https://medicalxpress.com/neurology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Neurology Better identification and management of sleep apnea and associated vascular risk factors in midlife may provide an important opportunity to support long-term brain health, according to new research from Monash University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-links-apnea-poor-memory-greater.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 08:20:04 EDT news702015302 Researchers report encouraging early results from a first-in-human clinical trial led by Children's National Hospital using a new T-cell immunotherapy for children and young adults with some of the deadliest brain tumors, including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) and relapsed central nervous system (CNS) tumors. These findings, published in Nature Medicine, are particularly significant given the challenges of treating pediatric brain tumors, which remain the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children. Immunotherapies have been shown to work in blood cancers but rarely succeed in solid tumors, especially brain tumors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tcell-therapy-tumor-proteins-early.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 05:00:03 EDT news701966256 Why does multiple sclerosis progress quickly in some people, while others remain stable for years? Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience have identified biological patterns in the brain that may help explain these differences. Their study shows that these patterns are linked to disease severity and are partly shaped by genetics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-large-multiple-sclerosis-brain-cohort.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:20:01 EDT news701970243 New University of Otago–Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research shows that head injury data collected from smart mouthguards is run through a model that does not account for people of different sexes, ages and sizes. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach to analyzing data from smart mouthguards may mean serious injuries are missed, the study shows. The findings are published in the Journal of Biomechanics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-size-smart-mouthguard-overlook-rugby.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:00:12 EDT news701970061 Scientists usually use animal models when studying Parkinson's disease because these models mimic the disease well. They are limited, however, because they require either gene modifications or the injection of toxicants, which may not accurately represent how the disease occurs in humans. But now, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a model that uses a nontoxic way to generate the symptoms of Parkinson's: infection with a virus called Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), a natural pathogen in mice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-mouse-held-belief-viruses-trigger.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:10:01 EDT news701970601 The hereditary disorder Huntington's disease has so far been considered incurable. Its clinical manifestations include impaired motor control and psychiatric symptoms. A new study offers promising insights. It shows that a specific drug candidate called anle138b can significantly reduce the toxic protein clumps in the brain that are characteristic of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-experimental-drug-alleviates-symptoms-huntington.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:40:01 EDT news701961421 A drug from the same family licensed for use in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and blood cancer could transform the treatment of meningioma—the most common form of primary brain tumor in adults. Scientists at the Brain Tumor Research Center of Excellence at the University of Plymouth carried out the research using patient samples in the laboratory, and the results have been published in the journal Cell Death & Disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-family-drugs-muscular-dystrophy-brain.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:00:04 EDT news701957941 A new study led by Monash University researchers has shed light on the factors shaping the intricate wiring of our brains. The research, published in the journal Cell, reveals that the brain's complex wiring diagram, known as the cortical connectome, does not form at random. Instead, a new mathematical model shows that connections preferentially form between locations that support natural, shape-driven "resonant patterns." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brain-physical-internal-wiring.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:40:06 EDT news701950083 Alzheimer's disease is driven by a buildup of a toxic protein called Tau that kills neurons. As toxic Tau spreads to new regions of the brain, symptoms worsen and ultimately become fatal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brain-messenger-protein-alzheimer-disease.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:00:08 EDT news701699095 Most of the tasks that humans complete daily entail carefully coordinating movements and tracking progress made toward a desired goal. Past studies have highlighted the role of the basal ganglia (BG), a set of interconnected structures deep within the brain, in the selection, control and initiation of voluntary movements. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-neural-pathways-reveal-goal-behavior.html Sun, 28 Jun 2026 08:40:01 EDT news701531963 A simple bedside eye test may help predict recovery of consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries, according to new research presented at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-eye-recovery-consciousness-severe-brain.html Sat, 27 Jun 2026 18:10:03 EDT news701696581 Studies of genetics conducted in yeast cells, human neurons, mice or other model systems often reveal networks of genes that could contribute to complex diseases, such as breast cancer, type 2 diabetes and Parkinson's disease. But those findings don't always translate to human biology. Human genetics offers a path to determining which genes among those networks are most relevant to human disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tool-uncover-rare-genetic-mutations.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:20:06 EDT news701684004 We often feel that we are "on the same wavelength" with one another, but can science identify and engineer this phenomenon? Studies by a team of neuroscience researchers suggest that it's possible—a connectivity that is both beneficial and can be enhanced for therapeutic and other purposes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-wavelength-cautious.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 11:00:04 EDT news701601301 Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna and ETH Zurich have developed a rehabilitation platform for people suffering from the long-term effects of a stroke that combines virtual reality with targeted sensory nerve stimulation. In a randomized feasibility clinical study with stroke patients, recently published in Nature Medicine, the new technology contributed to improvements in arm and hand function, as well as in tactile and body awareness. These results open up the prospect of personalized and more accessible rehabilitation that can support patients' recovery beyond the limits of conventional therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-vr-combined-nerve-arm-function.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:20:02 EDT news701686201 Brain changes that can eventually lead to dementia may begin many years before anyone notices symptoms such as memory problems, missed appointments or difficulty finding words. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-healthy-diet-difference-people-higher.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:00:05 EDT news701674442 A new study has uncovered a key mechanism that helps one of the deadliest brain cancers evade the immune system, according to the study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-immune-pathways-aggressive-brain-cancers.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:40:07 EDT news701609086 Alzheimer's disease is a progressive and permanent loss of nerve cells in the brain. The breakdown causes memory loss, functional impairment and personality changes. In a new study published in Nature Aging, researchers found that the age-related reduction in a specific protein may contribute to the loss of brain function in this disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-special-protein-brain-cleansing-contribute.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:40:04 EDT news701617454 Neurodegenerative diseases affect tens of millions of people worldwide. Among these, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are the most common; in the United States alone, the Alzheimer's Disease Association and Parkinson's Foundation report roughly 7 million people with Alzheimer's and another million with Parkinson's. An intriguing clue lies in the tangled mystery of neurodegeneration that scientists are working to solve: iron accumulation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-iron-accumulation-brain-contribute-neurodegeneration.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:20:01 EDT news701617341 Markers of a new mechanism for cell death, called karyoptosis, have been found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-mechanism-neuronal-death-alzheimer-frontotemporal.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:11:13 EDT news701611819 Two people of very different ages can have a similar level of biological aging in their brains. Such an occurrence is possible because aging and metabolic health follow two distinct pathways that influence brain health. While it is known that the brain changes as we get older, a recent study analyzing more than 3,000 brain scans found that metabolic issues affect the brain through a different biological pathway than aging does. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-metabolic-health-age-brain.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:20:03 EDT news701593626 A new study from the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience researchers may help explain an enduring mystery about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): why the disease kills off some of the brain and spinal cord's movement-controlling neurons while others show greater resilience. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-vulnerable-als-neurons-reveal-molecular.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:40:06 EDT news701597461 Anyone who speaks more than one language knows the feeling of expressing the same thought through entirely different linguistic lenses. A new study by researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine reveals that the key to this translation ability is a shared geometric map of neural responses in the hippocampus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-geometric-neural-bilingual-brains-languages.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 08:40:06 EDT news701593662