https://medicalxpress.com/neurology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Neurology A major clinical trial involving 410 people with early Parkinson's disease has found no clinical benefit from nicotinamide riboside (NR), a compound that increases cellular levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). The findings are published in JAMA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-nad-boosting-treatment-parkinson-benefit.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:40:14 EDT news710696521 Scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified a combination treatment that overcomes two of the biggest barriers to immunotherapy in glioblastoma. In a study published in Neuro-Oncology, the researchers show that reprogramming myeloid cells, a type of immune cell that glioblastoma tumors co-opt to protect themselves, while simultaneously boosting cancer-fighting T cells shrank the tumors and prevented them from coming back. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-scientists-uncover-pronged-strategy-glioblastoma.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:40:01 EDT news710692441 Researchers from the Department of Cell Biology, Genetics and Physiology at the University of Malaga have led an international scientific team studying how a traumatic brain injury caused by a severe blow to the head affects the brain's long-term response to subsequent stressful situations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-traumatic-brain-injury-subsequent-response.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:20:30 EDT news710670566 A study in fruit flies led by researchers at NYU Langone Health has confirmed a long-standing suspicion about how the brain encodes short-term memories. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-fruit-fly-reveals-neural-gates.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:00:08 EDT news710609041 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. A study by the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) has found that, in people with Down syndrome, levels of β-synuclein, a protein related to synaptic function, begin to rise in the third decade of life, long before symptoms appear and earlier than other blood biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-blood-marker-flag-alzheimer-syndrome.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:20:01 EDT news710605921 Researchers have carried out the first single-cell analysis of mitochondrial DNA in a population of brainstem neurons that are particularly vulnerable to degeneration in Parkinson's disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-cell-dna-analysis-reveals-mitochondrial.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:20:04 EDT news710605595 For people with Parkinson's disease, higher levels of physical activity were associated with slower declines in thinking and memory as well as slower worsening of movement symptoms, according to a new study published in Neurology. The study does not prove that more physical activity causes slower progression of the disease; it only shows an association between the two. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-greater-physical-slower-parkinson.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:00:08 EDT news710592542 The claustrum is a thin sheet of neurons buried deep within the cerebral cortex. The structure is so small and hidden that neuroscientists once found it very difficult to access, let alone investigate. Now, researchers at Yale School of Medicine have not only found a way to peer into this enigmatic structure but have also discovered its surprising role in how humans learn and adapt to uncertainty. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hidden-brain-region-reveal-clues.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:40:01 EDT news710604721 When you're stuck on a tough problem, it's not uncommon to take a walk or give your brain a break, only to gain that sudden flash of inspiration or insight you were looking for. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-brain-rest.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:00:02 EDT news710597041 Researchers at the University of Oxford have uncovered a previously unrecognized protective role for microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, in Parkinson's disease. The study shows that a distinct population of human microglia can selectively remove harmful clumps (aggregates) of the Parkinson's-causing protein alpha-synuclein from dopamine-producing neurons. The research is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-brain-immune-cells-neurons-parkinson.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:00:22 EDT news710522101 Population surveys and research studies suggest that meaningful social connections are strong predictors of health and longevity. In other words, a sense of belonging to a social group and strong social bonds appear to be linked with better health and a longer lifespan. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-linked-younger-adult-brains-accounting.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:20:15 EDT news710594129 Taking opioids for years does not seem to reduce pain or improve functioning in people with chronic back pain, according to a new Northwestern University study that compared 70 long-term opioid users with 70 similar patients not taking opioids. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-years-opioid-chronic-pain.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:20:06 EDT news710590621 A new study led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers finds that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face a significantly higher risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment later in life. The research, published today in JAMA Psychiatry, also found that people who carry a higher genetic risk for ADHD face a greater chance of cognitive decline even without a documented diagnosis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-health-link-adhd-fourfold-higher.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:00:07 EDT news710519701 Chronic pain can continue long after an initial injury. When a nerve outside the brain and spinal cord (a peripheral nerve) is damaged and does not heal properly, it keeps sending constant pain signals. Over time, this nonstop bombardment of pain signals changes how your spinal cord and brain process information as sensory and emotion-associated circuits become hyperreactive, turning up the volume on pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-blocking-nerve-protein-chronic-pain.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:00:11 EDT news710494423 Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. For people with chronic low back pain (cLBP) lasting more than 12 weeks, a sudden pain flare triggered by movement can often worsen the condition. Pain signals originate in the brain, but scientists still don't fully understand the specific neural circuitry that sparks this movement-based pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-chronic-pain-personal.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:00:14 EDT news710504461 Ischemic stroke can leave lasting neurological damage after the initial vascular event, with oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, neuronal death and disruption of neural connectivity contributing to impaired recovery. Although current interventions provide partial protection, their ability to prevent delayed neuronal injury remains limited, highlighting a major barrier to functional recovery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-cell-free-treatment-brain-recovery.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:40:20 EDT news710503321 When Dr. Kourosh Parham conceived a first-of-its-kind blood test for tinnitus, he knew further research was needed to confirm a link between a unique ear protein and the common hearing disorder. To validate his theory, the professor of surgery at UConn Health (UCH), Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, teamed up with fellow UCH physician-scientists to conduct two clinical trials. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-link-elevated-ear-protein-blood.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:20:28 EDT news710500561 Understanding and treating chronic neuropathic pain has remained challenging due to its complex nature. New research from the lab of Clifford Woolf, MB, BCh, Ph.D., at Boston Children's Hospital's FM Kirby Neurobiology Center describes a novel approach for reducing pain by disrupting interactions within pain-sensing nerve cells called nociceptors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-nonopioid-approach-neuropathic-pain-disrupts.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:00:09 EDT news710436962 People who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with dementia are likely to live longer than those in a normal weight range, according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and NYU School of Global Public Health. The findings suggest that weight status at the time of a dementia diagnosis may provide meaningful prognostic information about survival and underscore the need for greater attention to nutrition among those with dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-obesity-link-death-dementia-importance.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:20:02 EDT news710496961