Neurodegeneration News and Research

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Neurodegeneration is the umbrella term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons.

New AI model generates detailed maps of aging in brain regions

USC researchers have developed an approach that uses artificial intelligence to generate detailed maps that highlight differences in how distinct parts of the brain age.

3 Aug 2026

Daytime cortisol patterns track cognitive decline but not Alzheimer’s disease risk

In 3,895 older adults, moderate daytime cortisol variability was associated with better cognition and slower decline, while the highest daily cortisol exposure was linked to poorer cognition and faster decline. Cortisol patterns differed between Black and White participants, but their relationships with cognition were similar, and none predicted incident Alzheimer’s disease.

2 Aug 2026

A closer look at Parkinson’s brains finds tau where standard tests saw little

Researchers used single-molecule and super-resolution imaging to profile protein aggregates across six brain regions from 29 post-mortem donors, detecting high-intensity phosphorylated tau aggregates in the Parkinson’s disease putamen despite negligible conventional tau staining. PD cases with dementia showed greater tau burden than those without dementia, while the assay did not detect a PD-specific population of nanoscopic alpha-synuclein aggregates.

29 Jul 2026

TGen joins Collaborative Research Network for Parkinson's disease research

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, today announced it has been selected as part of a national team to join the Collaborative Research Network (CRN), an international, multi-institutional initiative focused on addressing high-priority research questions in Parkinson's disease.

28 Jul 2026

Early vitamin B3 treatment may benefit children with rare genetic condition

Children with a rare and often fatal genetic condition may benefit from early treatment with vitamin B3, halting their significant deterioration, according to a new study.

28 Jul 2026

AI redesign helps enzymes evolve beyond natural limits

Researchers showed that AI-redesigned botulinum neurotoxin proteases provided more stable starting points for directed evolution, allowing enzymes to access beneficial mutations that were poorly tolerated in wild-type backgrounds. In BoNT/E models, the approach improved activity, evolvability, and specificity, including an ataxin-2-targeting variant with markedly reduced cleavage of the native SNAP25 substrate.

24 Jul 2026

Targeting acid ceramidase could improve healthy aging and longevity

Our population is aging. The United Nations reports that by 2050, the number of people over the age of 85 on our planet is set to triple.

23 Jul 2026

Frequent TV watching links to higher white matter lesion volume

ARIC researchers linked self-reported TV watching and occupational sitting in midlife with brain MRI measures obtained roughly 24 years later in 1,712 adults without dementia. Frequent TV watching was associated with greater white matter hyperintensity volume and lower volumes in several brain regions, while sitting at work was associated with lower white matter hyperintensity volume and larger selected cortical volumes.

22 Jul 2026

SORLA protein may protect the brain from toxic tau tangles

Alzheimer's disease and many other forms of neurodegeneration share a common culprit. In these diseases, tau proteins that normally stabilize neuronal microtubule filaments within our nervous system networks instead form noxious knots and gradually disrupt the circuits they would otherwise preserve.

17 Jul 2026

ECT-like brain stimulation triggers unexpected nuclear reprogramming in mature neurons

Nearly 90 years after Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini introduced electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), brain stimulation therapies such as ECT and Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) are common in psychiatry because they are highly effective for treating depression and schizophrenia, yet their cellular mechanisms remain poorly understood

17 Jul 2026

Study suggests lipid droplet accumulation is a conserved feature of senescent cells

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging on July 1, 2026, titled "Senescent cells accumulate lipid droplets."

16 Jul 2026

Sleeping longer may signal early Alzheimer's-related brain changes

Regularly sleeping long hours each night is associated with higher levels of an Alzheimer's-related protein in the blood, even accounting for other health factors, suggests a new study from UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

15 Jul 2026

New review highlights astrocytes' role in chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Researchers from Kansas City University School of Medicine have published a scoping review examining the role of astrocytes in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

14 Jul 2026

Researchers propose simple finger prick test to track metabolic health

Researchers writing in Frontiers in Science propose using simple tests to track metabolic health in non-communicable diseases, which cause three in four deaths worldwide.

14 Jul 2026

Family caregiving drives majority of dementia-related costs across Europe

Researchers found that 58% of total dementia-related costs are linked to unpaid care provided by family members, friends and other informal caregivers, highlighting the substantial burden of dementia beyond healthcare systems alone.

13 Jul 2026

Global consortium releases AI toolbox to unlock new Alzheimer's treatments

The Consortium for Biomedical Research and Artificial Intelligence in Neurodegeneration (C-BRAIN), a global collaboration of academic researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and philanthropic organizations of which Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is a founding member, today launched three open-source AI tools to accelerate research aimed at developing new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 Jul 2026

Wearable forehead patch tracks brain-water shifts during sleep at home

A soft, wireless NIRS forehead patch tracked water-sensitive brain signals during 16 overnight home sleep recordings in four healthy men. The signals changed with EEG/EOG-defined sleep stages, suggesting a new way to study sleep-linked brain-fluid dynamics, although the device did not directly measure CSF flow or glymphatic clearance.

9 Jul 2026

Spear Bio to unveil novel Alzheimer’s disease immunoassays and fully automated instrument platform at AAIC 2026

Spear Bio, an innovator in ultrasensitive protein biomarker detection, today announced plans to unveil new SPEAR immunoassay and instrument innovations at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® 2026, taking place July 12–15 in London, UK.

From Spear Bio 9 Jul 2026

Study identifies new target for Parkinson's disease neuroprotection

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common form of neurodegenerative disease and afflicts more than ten million people worldwide. While current therapies address disease symptoms, they do not prevent the underlying neurodegeneration that drives the disease.

8 Jul 2026

Study reveals how glial cells regulate brain injury and recovery

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people worldwide every year and remains a major cause of long-term disability, cognitive decline, and neurological complications.

8 Jul 2026