Clinical Research on Parkinson’s Disease: Opportunities and Challenges (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurodegenerative Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 216

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail
Guest Editor
1. Psychology and Pedagogy Research Center, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires C1107AFD, Argentina
2. Department of Physiology, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina
Interests: Parkinson’s disease; neuropsychological disorders; disease-modifying therapies; clinical research; epidemiology; non-motor symptoms; quality of life; technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Advanced Studies in Human and Health Sciences, Inter-American Open Uni-versity, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, CAECIHS, UAICONICET, Av. Montes de Oca 745, Buenos Aires C1147AAU, Argentina
Interests: neurodegeneration; metabolic syndrome; diabetes; oxidative stress; inflammation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail
Guest Editor
1. Center for Advanced Studies in Human and Health Sciences, Inter-American Open University, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, CAECIHS, UAI-CONICET, Av. Montes de Oca 745, Buenos Aires C1147AAU, Argentina
2. Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Chile, Santiago 7500912, Chile
Interests: neurodegeneration-neuroprotection; cell biology-synapses; 3D reconstructions; electron tomography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are no adequate animal or cellular models of the chronic, insidious development of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) or most non-motor symptoms that affect patients. Therefore, clinical research is essential to better understanding the genesis, progression, and treatment of PD. Furthermore, genetic influences can only be studied using clinical studies. Quality of life is one of the most important aspects for patients; thus, more research about its determinants using observational studies is required. Finally, new treatments for non-motor features and improved therapies for motor symptoms are urgently needed.

This Special Issue includes the most recent and cutting-edge research on clinical aspects of PD, including diagnosis, the assessment of motor and non-motor symptoms, biochemical testing, the evaluation of prognostic factors, the development of machine learning/artificial intelligence algorithms, and the evaluation of treatment efficacy and safety. All types of papers, including original articles, brief reports, opinion articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, are welcome. Authors from all around the world are encouraged to submit high-quality research articles to this Special Issue.

Dr. Santiago Perez-Lloret
Dr. Matilde Otero-Losada
Dr. Francisco Capani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Parkinson’s disease
  • disease-modifying therapies
  • clinical research
  • epidemiology
  • non-motor symptoms
  • quality of life
  • technology
  • observational studies
  • randomized controlled trials

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 389 KiB  
Article
Metabolic Syndrome and Parkinson’s Disease: Two Villains Join Forces
by Lucas Udovin, Sofía Bordet, Hanny Barbar, Matilde Otero-Losada, Santiago Pérez-Lloret and Francisco Capani
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(7), 706; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15070706 - 30 Jun 2025
Abstract
Background: Metabolic syndrome and Parkinson’s disease have common pathophysiological denominators. This study aimed to investigate how metabolic syndrome contributes to Parkinson’s disease progression, as well as the genetic traits shared by PD and MetS. Methods: Four hundred and twenty-three newly diagnosed drug-naïve PD [...] Read more.
Background: Metabolic syndrome and Parkinson’s disease have common pathophysiological denominators. This study aimed to investigate how metabolic syndrome contributes to Parkinson’s disease progression, as well as the genetic traits shared by PD and MetS. Methods: Four hundred and twenty-three newly diagnosed drug-naïve PD patients were analyzed from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) database. We compared longitudinal changes in the total and subscale scores of the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) between PD patients with and without metabolic syndrome over a five-year follow-up. We assessed the frequency of PD-associated genetic variants in both groups. Results: At baseline, Parkinson’s patients with MetS were typically men (p < 0.01) and older (p = 0.04), with a higher Hoehn and Yahr score (p = 0.01) compared with their counterparts without MetS. They showed higher Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) total scores at baseline and in follow-up years 2, 3, 4, and 5 (all p-values < 0.05) as analyzed by the Generalized Estimating Equation model. These differences were primarily driven by elevated motor scores (MDS-UPDRS Part III) (p < 0.01). MetS was associated with a higher frequency of the ZNF646.KAT8.BCKDK_rs14235 variant and a lower frequency of the NUCKS1_rs823118 and CTSB_rs1293298 variants. Conclusions: PD patients with MetS had worse motor symptomatology. Both conditions appear to share genetic susceptibility, involving genes related to lipid metabolism (BCKDK), autophagy and inflammation (CTSB), and chromatin regulation (NUCKS1). Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop