The endocytic receptor SORL1 has come to fruition both literally and figuratively. An interactive diagram of the 2,214 amino acid behemoth—filled with findings about hundreds of rare variants—is live for viewing on the Alzforum Mutations database. A handf
Researchers have tied sleep to clearance of waste products such as excess Aβ. New research suggests this clearance may be driven by a change in the extracellular ion composition, which swells the interstitial fluid. Other work finds an essential role for
A $40 million multicenter biomarker study for Parkinson disease progression is off and running, with enrollment underway at 10 of 18 sites in the U.S. and Europe. In design and operation, the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) follow
In the Finnish city of Kuopio, neurosurgeons collaborate with neurophysiologists and molecular and cellular biologists to make frontal cortex, dura, intraventricular CSF, skin, fat, and other tissue from hydrocephalus patients available for research purpo
Have neuroscientists entered the era of the programmable brain? Thanks to optogenetics and pharmacogenetics, which let scientists switch neuronal activity on or off with light or designer drugs, scientists can now control specific subtypes of neurons in r
With the holidays upon us, are your nerves fraying under the combined pressures of work deadlines, shopping, decorating, and entertaining? Now may be a good time to sit back and consider the effects of stress on the brain. Stress per se is not a cause of
As populations age worldwide and the number of people with dementia is set to soar over the next few decades, a crisis in eldercare looms. At the same time, the use of personal technology—smartphones, tablets, wearable monitors—is exploding. Can technolog
If you listen to National Public Radio, watch TV, or surf the Web, chances are you have come across commercials enticing you to “improve your memory” and “unlock your inner genius” with “brain training developed by neuroscientists.” In search of solid ev
U.S. guidelines for assessing Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology are getting a much-needed facelift. The existing ones, in place since 1997, had fallen out of step with the current understanding of AD as a disease with a long preclinical stage.
Did you know that if you had a spinal tap for a cerebrospinal fluid-based Alzheimer's diagnosis in Boston, Stockholm, London, or San Diego, the readout would likely be different in each place? And different again this year and next? That's a pro
Are you curious about trying iPS cell lines to model the disease you care about? Intrigued but nebulous on where the field is at? Ready to grow an iPS line but not sure where to turn? Read Madolyn Rogers's four-part series to learn all about who does
Last year's ice bucket challenge for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis netted $220 million in donations for ALS charities, and the 2015 challenge is off to a strong start with $100,000 from Major League Baseball. Alzforum looks at how all that money is b
In this series, ARF takes stock of deep-brain stimulation after more than a decade of life-altering procedures, In deep brain stimulation, surgeons implant wires into the brain and hook them up to a pacemaker-like stimulator implanted in the chest, which
Alzforum readers might be forgiven for thinking all microglia do is act prominently, if mysteriously, in Alzheimer's pathogenesis. Not so. A recent flurry of papers shows that microglia can match themselves specifically to GABA synapses. They can rev
The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative is the most expensive AD study the NIH has ever funded. Expectations are that it will speak with the authoritative voice of a 58-center, three-year observation of 819 research participants above a curre