Lewy Bodies News and Research

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Specific brain regions found more vulnerable to dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies is one of the most common forms of dementia in older adults, after Alzheimer's disease.

26 Aug 2026

Disrupted brain-immune signaling may help drive neurodegeneration

A Cell perspective argues that neurodegeneration can emerge from disrupted communication between neural and immune networks, with peripheral immunity, microglia, and gene-regulatory programs all shaping disease processes. The authors propose that restoring immune homeostasis and recalibrating neuroimmune circuits could create new therapeutic and diagnostic opportunities, while emphasizing that many mechanisms remain unresolved in humans.

24 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

Early-onset dementia lowers work productivity years before formal diagnosis

People diagnosed with early-onset dementia had reduced work productivity up to 15 years before diagnosis, according to a study published July 8, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Jul 2026

Blood circRNAs may predict Alzheimer’s before symptoms emerge

Blood-based circular RNAs showed strong potential for identifying biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer’s disease and predicting progression to symptomatic disease. When combined with pTau217, the circRNA model produced the strongest predictive performance, but larger prospective validation is still needed.

2 Jul 2026

Psychological traits may uncover why Alzheimer’s biology differs between patients

In 822 deceased older adults from ROS and MAP, researchers linked stable psychological traits to multi-omic molecular subtypes of Alzheimer’s dementia using postmortem brain tissue from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Neuroticism and loneliness were associated with molecular progression, while purpose in life showed subtype-specific inverse associations, suggesting psychological traits may align with Alzheimer’s biology beyond conventional neuropathology.

22 Jun 2026

New artificial intelligence tool helps clinicians distinguish between dementia types

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are expected to more than double by 2060. As June marks Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, three University of Florida researchers are working to improve clinicians' ability to distinguish between these diseases - a critical step toward earlier diagnosis and better outcomes.

5 Jun 2026

New immuno-infrared sensor aids in early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

An early start to treatment is crucial to successful therapy. A new sensor is helping with early detection.

21 May 2026

Gut microbiome clues may help spot Parkinson’s disease in its earliest phase

Researchers found that a Parkinson’s disease-related gut microbiome pattern appears not only in people with diagnosed Parkinson’s, but also in some non-manifesting GBA1 variant carriers and a subset of healthy individuals. The findings suggest that gut microbiome changes may help flag people who are closer to Parkinson’s disease development, although longitudinal studies are still needed to confirm predictive value.

21 Apr 2026

Walking patterns help distinguish Lewy body dementia from Parkinson’s

Doctors often struggle to distinguish early dementia with Lewy bodies from early Parkinson's disease.

24 Mar 2026

Cerebrospinal fluid marker enhances accuracy in diagnosis of Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia

An international consortium has achieved a major breakthrough in the diagnosis of neurological diseases. In a recent publication in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, they describe the discovery of a new quantitative biomarker in lumbar fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) that is helping doctors to diagnose Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia more accurately.

24 Mar 2026

Protein linked to Parkinson's may drive faster Alzheimer's disease progression in women

Alzheimer's-related brain changes progressed up to 20 times faster in women who also had abnormal levels of a Parkinson's-related protein, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in JAMA Network Open.

4 Mar 2026

ATP delivery fixes dysfunctional dopamine packaging in Parkinson's neurons

A new study shows how dysfunctional packaging of the neurotransmitter dopamine triggers toxic processes in neurons - and how this can be repaired with simple delivery of energy (ATP).

2 Mar 2026

Can GLP-1 drugs slow neurodegeneration? New review finds promising signals but limited clinical proof

This review examines how GLP-1 receptor agonists may influence neurodegenerative disease biology through metabolic, inflammatory, mitochondrial, and proteostasis pathways. Evidence from mechanistic, preclinical, and early clinical studies suggests potential neuroprotective effects, but definitive disease-modifying benefit remains unproven.

17 Feb 2026

Tiny plastic particles may interfere with brain processes implicated in Parkinson’s disease

Micro- and nanoplastics are increasingly detected in human tissues, including the brain, and experimental evidence suggests they can interact with biological pathways central to Parkinson’s disease pathology. This review synthesises mechanistic data indicating that plastic particles may influence protein aggregation, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the gut–brain axis, while emphasising the need for prospective human studies.

26 Jan 2026

Smartphone motor tests can predict dopamine deficiency in Parkinson’s disease without brain scans

Researchers explore the use of smartphones coupled with clinical scores to evaluate motor function and predict dopamine deficiency.

7 Dec 2025

UBQLN2 liquid droplets emerge as key catalysts of early α-synuclein aggregation

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The hallmark of PD pathogenesis is the Lewy bodies (LBs) that accumulate in neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain, damaging these neurons and leading to the motor symptoms of the disease.

26 Nov 2025