The latest breakthroughs in Parkinson’s research

In 2023, the UK had more than 166,000 people living with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative condition with no known cure. But as Professor David Dexter, Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK, explains on this episode of Instant Genius, the field is undergoing a quiet transformation. Researchers now believe there may be two distinct types of Parkinson’s, and several experimental treatments — from stem cell transplants to adaptive brain implants — are moving into advanced clinical trials. The picture is more complex and more hopeful than the public narrative often suggests.

What is happening in the Parkinson’s brain

At the cellular level, Parkinson’s is driven by a protein called alpha-synuclein that misfolds and accumulates inside neurons, clogging them up. The most affected pathway is the nigrostriatal system, which controls the initiation, execution, and termination of movement. This explains the classic motor symptoms: slowness, rigidity, and tremor (though only 40% of patients actually have a tremor). But Dexter emphasizes that there are roughly 40 other symptoms, including constipation, blood pressure dysregulation, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and dementia. “It is a real complex picture,” he says.

Body-first versus brain-first Parkinson’s