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Gene therapy and special goggles help some blind adults detect objects again

In a phase 1 study of 10 adults with advanced retinitis pigmentosa, researchers found that optogenetic gene therapy combined with light-stimulating goggles was generally well tolerated, although one participant experienced a severe but transient ocular adverse event. Seven participants showed improved light sensitivity, while four of eight who completed behavioral testing demonstrated modest gains in visual function, providing preliminary evidence of partial vision restoration that requires confirmation in larger controlled trials.

12 Oct 2026

Scientists pinpoint key hotspot driving tau propagation in dementia

Diseases such as Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia are considered neurodegenerative tauopathies, in which tau proteins in the brain misfold and lead to cognitive decline.

12 Oct 2026

ADHD diagnoses rise as awareness improves across Europe, experts say

ADHD seems to be in the news everywhere, but is this due to a rise in cases or to changing awareness and diagnosis?

12 Oct 2026

Medical cannabis benefits for insomnia remain uncertain, Cochrane review finds

A new Cochrane review finds that existing evidence is too uncertain to determine whether medical cannabis improves sleep or daytime functioning in people with insomnia.

12 Oct 2026

Women with autoimmune diseases more likely to receive psychiatric misdiagnoses

Females with autoimmune diseases are significantly more likely than males to have their autoimmune disease misdiagnosed as a psychiatric or psychosomatic condition, according to a study of more than 6,600 patients.

12 Oct 2026

Long-term anabolic steroid use linked to lasting heart damage

Long-term use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) has serious consequences for the heart, according to a new study that has been following weightlifters for nearly 10 years.

12 Oct 2026

Year-long trial finds NAD-boosting supplement fails to improve early Parkinson's symptoms

In a phase 3 randomized clinical trial involving 410 people with early Parkinson disease, 52 weeks of nicotinamide riboside supplementation increased blood NAD levels but failed to improve clinical outcomes compared with placebo. Participants receiving the supplement had modestly worse overall disease scores, although the difference was below the threshold generally considered clinically meaningful.

12 Oct 2026

Your favorite song might make a needle prick hurt less

A study of 204 patients undergoing intravenous cannulation before MRI found that those listening to their favorite music reported significantly lower pain scores than patients hearing no music at 30 seconds and two minutes after puncture. Mozart was also associated with lower pain scores among patients with pre-existing pain, while relaxation music showed no significant benefit, although the non-randomized findings require confirmation.

12 Oct 2026

Study finds a surprising downside to having favourite foods

In a study of 279 adults, researchers found that initially reinforcing existing food preferences reduced learning flexibility when associations between foods and outcomes changed. Participants learned positive associations more readily than negative ones, while associations involving disliked foods were more adaptable than those involving liked foods.

12 Oct 2026

Who moves first at night, you or your dog?

Researchers monitored 25 adults and 38 dogs and found no significant association between bedsharing and objectively measured human sleep duration or efficiency, although owners of multiple dogs reported poorer sleep quality in an analysis requiring cautious interpretation. Human and dog movements were positively correlated, with human activity more often preceding canine activity among pairs with identifiable associations, although the study could not determine which species drove the other's movements.

12 Oct 2026

Three months of yoga before surgery revealed a surprising difference in stress hormones

In a non-randomized study of 40 adults with severe obesity awaiting bariatric surgery, researchers found significantly lower plasma noradrenaline levels in yoga participants than in controls after adjusting for baseline measurements. The researchers detected no significant DNA methylation changes in three inflammatory genes and found no clear psychological or metabolic benefits.

12 Oct 2026

Screen time was linked to teen anxiety. Then researchers compared twins

A longitudinal study of 21,797 Swedish twins found that heavy interactive screen use during adolescence was associated with more anxiety and depressive symptoms and a higher likelihood of subsequent clinical mental health outcomes. However, these associations weakened substantially when comparing twins with different screen habits, suggesting that shared genetic and environmental factors contribute to the relationship.

12 Oct 2026

Conventional diagnostic tools overlook gaming disorder in female players

Playing more and more, struggling to cut back, or continuing to game despite its negative impact on everyday life can all be signs of gaming disorder.

12 Oct 2026

Lifelong blindness enhances brain processing for better pitch discrimination

Are people who have been blind for most of their lives better at hearing than sighted individuals? New in JNeurosci, Woon Ju Park, from Georgia Institute of Technology, and colleagues, broached this question by comparing tone detection and pitch discrimination in people with and without sight.

12 Oct 2026