Scientists have developed an ultrasensitive new test to detect abnormal forms of the protein tau associated with uncommon types of neurodegenerative diseases called tauopathies. This advance gives them hope of using cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF — an accessible patient sample — to diagnose these and perhaps other, more common neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Read moreLow-income urban neighborhoods not only have more mosquitoes, but they are larger-bodied, indicating that they could be more efficient at transmitting diseases. So reports investigating how socioeconomics influences mosquito-borne disease risk in Baltimore, Maryland.
Read moreResearchers have developed a method for statistically predicting impacts of climate change on outbreaks of tularemia in humans. New results show that tularemia may become increasingly common in the future in high-latitude regions.
Read moreA new study points to the need for better antibody validation, and outlines a process that other labs can use to make sure the antibodies they work with function properly.
Read moreIn symptom-free individuals, the detection of misfolded amyloid-beta protein in the blood indicated a considerably higher risk of Alzheimer's disease — up to 14 years before a clinical diagnosis was made. Amyloid-beta folding proved to be superior to other risk markers evaluated.
Read moreResearchers have discovered new changes in blood samples associated with Alzheimer's disease. A new international study was conducted on disease-discordant Finnish twin pairs: one sibling suffering from Alzheimer's disease and the other being cognitively healthy. The researchers utilised the latest genome-wide methods to examine the twins' blood samples for any disease-related differences in epigenetic marks which are sensitive to changes in environmental factors. These differences between the siblings were discovered in multiple different genomic regions.
Read moreA systematic review and meta-analysis suggests outdoor activities were more clinically effective than anti-psychotic medication for treating physical aggression in patients with dementia. For patients with physical agitation, massage and touch therapy were more efficacious than usual care or caregiver support.
Read moreScientists used maps of brain connections to predict how brain atrophy would spread in individual patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), adding to growing evidence that the loss of brain cells associated with dementia spreads via the synaptic connections between established brain networks.
Read moreA study has found that microglia drive neurodegeneration in diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, that are linked to tau protein. Targeting microglia may help treat such diseases.
Read moreResearchers haveidentified for the first time the initial steps of alpha-synuclein protein aggregates related to early onsets of hereditary Parkinson cases. The results may help the understanding of the early stages of the disease and how it develops over time.
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