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Alzheimer's Disease Linked to Bone Marrow Dysfunction, Impairing Immune Response

Alzheimer's Disease Linked to Bone Marrow Dysfunction, Impairing Immune Response

A new study suggests that damage to the bone marrow, triggered by Alzheimer's disease, may be a key reason why the body's immune system fails to heal the brain in this neurodegenerative condition. For decades, Alzheimer's research has primarily focused on misfolded proteins in the brain, such as amyloid-beta plaques and tangled tau proteins. However, this research indicates that significant damage may occur far from the brain, within the spongy bone marrow tissue. The bone marrow houses stem cells crucial for generating specialized immune cells and repairing damaged tissue. Previous studies hinted that immune cells from the bone marrow act as reinforcements for the brain's resident immune cells, helping to combat Alzheimer's pathology by reducing inflammation and slowing cognitive decline. The current findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, reveal that the immune cells known as monocytes are impaired in Alzheimer's disease. Researchers observed in both mouse models and human Alzheimer's patients that m...

Washington University Researchers Identify Blood Proteins to Monitor Alzheimer's Treatment Response

Washington University Researchers Identify Blood Proteins to Monitor Alzheimer's Treatment Response

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified dozens of blood proteins that change during treatment with lecanemab, an anti-amyloid therapy for early Alzheimer's disease. The study, published in The Lancet Neurology, involved 197 patients with early Alzheimer's symptoms and amyloid buildup who received lecanemab infusions over two years. These patients, treated at WashU Medicine's Memory Diagnostic Center, provided blood samples and underwent cognitive testing, with a subset also receiving brain imaging. The research team, led by Rui Mu and co-senior authors Suzanne Schindler, MD, PhD, and Carlos Cruchaga, PhD, measured 130 plasma proteins and tracked their shifts with treatment, correlating them with cognitive scores and amyloid clearance. They found significant changes in 34 proteins, with some markers of Alzheimer's pathology returning to levels seen in cognitively healthy individuals, indicating amyloid plaque clearance. Additionally, proteins related to inflammat...

Indiana University School of Medicine Secures $22.8 Million Grant Renewal for Alzheimer's Precision Medicine Research

Indiana University School of Medicine Secures $22.8 Million Grant Renewal for Alzheimer's Precision Medicine Research

The Indiana University School of Medicine has announced that the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has renewed its support for the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (IADRC). This landmark renewal provides $22.8 million in federal funding, extending support through 2031. Established in 1991, the IADRC is one of the nation’s longest-running NIA-designated Alzheimer’s disease research centers. This new funding cycle will specifically advance the center's focus on precision medicine approaches to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The grant will support initiatives including the development and validation of biomarkers for early diagnosis, coupled with advanced analytic methods like artificial intelligence and network science to design personalized treatment strategies. It will also expand collaborative networks with national and international research resources, strengthen community outreach for inclusive research participation, and fos...

How Can Tiny Gut Microbes Influence Your Brain?

How Can Tiny Gut Microbes Influence Your Brain?

This expanded understanding, often referred to as the "microbiota-gut-brain axis," highlights the significant role that the trillions of microorgan...

Mount Sinai Research Reveals Age-Related Changes in Brain's Circadian Rhythms and Molecular Phases

Mount Sinai Research Reveals Age-Related Changes in Brain's Circadian Rhythms and Molecular Phases

Research conducted by Mount Sinai scientists, as part of the PsychAD Consortium, has unveiled significant age-related changes in the brain's circadian biology and molecular composition. A study published in Nature, which analyzed over 1.3 million brain cells from 284 neurotypical donors ranging from infancy to age 97, identified three distinct molecular phases across the human lifespan. These phases include rapid cellular remodeling during early development, a period of relative stability through middle adulthood, and a wave of molecular changes beginning around age 60, primarily driven by glial support cells. A key finding indicates that in young and middle-aged adults, neurons exhibit tightly coordinated 24-hour rhythms governed by core circadian clock genes. However, after age 60, these neuronal rhythms largely disappear, while the brain's immune cells acquire new rhythmic activity associated with cellular stress and inflammation. The study also pinpointed age 24 as an inflection point after which the b...

Representative Nanette Barragán Supports National Parkinson's Project and Brain Health Initiatives

Representative Nanette Barragán Supports National Parkinson's Project and Brain Health Initiatives

Representative Nanette Barragán has publicly expressed her support for the National Parkinson's Project and participated in the American Academy of Neurology Brain Health Summit in Washington, D.C. The summit, themed 'From Science to Society: Brain Health for All,' brought together diverse perspectives from medicine, research, advocacy, and industry to discuss advancements in brain health, including topics like AI, precision medicine, and translating scientific findings into action. Her involvement highlights a focus on integrating various fields to advance neurological health. This engagement underscores a broader effort to connect research, clinical care, technology, and patient experiences to improve brain health outcomes for all Americans. Her remarks at the summit were noted, and she was personally thanked for her support of the National Parkinson's Project, indicating a direct and active role in advocating for this cause.

What is Frontotemporal Degeneration? Darrell Waltrip health update explained

What is Frontotemporal Degeneration? Darrell Waltrip health update explained

NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Darrell Waltrip's family announced that he has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD).

How Does Your Brain Turn the Desire to Move Into Action?

How Does Your Brain Turn the Desire to Move Into Action?

The nigrostriatal pathway stands as one of the four primary dopaminergic pathways in the brain, playing a critical role in both movement control an...

UC San Diego Researchers Identify Natural Peptide to Combat Alzheimer's Disease

UC San Diego Researchers Identify Natural Peptide to Combat Alzheimer's Disease

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System have identified a naturally occurring peptide fragment called catestatin (CST) that shows promise in treating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. Published in Molecular Therapy, their study in animal models demonstrated that CST can simultaneously reduce the accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins, decrease neuroinflammation, and improve cognitive and motor functions. Unlike many experimental drugs that target single aspects of these diseases, CST intervenes across multiple interconnected pathological pathways. The peptide is derived from chromogranin A, a protein involved in neurotransmitter storage and cellular signaling, suggesting its broad systemic versatility extends to the central nervous system. This multi-target approach addresses the complex nature of neurodegenerative disorders, which involve a network of problems including protein aggregation, inflammation, metabolic dysfunc...

Scientists map gene activity in brain's prefrontal cortex

Scientists map gene activity in brain's prefrontal cortex

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Scientists have created a detailed map of gene activity within a crucial part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, gaining insight into normal development and major brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia

A heartbreaking quest to donate my dad’s brain to science

A heartbreaking quest to donate my dad’s brain to science

I wanted to help find treatments so others wouldn’t suffer. But the donor process is an odyssey.

Experimental Drug Kamuvudine K-9 Shows Promise in Reversing Multiple Sclerosis Damage in Mouse Model

Experimental Drug Kamuvudine K-9 Shows Promise in Reversing Multiple Sclerosis Damage in Mouse Model

A new experimental drug, Kamuvudine K-9, developed by a UVA Health scientist, has demonstrated the ability to not only halt but also reverse paralysis and vision loss in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Unlike existing MS treatments that primarily aim to reduce future inflammatory attacks, K-9 has shown the capacity to restore neurological function that was already lost. The drug, a derivative of approved HIV medications known as nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), preserved nerve fibers and their myelin insulation, which are typically destroyed by MS. It also prevented the increase of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a blood biomarker indicating nerve damage. Analysis of health insurance data from over 3 million people further supports the potential of NRTI-derived drugs, showing a 41% reduction in MS development risk and a 36% reduction in annual relapse rates among MS patients using NRTIs. K-9 is currently undergoing clinical trials for eye diseases, including diabet...