Injecting medicine into amniotic fluid shows promise for treating genetic disorders

Injecting medicine into the amniotic fluid staves off progression of spinal muscular atrophy in utero.  Evidence is mounting that clinicians can treat serious genetic disorders prenatally by injecting medicine into the amniotic fluid, thus preventing damage that begins in utero. A UC San Francisco-led study found that delivering medicine for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) via … Read more

Early detection of primary progressive aphasia through speech and hearing tests

Difficulty finding words or the habit of substituting them with others that are similar semantically – such as knife and cutter – or phonologically – such as knife and wife – are usually the first symptoms of a type of dementia known as primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Another sign is a subtle difficulty in forming … Read more

The pharmacodynamics-based prophylactic benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors on neurodegenerative diseases: evidence from a network meta-analysis | BMC Medicine

Avogaro A, de Kreutzenberg SV, Morieri ML, Fadini GP, Del Prato S. Glucose-lowering drugs with cardiovascular benefits as modifiers of critical elements of the human life history. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2022;10(12):882–9. Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar  Erbil D, Eren CY, Demirel C, Kucuker MU, Solaroglu I, Eser HY. GLP-1’s role in neuroprotection: a systematic review. … Read more

Research on multiple sclerosis wins ‘Oscars of science’

An American neurologist and an Italian epidemiologist whose work revolutionized the treatment of multiple sclerosis on Saturday won a prestigious Breakthrough Prize, the award nicknamed the “Oscars of science.” Stephen Hauser and Alberto Ascherio were recognized for their decades researching the debilitating neurodegenerative disease, which affects nearly three million people worldwide and was long considered … Read more

Groundbreaking stem cell therapy trial for Alzheimer’s disease underway at UTHealth Houston

A stem cell therapy trial aimed at reducing neuroinflammation in patients with presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease is underway at UTHealth Houston. In Alzheimer’s disease, deposits of beta-amyloid and tau lead to the buildup of plaques and tangles in the brain, which cause dementia. An estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease … Read more

Parkinson’s disease will affect 25 million people by 2050, study warns

A major new study forecasts that Parkinson’s disease will affect over 25 million people globally by 2050, urging immediate action to tackle the growing neurological health crisis. Study: Projections for the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease and its driving factors in 195 countries and territories to 2050: a modeling study of Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. … Read more

Mechanisms of astrocyte aging in reactivity and disease | Molecular Neurodegeneration

Jin K, Yao Z, van Velthoven CTJ, Kaplan ES, Glattfelder K, Barlow ST, Boyer G, Carey D, Casper T, Chakka AB, et al: Brain-wide cell-type-specific transcriptomic signatures of healthy ageing in mice. Nature. 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08350-8. Online ahead of print). Liddelow SA, Olsen ML, Sofroniew MV. Reactive Astrocytes and Emerging Roles in Central Nervous System (CNS) … Read more

ASU researchers propose a unifying explanation for molecular chaos driving Alzheimer’s disease

In a groundbreaking theory, scientists at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute propose a unifying explanation for the molecular chaos driving Alzheimer’s disease. The condition causes widespread disruption of gene behavior, affecting every known neuropathology and clinical manifestation of the disease. According to the analysis, the changes caused by the illness may stem from a breakdown … Read more

Dementia hits clever people harder, study finds

Dementia claims the lives of smarter people sooner, scientists have discovered. People who spend more years at school or in education are likely to deteriorate from the neurodegenerative disease faster, according to the biggest study of its kind. Scientists have dubbed the phenomenon the “cognitive reserve paradigm”. A person’s cognitive reserve is their brain’s ability … Read more