Women and Parkinson’s: “Being pregnant was scary”

One woman’s poignant account of pregnancy and Parkinson’s

Women and Parkinson’s: “My medication only works three weeks out of four”

An honest account of menstruation, medication and symptoms

“We are not just variants of men”

Our new campaign centres the experiences of women with Parkinson’s

New study brings scientists a “vital step” closer to understanding Parkinson’s disease

A new study from scientists at the University of Cambridge, UK, has brought researchers “a vital step” closer to discovering the origins of Parkinson’s disease. The research, published in the scientific journal ‘Nature Communications’, offered insights on the protein alpha-synuclein, which clumps together in the neurons of people with Parkinson’s. The study focused on how the protein functions in those without the condition and revealed that it sticks to the inner side of the plasma membrane of nerve cells, but not the outer membrane – an insight that could help in the search for a cure. Lead study author, Dr Giuliana Fusco, said: “This study could unlock more information about this debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that can leave people unable to walk and talk. If we want to cure Parkinson’s, first we need to understand the function of alpha-synuclein, a protein present in everyone’s brains.”

Could a prostate drug lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease?

Researchers in the US, Denmark and China have found that a type of medication used to treat enlarged prostate, known as alpha-blockers, is associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. As part of the study, the research team analysed patient data from 150,000 men using medications like the alpha-blocker terazosin – which has previously been shown to slow Parkinson’s disease progression in animals – and compared their findings to data from 150,000 men using the alpha-blocker tamsulosin. They found that men taking terazosin were 12 to 37% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. Jacob Simmering, corresponding author of the study, said: “Despite the relative differences in population and health care system structure, we found a similar protective effect in both [the US and Denmark]. “If these results are confirmed through further investigation, especially a randomised clinical trial, terazosin may provide neuroprotection and potentially prevent – and not just manage…

People with Parkinson’s disease have a “high interest” in herbal drugs, study finds

Researchers in Germany conducted a survey to assess how people with Parkinson’s disease perceive and experience medical cannabis. As part of the study, the team analysed answers from more than 1,300 people with Parkinson’s. They found that 65% of participants who did not use medical cannabis were interested in it, but lacked knowledge and feared side effects. Around 8% of participants reported using cannabis; of these, 54% reported beneficial effects – including 40% who reported reduced pain. Professor Dr Carsten Buhmann, lead study investigator, said: “Our data confirm that Parkinson’s disease patients have a high interest in treatment with medicinal cannabis […]. The data reported here may help physicians decide which patients could benefit, which symptoms could be addressed, and which type of cannabinoid and route of administration might be suitable. “It has to be stressed, though, that our findings are based on subjective patient reports and that clinically appropriate…

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Women and Parkinson’s

“Helping women with Parkinson’s know they are not alone”

“Finding information about being a woman with Parkinson’s was challenging”

“Life isn’t easy”: how coronavirus is affecting women with Parkinson’s