Parkinson's Disease: Recent Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment
A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Neurology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2026 | Viewed by 858
Special Issue Editors
Interests: Parkinson’s disease; disease-modifying therapies; artificial intelligence; microbiome; alpha-synuclein; neuroimaging
Interests: parkinson disease; disease modifying therapies; artificial intelligence; microbiome; alpha-synuclein; neuroimaging
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Current diagnostic criteria for Parkinson’s disease (PD) rely on clinical criteria, and early diagnosis remains a challenge. Researchers have made significant strides in identifying reliable biomarkers to detect the disease earlier, even before motor symptoms appear. These include measuring alpha-synuclein in various body fluids and tissues and identifying specific inflammatory markers in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid, including lysosomal enzymes, fatty acid-binding proteins, and neurofilament light chains, whose concentrations differ in different neurodegenerative diseases. Carriers of specific gene variants have an increased risk of developing PD.
Neuroimaging, utilising technologies like MRI, PET, and SPECT, has similarly advanced the diagnosis and management of these disorders.
The digital revolution has also transformed Parkinson's diagnosis. Wearable sensors and smartphone applications now allow for objective measurement to monitor disease progression and treatment response in patients' daily lives. Artificial intelligence algorithms analyse these data alongside other clinical information and might detect prodromal PD in its motor and non-motor manifestations.
Moreover, the gut–brain connection has led to investigations of the gut microbiome as both a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target. Indeed, on the treatment front, beyond dopamine replacement, novel drug targets or disease-modifying therapies are showing promise in clinical trials. Nutritional and exercise approaches have also shown effects.
The future points toward precision medicine approaches that take into account each patient's unique biological, genetic, and environmental factors to create tailored treatment regimens.
Dr. Mariachiara Sensi
Dr. Fabiana Colucci
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- Parkinson’s disease
- disease-modifying therapies
- artificial intelligence
- microbiome
- alpha-synuclein
- neuroimaging
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