Erasing “bad memories” to improve long term Parkinson’s disease treatment

Common treatments for Parkinson’s disease can manage short-term symptoms but often cause long-term issues like dyskinesia, which are uncontrollable movements. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham discovered that treating dyskinesia as a "bad motor memory" and blocking a protein called Activin A can prevent these symptoms. This approach could allow patients to stay on their Parkinson’s treatment longer without developing dyskinesia. The study showed that blocking Activin A in mice stopped dyskinesia, potentially leading to better long-term treatments for Parkinson’s patients.