Brain Support Network

The meetings give time for caregivers to unload their fears and frustrations.

Though my husband passed away in 2023, my mind is still fresh with all the help and understanding given to me by the caregiver support group. Meetings assist the spouses/caregivers balance their lives while dealing with a terrible disease.
- Mary B.
2/9/26

#braindonation

Right now, there are no FDA-approved medications specifically for DLB, and most available treatments address only pieces of the condition. That is why new research into potential therapies is so important.

LBDA Clinical Trial Results Published: The SHIMMER Study

People living with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) often face a difficult mix of symptoms—changes in thinking, movement, behavior, sleep, and daily function.

lbda.org/clinical-tri...

#lewybodydementia

The article is about Nick Fox, MD, a neurologist in London, who describes some of the signs that are overlooked such as loss of motivation, personality changes, and lack of empathy.

Signs of young-onset dementias are difficult to diagnose because neurologists and families don't think of dementia appearing in someone in their 40s or 50s.

Recognizing the Easily Mistaken Signs of Young-Onset Dementia

The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) has an interesting summary on its website of an article about young-onset dementia in The Telegraph (UK).

www.theaftd.org/1ftd-in-the-...

#FTD #dementia

Constipation plagues many PD patients, often decades before motor and cognitive symptoms arrive. This, plus the identification of α-synuclein and Lewy bodies in the intestines, has raised the question of whether PD, in some cases, stems from the gut.

Gut Punch: Macrophages Bring Parkinson’s From Belly to Brain

People with #Parkinson’s disease have α-synuclein clumps in the brain, but these aggregates are not the only thing clogging them up.

www.alzforum.org/news/researc...

“I was lost when I first began my PD journey; I was in denial for months after my diagnosis. The BLAAC PD study gave me courage to embrace PD, help myself, and devote myself to research that will help Black patients,” says Toney.

After some months, Toney took action. She found the Black and African American Connections to Parkinson’s Disease (BLAAC PD) study and started contributing to research.

A retired accountant and mother of two adult sons, Toney hadn’t heard much about the disease and had been diagnosed with a list of other conditions. She now sees how the signs building for nearly a decade led to Parkinson’s disease.

“We Deserve Answers Too”: Toney Matthews’ Road to Research

When Toney Matthews of St. Louis received her #Parkinson’s diagnosis in April 2023, she was stunned.

www.michaeljfox.org/news/we-dese...

The conversation highlights how recognizing and addressing shame may open new avenues for more holistic, patient-centered management.

Drawing on her team's recent research, Dr. Vanessa Fleury discusses the psychological and clinical determinants of shame, its strong link to quality of life, and why it deserves greater attention in routine care.

Shame in Parkinson's disease: An unseen burden

This episode explores shame as an often-overlooked but impactful non-motor symptom of #Parkinson’s disease.

www.movementdisorders.org/Podcasts/Sha...

“I grieved the loss of my mother long before she died.”
– Local Support Group Member

#caregiving

That scale and diversity are already reshaping how Parkinson’s disease is studied — and how it may eventually be treated.

The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) has now genotyped more than 100,000 participants worldwide, with roughly one third of samples coming from historically underrepresented populations.

In this episode of Mendelspod, we return to the kind of ambitious, shared genomics project that helped define the field a decade ago.

Inside GP2: Building a Global Genetic Map of #Parkinson’s with Andrew Singleton and Ignacio Mata

Large-scale genomics is back — and this time, it’s global by design.

www.mendelspod.com/p/inside-gp2...

Can Lithium Protect the Aging Brain?
— Glimmer of hope emerges in pilot trial of people with mild cognitive impairment
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/de...

#aging

Supportive criteria were higher in PD, with excellent levodopa response and rest tremor most useful.

To assess validity of each criterion in pathologically-confirmed cases, a scoping literature review between 1988-2024 using search terms for clinicopathological PD and atypical parkinsonian disorders identified 28 articles.

The 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Diagnostic criteria for Parkinson Disease are based on expert consensus opinion and defines core motor features, ‘Absolute Exclusion Criteria’ and a balance of ‘Supportive Criteria’ and ‘Red Flags’.

Check out the knowledge made possible through brain donation!

Revisiting the 2015 MDS diagnostic criteria for #Parkinson disease

Insights from autopsy-confirmed cases

Read more: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Sex-specificity in PD, while recognized, remains underestimated in research and clinical management. Here are just some of the ways women may experience PD differently. #IWD2026 https://loom.ly/R5a8yqs

This ‘rewiring’ was essential for mice in the study to gradually improve their running endurance.

This ‘rewiring’ was essential for mice in the study to gradually improve their running endurance.

Exercise pumps up your muscles — but it might also be pumping up your neurons. According to a study published today in Neuron1, repeated exercise sessions on a treadmill strengthen the wiring in a mouse’s brain, making certain neurons quicker to activate.