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October 2025 Newsletter

We're looking forward to seeing you at the UMN Fall 2025 Parkinson's Symposium tomorrow!

Where: Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345

This year has brought unprecedented advances in Parkinson's treatment, with several game-changing therapies receiving FDA approval, and exciting clinical trials showing great promise.

1. Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation (aDBS) Now FDA Approved
    Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) was first FDA approved in 1997. For the last 28 years, these kinds of devices have functioned by emitting a constant electrical current that disrupts the tremor-causing brain activity in a small area of the brain. Adaptive DBS is groundbreaking technology that allows the device to monitor the brain for electrical signals that indicate that Parkinson's symptoms may be worsening, and adjusts stimulation accordingly. This technology has been approved by the FDA in Medtronic’s BrainSense™ device. University of Minnesota clinicians work closely with patients to develop stimulation parameters, and when the device detects specific patterns of brain activity, it adjusts itself within these parameters to control PD symptoms and reduce side effects. This new technology is built into Medtronic’s Percept™ neurostimulators, which are already used by over 40,000 patients globally.  

2. Gene Therapy Advances
   You probably know that the symptoms of Parkinson's are caused by the death of brain cells that produce dopamine. Those brain cells manufacture dopamine because that's what they are programmed to do by your DNA (your genes). Gene therapy changes the way brain cells work by "reprogramming" the DNA in those cells.  Researchers are exploring a few different ways that gene therapy could be used to relieve Parkinson's symptoms: converting existing cells to produce dopamine, saving dying cells, or regrowing lost cells. One promising therapy is AskBio's AB-1005, which completed its Phase 1 trial, and is now being tested in a larger Phase 2 trial across the U.S. and Europe. 

3. Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promising Results
   Two landmark studies published in Nature this year have shown that stem cell therapy may offer powerful new relief for Parkinson’s disease. In a U.S.-based trial led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, researchers transplanted dopamine-producing neurons derived from embryonic stem cells into the brains of 12 patients. The cells survived, produced dopamine, and improved motor symptoms. High-dose recipients gained an average of 2.7 additional “ON” hours per day. Meanwhile, Japan’s Kyoto University Phase I/II trial used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) reprogrammed from adult donors. In both studies, the cells were also successfully transplanted, showed no major safety issues, and helped decrease PD symptoms. These studies mark a major step forward in regenerative medicine and have paved the way for larger, Phase 3 trials. 

4. Onapgo: Round-the-Clock Symptom Relief for Advanced PD
   The FDA has approved Onapgo, an infusion device that provides continuous, under-the-skin delivery of apomorphine hydrochloride to manage motor fluctuations in adults with advanced Parkinson’s disease. The device delivers medication directly into the bloodstream (bypassing the gastrointestinal tract, which can deliver unreliable results), enabling consistent stimulation of dopamine receptors in the brain. In a study of 107 people with advanced Parkinson’s disease, the device showed noticeable improvements in symptoms within just one week and those benefits lasted for at least three months. Some patients experienced mild side effects like skin irritation at the infusion site, nausea, drowsiness, and involuntary movements.


If you're interested in learning more about any of these treatments, please talk to your provider. Click here to see UMN movement disorder specialist clinic locations across the metro area.

Free Parkinson's Events in October

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