Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Study finds no link between antibiotic use and cognitive decline in older adults

For healthy older adults, using antibiotics is not associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment or dementia, according to a study published in the December 18, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

18 Dec 2024

Heat waves pose unique threats to people with Parkinson's and dementia

As 2024 is set to end as Earth's hottest year on record – breaking the previous record set in 2023– a UCLA Health researcher says people living with neurodegenerative diseases will be uniquely vulnerable to worsening heat waves because of a higher risk of heat-related complications.

17 Dec 2024

Researchers receive NIH grant to study dementia caused by cerebral small vessel disease

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been awarded $7.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate a form of dementia caused by cerebral small vessel disease, the second-leading cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

17 Dec 2024

Breathing rhythms coordinate brain waves to strengthen memory during sleep

Just as a conductor coordinates different instruments in an orchestra to produce a symphony, breathing coordinates hippocampal brain waves to strengthen memory while we sleep, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

16 Dec 2024

New statement highlights role of palliative care in stroke recovery

Palliative care, an approach to care that helps people manage pain and other symptoms during all stages of a serious illness (not just at end of life), can help improve quality of life for stroke survivors as well as their family members, according to "Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Stroke," a new scientific statement published today in the Association's peer-reviewed scientific journal Stroke.

16 Dec 2024

Aston University researcher receives major grant to investigate autoimmune encephalitis

Dr. Sukhvir Wright at Aston University Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), and honorary consultant neurologist at Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH), has been awarded a £3.4m Career Development Award from Wellcome to research autoimmune encephalitis (AE), an inflammatory brain condition, in children.

15 Dec 2024

New funding for innovative dementia vaccine research

Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia are devastating disorders that emerge following the buildup of misfolded proteins in the brain.

13 Dec 2024

Study sheds light on how deep sleep supports memory formation

It has been known for nearly 20 years that slow, synchronous electrical waves in the brain during deep sleep support the formation of memories.

12 Dec 2024

Penn-led consortium to advance imaging of brain diseases

A Penn Medicine-led consortium of radiology and chemistry researchers across the United States will advance imaging of diseases like Parkinson's by testing radiotracers they identified that illuminate α-synuclein (αSyn) or 4R tau proteins on positron emission tomography (PET) scans.

11 Dec 2024

Blood pressure fluctuations linked to problems with thinking and memory skills

Older adults whose blood pressure fluctuates over time may be more likely to have problems with thinking and memory skills, according to a study published in the December 11, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Dec 2024

Early exposure to parental smoking linked to higher MS risk

Cutting early life exposure to parental smoking may lower the risk of developing MS (multiple sclerosis) in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease, finds research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

11 Dec 2024

Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers may hinder neurological recovery in spinal cord injury patients

Research led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine along with scientists at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Berlin, Germany, provides first evidence that hospital-acquired pressure ulcers are a potent risk factor for poor neurological recovery among patients with acute spinal cord injury (SCI).

9 Dec 2024

New insights into the mechanisms of "Niemann-Pick type C" in children

In the journal "Science Translational Medicine", scientists from DZNE and LMU Hospital report on new insights into the mechanisms of "Niemann-Pick type C" (NPC), a rare neurodegenerative disease associated with dementia that can manifest as early as childhood.

6 Dec 2024

Neighborhood disadvantage found to affect blood pressure and cognition

New research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine suggests that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with higher blood pressure and lower cognitive scores, even among people who do not have an existing diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.

6 Dec 2024

Frontotemporal dementia disrupts empathy for pain, study reveals

Study reveals diminished brain activity related to empathy for pain in individuals with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), using task-based fMRI. Findings show a stark reduction in neural responses tied to affective empathy, highlighting early bvFTD impacts on social cognition.

5 Dec 2024

Study sheds light on Kif23's role in embryonic brain development and microcephaly

A team of researchers from Tohoku University, the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University has uncovered a novel molecular mechanism through which Kif23 (a motor protein belonging to the kinesin family) plays a vital role in embryonic brain development.

5 Dec 2024

New framework enhances genetic prediction of drug response and side effects

A UCLA study has outlined a new framework that researchers say would improve predictive power of genetics to determine how well a patient would respond to commonly prescribed medications as well as the severity of any side effects.

5 Dec 2024

Heart medication may slow the progression of Huntington's disease

Research indicates β-blockers may reduce the risk of motor diagnosis and slow symptom progression in Huntington's disease, suggesting new management approaches.

4 Dec 2024

Mexican American women show highest rates of medication nonadherence after stroke

Women who have had a stroke may be less likely than men to take medications to prevent a second stroke, with Mexican American women reporting the highest rates of nonadherence, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

4 Dec 2024

Spider brain studies lead to breakthrough in understanding human brain diseases

Researchers from Saint Michael's College and the University of Vermont have made a groundbreaking new discovery that provides a better understanding of how Alzheimer's disease develops in the human brain.

4 Dec 2024