Brain Disease News and Research

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Two scientists win Horwitz Prize for Rett syndrome breakthrough

Columbia University will award the 2026 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to Adrian Bird and Huda Zoghbi for their pioneering work on epigenetic regulation in the nervous system and its role in human neurological disease, particularly Rett syndrome.

2 Sep 2026

New guideline updates medications for preventing migraine in adults

To help clinicians determine which medications may be most effective at preventing migraine in adults, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and American Headache Society (AHS) have issued a joint practice guideline update with evidence-based recommendations, published on August 31, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and in Headache, the official journal of the American Headache Society.

31 Aug 2026

Researchers find alarming rates of CTE in former football players

In a new study from Mass General Brigham, Boston University (BU), and the Concussion & CTE Foundation, researchers found evidence that at least 1-in-4 former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of their death, a much higher prevalence compared to the general population.

25 Aug 2026

Skull bone marrow contains immune hubs that fight brain cancer

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered lymph node-like structures in the skull bone marrow of mice for the first time and demonstrated that they act as rapid first responders against brain cancer before distant lymph nodes get the signal that abnormal cells are present.

19 Aug 2026

Distributed neural networks make decoding cognition vastly harder than movement

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have made remarkable progress restoring movement and speech in people with paralysis.

21 Jul 2026

Missing ancestry data in single-cell atlases threatens fair medicine

The single-cell "atlases" that are increasingly used to map the human body and as training data for artificial intelligence models, may not represent the world's populations fairly, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

20 Jul 2026

NFL players have higher rates of neurodegenerative disease-caused mortality

Mass General Brigham, Boston University, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation cohort study of nearly 20,000 NFL players reveals that players are dying of dementia and Parkinson's disease at much higher rates than the general population.

8 Jul 2026

New viral insights lay foundation for treating infection with JC polyomaviruses

In people with severely compromised immune systems, the JC polyomavirus can trigger a currently untreatable, usually fatal brain disease.

6 Jul 2026

Genetic research links KDF1 mutation to impaired dental epithelial organization

Dental enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, protecting teeth from wear, temperature changes, and decay. However, enamel cannot regenerate once damaged. Inherited disorders, such as amelogenesis imperfecta, disrupt enamel formation during development, leaving affected individuals with fragile, discolored, and decay-prone teeth.

30 Jun 2026

AI discovers hidden antibiotic candidates inside disease-causing prions

New antibiotic candidates for drug-resistant bacteria may reside inside prions, mis-folded protein in the brain best known for rare and fatal degenerative brain diseases.

19 Jun 2026

Allen Institute launches global research initiative to accelerate new treatments for brain disorders

The Allen Institute, together with partner organizations, today launched the Brain Health accelerator: an ambitious global research initiative seeking to identify the specific brain cells and circuits affected in neurodegenerative disease and other brain disorders and use that knowledge to accelerate the development of new treatments.

2 Jun 2026

Why new Alzheimer’s drugs are dividing regulators worldwide

The Lancet World Report examines why regulators in the US, UK, and Europe have reached different decisions on new amyloid-targeting Alzheimer’s drugs despite evidence that they can modestly slow clinical decline. It highlights the unresolved balance among benefits, safety risks, costs, access, and the need for broader, earlier, and more patient-centered treatment strategies.

31 May 2026

Exhausted brain immune cells drive aggressive multiple system atrophy

A rare and fatal brain disorder with no available treatment or cure. One that attacks the nervous system, balance, and the ability to move.

18 May 2026

Healthy brain maintenance protects cognitive skills from early Alzheimer's effects

A healthy brain may help protect thinking and memory skills from the early effects of Alzheimer's disease, a new study has found.

15 May 2026

Gladstone investigator wins MIND Prize to decode hidden Alzheimer’s genetics

Gladstone Institutes investigator Ryan Corces, PhD, has been named a 2026 winner of the Pershing Square Foundation's MIND Prize, a prestigious award recognizing next-frontier thinkers who are uncovering a deeper understanding of the brain and cognition.

7 Apr 2026

NIH funds major study on brain aging in Hispanic-Latino communities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded UC Davis Health a $15.85 million grant to support the next phase of one of the nation's most extensive studies on brain aging in Hispanic-Latino communities.

1 Apr 2026

New clinical guideline adopts holistic approach to brain and heart health

A new brain–heart clinical practice guideline takes a holistic approach, integrating neurologic and mental health evidence with guidance for cardiovascular disease as many brain and heart conditions overlap and share similar risk factors.

30 Mar 2026

New brain atlas reveals how the human neocortex forms over time

In a bid to better understand, and potentially treat, a host of conditions that affect early cognition, neurodevelopment and the brain later in life, investigators at Johns Hopkins Medicine and colleagues throughout the world have been mapping the molecular construction of the human brain.

25 Mar 2026

Cancer-fighting antibodies may trigger autoimmune brain disorders

Consider two seemingly unrelated medical puzzles. First: Every day, our bodies produce hundreds of billions of new cells, many of which are mutated.

25 Mar 2026

Study identifies early risk factors for progressive supranuclear palsy

Progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, is a rare brain disease that causes problems with balance, eye movements and thinking. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson recently passed away after living with the disease for more than a decade.

24 Mar 2026