News

Transforming Parkinson’s Care for Underserved Communities

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

A new research project is seeking to reshape care for patients with Parkinson’s disease, Lewy Body Dementia, and related neurodegenerative disorders and address disparities in care and outcomes in Black and Hispanic populations.
Parkinson’s is the world’s fastest-growing brain disease, and traditional care models—focused mainly on motor symptoms—are proving insufficient. Recent studies have highlighted that non-motor symptoms such as pain, depression, and cognitive decline can be as devastating, often leading to diminished quality of life, increased caregiver strain, and even higher mortality rates.

A New Paradigm in Parkinson’s Management
Traditionally associated with cancer care, palliative care is now emerging as an important strategy for neurodegenerative conditions. Addressing the full spectrum of patient needs—ranging from symptom management to advanced care planning—palliative care has been shown to improve both patient and caregiver outcomes. The new project will explore how to adapt these models to Black and Hispanic communities in a manner that is culturally relevant, accessible, and scalable.

"The neuro palliative care approach goes beyond traditional neurology by addressing the comprehensive total pain of Parkinson’s,” said University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) neurologist Benzi Kluger, MD, MS. This holistic model is especially critical for people living in underserved communities who are at higher risk for having symptoms under-treated and may face additional challenges in coordinating care including financial strain."
Kluger—co-principal investigator of the new National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-funded project—is a pioneer in palliative care. In 2023, he led an international effort to create a framework for its application to neurological disorders.

While research shows that palliative care can improve outcomes for Parkinson’s patients, Black and Hispanic communities are underrepresented in these studies, potentially widening already significant disparities in care. Other research indicates that these groups experience more severe non-motor symptoms and face substantial barriers to receiving comprehensive care.

Integrated UR Pharmacy Services Help Patients at the UR Multiple Sclerosis Center Save Thousands on Specialty Medications

Friday, April 11, 2025

Pharmacists from the UR Specialty Pharmacy Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Team collaborated with the Neurology Medication Access Team to evaluate the financial assistance used by patients with MS for their high-cost specialty medications, including disease-modifying therapies and the symptomatic treatment, dalfampridine. These therapies can be prohibitively expensive, often presenting a significant barrier to starting treatment.

Their study, recently published in the International Journal of MS Care, highlights the critical role of integrated pharmacy services in assisting patients in securing financial support for these essential medications.

Between July 20, 2020, and July 20, 2022, a total of 663 eligible patients received over $3.37 million in financial assistance. Patients received a median of $2.08 (IQR 12.02) per day of medication coverage.

Specialty pharmacies and medication access specialists, embedded within the health system, are uniquely positioned to significantly reduce out-of-pocket medication costs. By helping patients navigate financial assistance programs, these services enable better access to life-changing MS treatments.

Read more: Financial Assistance Value for Equitable Access to Specialty Medications for Adults With Multiple Sclerosis Using Health System Pharmacy Services

The great brain clearance and dementia debate

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Scientists have known about a link between poor sleep and an increased risk of dementia for decades. Maiken Nedergaard, codirector of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine, says that people who report six hours or less of sleep a night are more likely to develop dementia later. “Sleep disturbances very often precede the first sign of dementia by many years.”

Brain’s Own Repair Mechanism: New Neurons May Reverse Damage in Huntington’s Disease

Monday, April 7, 2025

New research shows that the adult brain can generate new neurons that integrate into key motor circuits. The findings demonstrate that stimulating natural brain processes may help repair damaged neural networks in Huntington’s and other diseases.

“Our research shows that we can encourage the brain’s own cells to grow new neurons that join in naturally with the circuits controlling movement,” said Abdellatif Benraiss, PhD, a senior author of the study, which appears in the journal Cell Reports. “This discovery offers a potential new way to restore brain function and slow the progression of these diseases.” Benraiss is a research associate professor in the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) lab of Steve Goldman, MD, PhD, in the Center for Translational Neuromedicine.

It was long believed that the adult brain could not generate new neurons. However, it is now understood that niches in the brain contain reservoirs of progenitor cells capable of producing new neurons. While these cells actively produce neurons during early development, they switch to producing support cells called glia shortly after birth. One of the areas of the brain where these cells congregate is the ventricular zone, which is adjacent to the striatum, a region of the brain devastated by Huntington’s disease.

The idea that the adult brain retains the capacity to produce new neurons, called adult neurogenesis, was first described by Goldman and others in the 1980s while studying neuroplasticity in canaries. Songbirds, like canaries, are unique in the animal kingdom in their ability to lay down new neurons as they learn new songs. The research in songbirds identified proteins—one of which was brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—that direct progenitor cells to differentiate and produce neurons.

Further research in Goldman’s lab showed that new neurons were generated when BDNF and another protein, Noggin, were delivered to progenitor cells in the brains of mice. These cells then migrated to a nearby motor control region of the brain—the striatum—where they developed into cells known as medium spiny neurons, the major cells lost in Huntington’s disease. Benraiss and Goldman also demonstrated that the same agents could induce new medium spiny neuron formation in primates.

Navigating Memory and Cognitive Health: A Guide for Families Facing Dementia

Thursday, January 9, 2025

While some cognitive decline—such as occasional word-finding difficulties or minor memory lapses—is a normal part of aging, the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease are much different, says David Gill, MD, Chief of the UR Medicine Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology.

Here’s what Dr. Gill says to look for, along with guidance for families facing difficult conversations and decisions associated with memory and cognitive challenges.

Recognizing Early Signs of Dementia
Look for:

• Memory disruptions that interfere with daily life
• Difficulty planning or solving problems
• Challenges with familiar tasks
• Confusion about time or place
• Misplacing items with an inability to retrace steps
• Poor judgment
• Withdrawal from social or work activities
• Significant mood or personality changes

Identifying these signs early allows for timely clinical evaluation and care that can make a meaningful difference.

Common Sleep Aid May Leave Behind a Dirty Brain

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Getting a good night’s sleep is a critical part of our daily biological cycle and is associated with improved brain function, a stronger immune system, and a healthier heart. Conversely, sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea can significantly impact health and quality of life. Poor sleep often precedes the onset of neurodegenerative diseases and is a predictor of early dementia.

New research appearing in the journal Cell describes for the first time the tightly synchronized oscillations in the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, cerebral blood, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that combine during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep in mice. These oscillations power the glymphatic system—a brain-wide network responsible for removing protein waste, including amyloid and tau, associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

New research appearing in the journal Cell describes for the first time the tightly synchronized oscillations in the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, cerebral blood, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that combine during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep in mice. These oscillations power the glymphatic system—a brain-wide network responsible for removing protein waste, including amyloid and tau, associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

“As the brain transitions from wakefulness to sleep, processing of external information diminishes while processes such as glymphatic removal of waste products are activated,” said Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, co-director of the University of Rochester Center for Translational Neuromedicine and lead author of the study. “The motivation for this research was to better understand what drives glymphatic flow during sleep, and the insights from this study have broad implications for understanding the components of restorative sleep.”

The study also holds a warning for people who use the commonly prescribed sleep aid zolpidem. The drug suppressed the glymphatic system, potentially setting the stage for neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s, which are the result of the toxic accumulation of proteins in the brain.