In short
Intranasal FGF-1 dosing studies continued for Parkinson's and multiple system atrophy. Participants sent reports about thinking, mobility and quality of life.
Most of the July 2025 update covered other research areas and company business. The parts about the brain research are summarized here.
The update noted that FGF-1 was discovered in the 1980s and has since been the subject of more than 7,000 scientific papers. It stressed that this body of work was done by universities and other research groups, not by Zhittya, and said it had guided the company's own studies.
Brain research
Dan Montano, the chief executive, and Vika Montano had just returned from the 38th study group. The group included participants with Parkinson's and one participant with multiple system atrophy, or MSA.
The update described MSA as a fatal disease in which the autonomic system fails. That system sits mainly in the brain stem and runs breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure and other basic functions. The team's belief was that poor blood vessel function in the brain stem leads those nerve cells to underperform and die.
Mr. Montano wrote that the brain research was still evolving. Dosing had moved from level 1 to level 23, with some participants dosed for up to three years. The team had tested five devices for delivering FGF-1 through the nose and was trying a sixth. The work was budgeted for the coming year.
In his closing section he wrote that the team had seen participants with Parkinson's regain motor skills, body functions and mental abilities, but not as planned: it was taking more FGF-1 and more time than the team first imagined. He called the first participant's functional MRI result good news, and only one step.
Participant reports
The update shared comments from five participants or family members. Topics included taking part in conversation, being able to keep working, sleep, tremor, energy, sense of smell, color perception, bladder control and falls. One participant, whose condition involves shrinkage of the cerebellum, reported no improvement in balance or foot placement.
The update noted that the brain imaging studies at Washington University in St. Louis, which measure brain blood flow before and after dosing, were continuing.
This summary covers the Parkinson's research in the July 2025 update. The complete update, including the other topics it covered, is below.
Read the complete July 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.