RESEARCH NEWS 2014-04-25 Research News Long repeat sequences in the C9ORF72 gene have cropped up in cases of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and depressive pseudodementia, according to two new case studies. The findings, published in JAMA Neurology on April 14 and 21, respectively,
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-04-25 Research News In Alzheimer’s brains, the axonal protein tau strays into dendritic spines and stirs up trouble at synapses. Researchers have called this a mislocalization, but a paper in the April 23 Journal of Neuroscience challenges this view, suggesting
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-04-26 Research News The experimental muscle-stimulating drug Tirasemtiv was unable to improve amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) symptoms in a Phase 2 clinical trial, according to top-line data. Announced April 25 by the drug’s developer, South San Francisco-b
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-04-26 Research News In order to gauge the effectiveness of disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s, researchers are looking for a biomarker that measures how far a person’s disease has advanced. In the April 21 JAMA Neurology, scientists led by Kun-Ju Lin a
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-04-28 Research News It appears that scientists have finally succeeded in cloning adult human cells, a goal that has tantalized the field since the first successful cloning of an adult mammal, Dolly the sheep, in 1996. Two independent papers report the generatio
CONFERENCE COVERAGE 2014-05-01 Conference Coverage On April 4, 150 researchers gathered in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine for the first Zilkha Symposium on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders. The conference aimed to put a growing n
CONFERENCE COVERAGE 2014-05-02 Conference Coverage Besides hypertension (see part one of this series), a second source of neurovascular damage in the aging human brain took center stage at the inaugural Zilkha Symposium on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, held April 4 at the
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-05-02 Research News Genome-wide association studies reveal whether genetic variants influence susceptibility to disease, but say nothing about how they do it. In Alzheimer's, for example, most GWAS hits fall in non-coding regions of the genome, suggesting
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-05-02 Research News Hippocampal atrophy characterizes symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease, but a study in the April 28 JAMA Neurology makes the case that degeneration actually begins in the frontoparietal cortex. Researchers led by Niklas Mattsson at the University
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-05-02 Research News A third amyloid imaging agent has joined the ranks of those approved for clinical use. Piramal Imaging’s PET tracer florbetaben, now rechristened Neuraceq, got the nod from the European Medicines Agency on February 20, and from the U.S. Food
CONFERENCE COVERAGE 2014-05-06 Conference Coverage The neurovascular focus of the first Zilkha Symposium on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, held April 4 in Los Angeles, started off with talks on the blood-brain barrier and midlife hypertension (parts one and two of this seri
CONFERENCE COVERAGE 2014-05-05 Conference Coverage As the brain ages, its microglial cells turn sluggish in their task of ingesting and degrading toxic products, and the flow of blood through its micro vessels slows. Are there components in the blood that age the brain—and can renew it
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-05-09 Research News Named after the Greek goddess who spins the thread of life, the klotho gene not only extends lifespan in mice and humans but also bestows greater intelligence, according to a paper published open-access in Cell Reports on May 8. Scientists l
RESEARCH NEWS 2014-05-13 Research News Fledgling neurons in the hippocampus are thought to play a major role in laying down new memories. Now, a study suggests that neurogenesis also makes us quickly forget. In the May 9 Science, researchers led by Sheena Josselyn and Paul Frankl