https://medicalxpress.com/neurology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Neurology Drugs once hailed as a breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer's disease do not meaningfully help patients, a major review found Thursday, however some experts criticized the research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hyped-alzheimer-drugs-amyloid-brought.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 05:02:55 EDT news695534509 A research team from the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory at Toyohashi University of Technology investigated how facial expressions are perceived when a face is located behind an observer. Participants wearing a head-mounted display observed 3D face models presented either in front of or behind them in a virtual reality (VR) environment and made binary judgments about the facial expression. The stimuli varied continuously from neutral to angry, and participants judged whether each face appeared neutral or angry. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-brain-stronger-emotions-rewriting-social.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:40:08 EDT news695486449 The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing a petition to revoke the approval of Roche's top-selling drug ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) for treating primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS)—a form of MS thought to affect around 15% of patients. The petition alleges that the drug was approved despite internal concerns about a lack of effectiveness in women and a potential increased risk of breast cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-women-primary-ms-bestselling-drug.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:30:02 EDT news695468221 Every thought, memory, and feeling we experience depends on trillions of tiny connection points in the brain called synapses. These are the junctions where one neuron passes signals to another, forming the vast communication network known as the connectome—the brain's wiring diagram. Although scientists have developed powerful tools to increase or decrease neural activity, directly redesigning the brain's physical wiring has remained far more difficult. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-synapses-brain-circuit-memory-stronger.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:40:01 EDT news695488201 Efforts to identify and evaluate next-generation therapeutics for pediatric brain tumors are easily stymied by the quality and availability of laboratory models for research. To address this issue, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed patient-derived tumor organoids and tumor organoid xenografts that accurately reflect the biologic underpinnings of embryonal brain tumors. These models utilize the latest technical advances, allowing researchers to perform functional assays and preclinical drug testing faster without relying on newly obtained tumor samples. The models are available to other researchers upon request, providing a resource to help advance the field. The work appears in Science Advances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-3d-brain-tumor-organoids-scientific.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:30:02 EDT news695492401 A large international study has found that asundexian, an investigational anti-clotting medication, reduces the risk of a stroke in people who recently experienced a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) caused by a clot forming outside of the heart (non-cardioembolic stroke), without increasing bleeding, the most serious and feared complication of existing stroke prevention treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-anti-clotting-medication-lowers-added.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:00:09 EDT news695466481 Air pollution is associated with increased migraine activity, according to a study published in Neurology. Both short-term and cumulative exposure to air pollution as well as climate factors such as heat and humidity were associated with increased migraine activity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-air-pollution-migraine.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:00:08 EDT news695463751 Researchers from the Paris Brain Institute and Sainte-Justine University Hospital in Montreal have, for the first time, revealed the key stages of vascular development in the brain, from birth through adulthood. Using a 3D digital atlas called Lambada, they show that vascularization does not progress continuously, but instead unfolds in three distinct phases, closely linked to the maturation of neural circuits. These findings are published in Cell. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-brain-blood-vessel-network-stage.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:40:04 EDT news695478397 From van Gogh to Amy Winehouse, the trope of the suffering artist has been around nearly as long as art itself—but is the connection between creativity and pain mere metaphor, or grounded in science? According to Constructor University Neurobiologist Dr. Radwa Khalil, not only do the two share underlying neurological mechanisms, but their connection holds therapeutic potential to use creativity to reshape how our brains process pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pain-creativity-brain-machinery-bold.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:00:09 EDT news695476768 Scientists led by Botond Roska at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) have developed MitoCatch, a system that enables targeted delivery of healthy mitochondria to specific cell types affected by disease. This innovation is a major step toward precision mitochondrial therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-mitocatch-healthy-mitochondria-diseased-cells.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:00:07 EDT news695394961 Mice make use of rapid nerve cell interactions in the brain's smell center to distinguish one odor from another, a new study shows. Both mice and humans can rapidly identify odors, researchers say, in a small fraction of a second. