Neuroscience

An experimental drug has been shown to slow the progression and prolong survival of patients suffering from the neurodegenerative disease ALS. With Phase 2 human trials complete, the company developing the treatment is working to accelerate its approval.

A growing body of study is beginning to suggest severe apathy in older adults is an early sign of dementia. New research is now presenting one of the first longitudinal studies to show apathy could be an early symptom of cognitive decline.

A pair of studies are showing how passive smartphone data can be used to predict relapse episodes in schizophrenia patients. The research used machine learning to analyze behavioral data and predict schizophrenic relapses up to one month before they occurred.

An intriguing new animal study is suggesting a hunger-regulating hormone secreted from the stomach may also influence memory and cognitive function. The study builds on a growing body of research into gut-brain communication via the vagus nerve.

A new imaging study has found a high density of cells in a certain brain region can effectively predict future weight gain in children. The research suggests an inflammatory response in the brain, triggered by poor diet, can influence future overeating.

Scientists have found fecal transplants from old mice to young mice result in the younger animals displaying learning and memory impairments. The findings build on a growing body of research linking age-related cognitive decline with gut microbiome changes.

New research reveals a novel drug, designed to break up the aggregations of toxic proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease, can effectively slow the disease in mouse models. The researchers are now looking at moving toward human trials.

Research analyzing brainwave patterns in both children and young adults while they wrote by hand and typed on a keyboard reveals distinct brain activity between the activities, suggesting learning may be more effective when accompanied by handwriting.

Stem cells could help treat a variety of diseases. A new study has found that transplanting neurons grown from stem cells into the brains of mice with Parkinson’s disease repaired the damaged brain circuits, improving the animals’ motor skills.

A new study offers strong evidence linking Alzheimer’s disease and sleep apnea. The research, studying autopsied brain tissue, shows how the protein aggregations seen in Alzheimer’s spread in the same way through the brains of patients with sleep apnea.

A protein, previously found to be an effective blood-based biomarker of neurodegenerative diseases, has for the first time been detected in eye fluid. The discovery lays the foundation for eye tests to catch neurodegenerative diseases before symptoms appear.

New research has identified a dramatic change to the nature and purpose of sleep in babies, occurring around the age of two. The discovery suggests sleep initially aides brain building and neurodevelopment before rapidly switching to a reparative role.