The number and health burden of Parkinson’s disease increase rapidly in China. It is estimated that China will have nearly half of the Parkinson’s disease population in the world in 2030. In this review, we present an overview of epidemiology and health economics status of Parkinson’s disease across China and discuss the risk factors of Parkinson’s disease and related complications. From the view of clinical research, we also discuss the current status of clinical trials, diagnostic biomarkers, treatment of Parkinson’s disease, tertiary network and post-occupation education in Chinese Parkinson’s disease clinics. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40035-019-0162-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Tai Chi has been shown to improve motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but its long-term effects and the related mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effects of long-term Tai Chi training on motor symptoms in PD and the underlying mechanisms. Methods Ninety-five early-stage PD patients were enrolled and randomly divided into Tai Chi (n = 32), brisk walking (n = 31) and no-exercise (n = 32) groups. At baseline, 6 months and 12 months during one-year intervention, all participants underwent motor symptom evaluation by Berg balance scale (BBS), Unified PD rating-scale (UPDRS), Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and 3D gait analysis, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), plasma cytokine and metabolomics analysis, and blood Huntingtin interaction protein 2 (HIP2) mRNA level analysis. Longitudinal self-changes were calculated using repeated measures ANOVA. GEE (generalized estimating equations) was used to assess factors associated with the longitudinal data of rating scales. Switch rates were used for fMRI analysis. False discovery rate correction was used for multiple correction. Results Participants in the Tai Chi group had better performance in BBS, UPDRS, TUG and step width. Besides, Tai Chi was advantageous over brisk walking in improving BBS and step width. The improved BBS was correlated with enhanced visual network function and downregulation of interleukin-1β. The improvements in UPDRS were associated with enhanced default mode network function, decreased L-malic acid and 3-phosphoglyceric acid, and increased adenosine and HIP2 mRNA levels. In addition, arginine biosynthesis, urea cycle, tricarboxylic acid cycle and beta oxidation of very-long-chain fatty acids were also improved by Tai Chi training. Conclusions Long-term Tai Chi training improves motor function, especially gait and balance, in PD. The underlying mechanisms may include enhanced brain network function, reduced inflammation, improved amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism and neurotransmitter metabolism, and decreased vulnerability to dopaminergic degeneration. Trial registration This study has been registered at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registration number: ChiCTR2000036036; Registration date: August 22, 2020).

In October 2018, an outbreak of transmissible viral proventriculitis (TVP) occurred in 30-day-old commercial broiler chickens on a farm in Weifang, China. TVP, an infectious viral disease characterized by runting and stunting, is associated with many viruses, and has a significant economic impact on the global poultry industry. TVP is diagnosed according to clinical symptoms, gross and histological lesions, and negative PCR results for pathogenic bacteria, avian leukosis virus subgroup J, Marek's disease virus, reticuloendotheliosis virus, infectious bursa disease virus, avian reovirus, chicken anemia virus, infectious bronchitis virus, chicken proventricular necrosis virus, gyrovirus 3 and chicken circovirus. To further detect the possible causative pathogens of TVP, we used PacBio third-generation sequencing to examine proventricular samples. A dominant abundance of the novel cyclovirus (CyCV), chCyCV-SDAU-1, was identified in broilers with TVP. The complete chCyCV-SDAU-1 genome was verified via inverse PCR, was 1936 bp long, and consisted of Rep, Cp, and two intergenic regions. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that chCyCV-SDAU-1 formed an independent branch with other cycloviruses. The homology of chCyCV-SDAU-1 with 20 others known cycloviruses was < 40%. Retrospective investigation showed that the CyCV infection rate in the broilers with TVP was 80% (16/20), while no CyCV was found in healthy chickens. In conclusion, a novel CyCV was identified in chickens with TVP, though its role in this disease is unclear.