In short
The first six-month follow-up fMRI scan of a study participant arrived from the imaging work at Washington University in St. Louis. Zhittya planned to scan more participants. The final figure for this first scan followed in February.
The January 2025 update opened with news from the brain imaging work. On December 23, 2024, Dr. Jack Jacobs, Zhittya's president, received the first data from a six-month follow-up scan of one participant with Parkinson's.
The scan was a functional MRI, a type of scan that can measure blood flow in the brain. It was done at Washington University in St. Louis. The update said the first data showed an increase in blood flow to the substantia nigra, a small region deep in the brain where dopamine-producing nerve cells sit, six months after the participant was first dosed with FGF-1.
The update gave a preliminary figure for the increase. The final figure was reported the following month.
What the team said the scan meant
Dan Montano, the company's chief executive, wrote that for years the team had shared its hypothesis that poor blood vessel function in the brain plays a part in Parkinson's and in other brain disorders. He said that until then the reports of improvement had been anecdotal. They were the opinions of the participants and could not be checked scientifically. He described the scan as the first measured data to support the hypothesis.
He was also clear about the limits. One person, he wrote, is not a large enough group to take to the FDA. He compared the result to the Wright brothers' first flight: not statistical evidence, but a first sign that something might be possible. He added that this participant's result might turn out to be unique, and that other people might show smaller or larger changes.
The update said several more participants were going through the scanning process. Mr. Montano hoped to scan 15 more people over the next 12 months, and a few hundred in 2026 and 2027. He wrote that the team did not yet know how long any new blood flow would take to affect symptoms, or whether it could address only some of them. He thanked the more than 200 volunteers who had taken part in the company's studies so far.
Dr. Jacobs on the result and on nerve repair
Dr. Jacobs wrote that the increase in blood flow was seen six months after the participant received FGF-1 through the nose, and that it came alongside an improvement in that participant's motor skills at six months. He stressed that the data came from only one person and said the team was waiting for the next scans.
He then described a second property of FGF-1. Besides stimulating the growth of new blood vessels, he wrote, FGF-1 is known to protect damaged nerve cells and can stimulate neurogenesis, the growth of new working nerve cells. On that basis the company planned to begin human studies during the year in peripheral neuropathy, which is nerve damage in the limbs. Much of his section was general background on that condition.
Other items
The update shared comments from participants, on topics that included the return of smell and taste, movement and stamina. Mr. Montano also wrote that he had spent the previous week with the 32nd group of participants and had shared the scan news with them. He said two questions now mattered most: how long improvement takes, and what dosing schedule works best.
The update noted that the Nevada biotechnology association had chosen Dr. Jacobs for its annual award, to be presented in April, and it briefly mentioned other research areas.
This summary covers the Parkinson's research in the January 2025 update. The complete update, including the other topics it covered, is below.
Read the complete January 2025 update as published
The text of the update Zhittya sent, word for word. Pictures, charts and layout are in the PDF. Open the PDF.