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the study shows that the key steps involved in identifying smells happen in the mouse olfactory bulb, a part of the brain located behind the nose. The function was previously thought to occur in the cerebral cortex, a larger part of the brain known for its role in perception, awareness, and thought. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-fast-mouse-brains-milliseconds.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:00:02 EDT news695405701 Millions of neurons branch throughout our bodies, keeping them in close communication with our brains. This peripheral network begins to take shape long before birth, as the cells of a growing embryo move into position and adopt their specialized roles. This crucial stage of human development can't be monitored directly, but by examining genetic clues that linger in adult cells, scientists have now gained surprising insights into the developmental origins of the peripheral nervous system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-secrets-human-early-nerve-cell.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:00:01 EDT news695404502 Though many studies approach the developmental disorder Rett syndrome as a single condition arising from general loss of function in the gene MECP2, a new study by neuroscientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT shows that two different mutations of the gene caused many distinct abnormalities in lab cultures. Moreover, correcting key differences made by each mutation required different treatments. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-rett-syndrome-highlights-potential-personalized.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:40:01 EDT news695403841 Researchers at UC Santa Barbara are coming ever closer to uncovering the neural circuitry that translates stimulus to action, shining light on previously unseen neural connections and lesser-known functions of neurons that underlie behavior. Neuroscientists Durafshan Sakeena Syed, Primoz Ravbar and Julie H. Simpson have found that inhibitory neurons—nerve cells known to be responsible for suppressing movement—actively generate and coordinate the rhythmic limb movements required for grooming in fruit flies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-newly-neural-fruit-flies-reveal.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:20:04 EDT news695401975 The brain is the body's command center, and neurons are the workhorses that carry out its commands. They transmit signals that regulate many bodily functions, including key metabolic processes such as appetite, body weight and energy expenditure. But how do neurons power all this activity? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-neurons-dont-sugar-hidden-fat.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:00:09 EDT news695390041 A single episode of delirium—a state of confusion and agitation—in hospitalized older adults is a significant risk factor for other serious health complications including fractures, stroke and sepsis, a University of Queensland study has found. Delirium is often triggered by infection, surgery, pain, dehydration or medication, which affects up to 1 in 4 older adults during a hospital stay. However, many of its long-term health impacts have not been fully understood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-hospital-delirium-red-flag-severe.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:00:03 EDT news695374861 The cerebellum, a part of the brain traditionally associated with balance and movement, is also important for more complex tasks like reading and spelling, a University of Alberta study suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-links-brain-region-linguistic-ability.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:40:01 EDT news695368261 One in five people worldwide suffers from chronic inflammatory pain. Meanwhile, about two thirds of those affected find little relief from existing pain medications; new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. "We first must understand precisely how sensory nerve cells trigger pain at the molecular level—in other words, which proteins are involved," says Professor Gary Lewin, Group Leader of the Molecular Physiology of Somatosensory Perception lab at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pain-neurons-unprecedented-chronic-drug.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:20:06 EDT news695319541 Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, along with collaborators at UC San Francisco, have discovered that APOE4, the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, causes bone quality deficits specifically in female mice, through a mechanism that is invisible to standard imaging and can emerge as early as midlife. The findings, published in Advanced Science, reveal an unexpected biological link between Alzheimer's risk and skeletal health, and identify a new molecular pathway that could one day inform earlier diagnosis of cognitive decline or guide treatment for bone quality loss in women who carry the APOE4 gene. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-apoe4-alzheimer-gene-silently-undermines.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:20:02 EDT news695318042 Even when people with incomplete spinal cord injuries can walk, everyday functions like standing, balancing or producing steady force may remain difficult. A new study shows why. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-reveals-unseen-motor-spinal-cord.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:00:06 EDT news695317201 Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and an international team of collaborators have used a genetic sequencing technique called whole exome sequencing to discover a new rare genetic disease. In a paper appearing in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances, the researchers have published findings that identify the faulty mutated gene. By exploring the biochemical consequences of the mutation, the investigators also showed that this typo in the genetic code interferes with normal cellular function, as expected of an unknown congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-newly-rpn1-disease-protein-disrupt.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:40:04 EDT news695314922