EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This month, we’re spotlighting Parkinson’s disease research in recognition of Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Here, we’ll share the latest research on Parkinson’s disease, how scientists are working to better understand its causes and progression, advances in treatment and care, and more.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Apr-2026 09:16 ET (23-Apr-2026 13:16 GMT/UTC)

29-Jan-2026

Early signs of Parkinson’s can be identified in the blood

Chalmers University of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team led by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has succeeded in identifying biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease in its earliest stages, before extensive brain damage has occurred. The biological processes leave measurable traces in the blood, but only for a limited period. The discovery thus reveals a window of opportunity that could be crucial for future treatment, but also for early diagnosis via blood tests, which could begin to be tested in healthcare within five years.

Journal: npj Parkinson s Disease
Funder: Chalmers Health Engineering Area of Advance, Sweden, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Research Council of Norway, NAISS (National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden), Swedish Research Council

28-Jan-2026

Targeting the gut's immune system could tackle early stages of Parkinson's

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research reveals how Parkinson’s spreads from the gut to the brain, with the help of immune cells – offering a new potential therapeutic strategy – in a study in mice led by scientists at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (University College London).

Journal: Nature

27-Jan-2026

AMALIA: a scalable platform to accelerate the discovery of small anti-amyloid molecules

Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)
Grant and Award Announcement

Dr Benedetta Bolognesi, principal investigator at IBEC, has been awarded a prestigious ERC Proof of Concept grant. These grants are awarded by the European Research Council to support the exploration of the commercial and societal potential of research projects conducted within European institutions. The winning project, AMALIA, aims to transform the search for anti-amyloid therapies and contribute to reducing the enormous health and economic impact of these diseases.

Funder: European Research Council

26-Jan-2026

A skin biopsy to detect a rare neurodegenerative disease

Université de Genève
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) is a rare, progressive and highly aggressive degenerative disease. It is caused by the misfolding of a specific protein, leading to its toxic accumulation in the form of filamentous deposits in various organs. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI), have succeeded for the first time in determining the three-dimensional structure of abnormal protein deposits from a skin biopsy of a living patient. This breakthrough opens the door to earlier, less invasive diagnosis, potentially accessible to a much larger number of patients and applicable to other diseases. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

22-Jan-2026

New study links altered cellular states to brain structure

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Findings from the Living Brain Project reveal how senescence processes involved in early brain development may also shape brain aging

Journal: Cell

22-Jan-2026

Brain network disorders study provides insights into the role of molecular chaperones in neurodegenerative diseases

Brain Network Disorders Editorial Office
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis are marked by the buildup of misfolded proteins that slowly destroy brain cells, yet treatments that address this root cause are still lacking. Interestingly, researchers provide a comprehensive review of the role of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) molecular chaperones in several neurodegenerative diseases. Notably, Hsp70 exert neuroprotective effects and mitigate the occurrence of pathological protein aggregates.

Journal: Brain Network Disorders

22-Jan-2026

Research reveals regional and demographic differences in Parkinson’s disease in the Netherlands

Utrecht University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Parkinson’s disease is more common among individuals with a higher socioeconomic status and in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. In the southern provinces, Parkinson’s occurs less frequently. Men are at greater risk than women, and the risk increases with age, peaking between 75 and 85 years. These findings come from a large-scale study by researchers at Utrecht University and Radboudumc on the number of new patients and the distribution of Parkinson’s disease in the Netherlands between 2017 and 2022.

Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe

20-Jan-2026

Researchers study whether intentionally manipulating blood carbon dioxide levels might enhance brain health

University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at The University of New Mexico School of Medicine, the Mind Research Network (MRN) – a division of Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute – and the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System are exploring whether intentionally raising and lowering blood levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) through rhythmic CO₂exposure or controlled breathing might boost the glymphatic system’s effectiveness and improve brain health.

15-Jan-2026

Discovery reveals how keto diet can prevent seizures when drugs fail

University of Virginia Health System
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have revealed how the popular, low-carb keto diet protects against epilepsy seizures and possibly neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Funder: UVA Brain Institute