Margarida Azevedo, MSc,  —

Results from the ADvance trial, a Phase 2 study investigating the safety of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), lead researchers to believe the treatment is safe and well-tolerated in patients. DBS targets a specific brain structure involved in memory pathways. The research paper, “Bilateral deep…

Scientists from the Center for Nanoparticle Research at South Korea’s Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with researchers at Seoul National University, have developed mitochondria-targeting ceria nanoparticles, a potential therapeutic candidate for mitochondrial oxidative stress and seen as one of the possible pathogenic pathways involved in the onset of Alzheimer’s…

Researchers have discovered that a genetic elimination of peripheral immune cell populations leads to a more rapid development of amyloid brain plaques (which are present in Alzheimer’s patients), worsening of neuroinflammation, and dysfunction of microglial activity. The study, “The adaptive immune system restrains Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis by modulating microglial function,”…

Researchers at Atlanta’s Emory University, under the guidance of neurologist Dr. Allan Levey, are studying the lineage of a specific family whose members are exceptionally prone to the development of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease in the search for new causes, such as novel genetic mutations, biomarkers, and brain changes. The ongoing…

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed “mini-brains” that may present a more accurate and effective way of testing new drugs for many neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. These human cell-derived structures, which represent an existing new alternative to animal testing, were recently discussed in a…

Researchers have discovered that the skeleton surrounding the nucleus of brain cells is dysfunctional in Alzheimer’s disease patients, which could lead to neuronal death. The study, “Lamin Dysfunction Mediates Neurodegeneration in Tauopathies,” was published in Current Biology. The lamin nucleoskeleton that surrounds the nucleus of cells is important in the…

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a system that allows them to study individual human neurons and other nervous system cells. Researchers have identified the subpopulations of cells responsible for the secretion of Alzheimer’s disease-relevant factors…

According to a new study from Imperial College London, England, long-term survivors of traumatic brain injury who develop brain issues have an increased number of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The research paper, “Amyloid pathology and axonal injury after brain trauma,” was recently published online in…

Researchers have identified specific gene sites controlled by global regulator GABPa are linked to the development of metabolic and cognitive conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease. The study, “Human lineage-specific transcriptional regulation through GA binding protein transcription factor alpha (GABPa),” was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. Differences in gene…

New research from the University of Zurich and Vienna Medical University contradicts the conventional and more accepted theory that Alzheimer’s disease is not transmissible. Alzheimer’s-like pathology was detected in the brains of patients who received dura mater grafts and later died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The research paper, “Amyloid-β pathology and cerebral…