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.

Study finds β-synuclein as early blood-based biomarker of Alzheimer's in Down syndrome patients

Decades before the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear, some changes associated with the disease may begin to leave a trace in the blood.

7 Oct 2026

Blood protein patterns may help explain pain levels in sickle cell disease

A small pilot study led by a Rutgers researcher has found differences in blood proteins between people experiencing high and low levels of pain from sickle cell disease, findings that may inform research on new treatments and better pain management.

6 Oct 2026

Autophagy changes with age, sex and cell type, study finds

Taking out the trash is a chore that even our cells cannot escape. Through a process known as autophagy, they place misshapen proteins and other cellular garbage in biological containers in order to digest them into their molecular building blocks.

1 Oct 2026

New project explores mitochondrial evolution across diverse life forms

A research consortium has generated the broadest look yet at the proteins that make up mitochondria, capturing the organelle's diversity across multiple branches on the tree of complex life.

1 Oct 2026

Cognitive tests may not tell the whole story about memory concerns

This study highlights the link between blood biomarkers and dementia risk in subjective cognitive decline, emphasizing prevention and lifestyle changes.

1 Oct 2026

New antibody treatment blocks immune response to prevent Alzheimer's damage

There is no treatment available today to stop the death of brain cells in neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease, in which twisted clumps of a protein called tau accumulate in the brain.

28 Sep 2026

Could the Mediterranean diet protect the brain through the gut?

A narrative review finds that the Mediterranean diet may support brain health through gut microbiome, immune, metabolic, and barrier-related pathways, but direct human evidence that microbiome remodeling mediates neuroprotection remains limited. The proposed mechanisms involve microbial metabolites, reduced inflammatory signaling, stronger intestinal and blood-brain barrier function, and possible effects on processes linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

27 Sep 2026

European Commission grants marketing authorization for NEZGLYAL® (leriglitazone), the first pharmacological treatment approved for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD), a rare neurodegenerative disease

Neuraxpharm Group and Minoryx Therapeutics, today announce that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization under exceptional circumstances for NEZGLYAL® (leriglitazone), an orally bioavailable, brain penetrating, selective PPAR gamma agonist, as a treatment for male cALD patients, aged 2-12 years with Gadolinium (Gd)-negative brain lesions.

26 Sep 2026

Specialized immune cells bridge the nervous and immune systems

A collaborative team led by Professor Jie Zhou at Tianjin Medical University School of Basic Medicine and Professor Qiang Liu at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital published a comprehensive review in Volume 2 of the journal Immunity & Inflammation on September 8, 2026.

25 Sep 2026

Mount Sinai researchers discover how Alzheimer's gene damages blood vessels

Mount Sinai researchers have identified how APOE4, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, damages the brain's blood vessels and promotes the buildup of abnormal proteins linked to neurodegenerative disease.

24 Sep 2026

NSF awards $19 million to build 3D biological observatory for revealing life's smallest structures

How does learning change the wiring of your brain? How does a shark's eye make sense of its underwater world? How does a single-celled parasite cross the barrier that protects the brain? What might neurodegeneration look like at ultra-magnified scale?

24 Sep 2026

PsychAD studies map molecular mechanisms across major brain disorders

Research led by Mount Sinai scientists within the PsychAD Consortium, a large-scale, multidisciplinary initiative launched in 2019 with support from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), is featured in a landmark collection of nine papers published across the Nature family of journals that maps the molecular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and other brain disorders.

23 Sep 2026

Adenine base editing slows neurodegeneration in hereditary motor neuron disease

A team of researchers led by Professor Haruhisa Inoue (Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University) and Professor Yuishin Izumi (Tokushima University) demonstrated that adenine base editing can correct a disease-causing genetic mutation and alleviate neurodegeneration in hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy with proximal dominant involvement (HMSN-P), providing proof of concept for a precision gene therapy for inherited motor neuron diseases.

18 Sep 2026

Time-restricted eating may slow early-stage Huntington's disease

A simple change in when people eat may offer a promising new approach for Huntington's disease, according to research led by Oregon Health & Science University.

17 Sep 2026

Study explains why Amazonian Indigenous populations show low dementia prevalence

In two Indigenous communities living pre-industrial lifestyles in the Bolivian Amazon, dementia is remarkably uncommon.

15 Sep 2026

Scientists traced a hidden immune route that may worsen tau-linked brain damage

In a mouse model of tauopathy, conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s) cross-presented brain-derived antigens in deep cervical lymph nodes, priming CD8+ T cells that accumulated in the brain and promoted neurodegeneration. Disrupting cDC1s or their cross-presentation activity reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration and protected against neuronal loss, while human primary tauopathy samples also showed increased brain CD8+ T cells, although cDC1 involvement in humans remains unconfirmed.

6 Sep 2026

Younger and older brains respond differently to traumatic injury

Conventional wisdom holds that younger brains are better equipped to recover from injury. Their greater flexibility allows them to adapt, rebuild connections and compensate for damage in ways older brains often cannot.

4 Sep 2026

Brain-protecting immune cells may actually drive Alzheimer's disease

Immune cells that normally protect the body from damage by attacking foreign or infected cells are found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders at much higher levels than in healthy brains.

3 Sep 2026

AI platform uncovers new molecular targets for Alzheimer's disease

Groundbreaking study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia reveals the crucial links between the NAD⁺-mitophagy axis and neurodegeneration.

1 Sep 2026

Primate-specific DNA change reveals a new link to dementia-related neurodegeneration

Brain diseases, including dementia, have long been studied using experimental animals such as mice. However, differences between the human and animal genomes have raised concerns that some disease mechanisms may not be fully explained by conventional animal models.

29 Aug 2026