https://medicalxpress.com/neurology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Neurology High-salt (HS) intake is a major global health concern, closely linked to hypertension and growing evidence of cognitive and emotional decline. Although salt is a routine part of daily diets, long-term overconsumption can negatively affect both the cardiovascular system and the central nervous system, underscoring the need for practical dietary strategies to mitigate these adverse health effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-soy-lysolecithin-counters-high-salt.html Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:00:01 EDT news704706342 How does the brain make sense of what we see, hear and feel, and transform these separate signals into a coherent perception of the world? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-logic-sensory-vertebrate-brains.html Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:00:04 EDT news704556424 During ketamine anesthesia, the brain's nerve cells fall silent—as consciousness returns, they begin to reconnect. For the first time, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have shown that immune cells in the brain play a critical role in this process—with differences between female and male brains. The findings were published in Science Advances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-microglia-reveal-sex-specific-brain.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:00:08 EDT news704554981 Alzheimer's disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Scientists have long known that two hallmarks of the disease are beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which damage and kill brain cells over time. A University of Minnesota research team has identified a type of plaque that represents a potential new therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease. The findings were recently published in Nature Neuroscience. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-newly-mitochondrial-plaques-potential-therapeutic.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:20:01 EDT news704717521 Lysosomes, the cell's recycling hubs, are best known for their role in a group of rare inherited conditions called lysosomal storage disorders, where harmful molecules build up inside these compartments. But scientists are increasingly realizing that these organelles play a much broader role in health and disease: Problems with lysosome function are also seen in more common, age-related conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-qa-aging-affects-cells-recycling.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:40:05 EDT news704711041 We all hunger for information. Sometimes this drive leads us to a tangible reward, such as looking up reviews to find the perfect restaurant. But often we seek knowledge as an end unto itself, as when Galileo pointed his telescope at the night sky or Alice followed the rabbit down its hole. How do our brains lead us on such curiosity-driven quests for information? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-mice-advance-knowledge-rewards.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:40:03 EDT news704648761 A new study from Reichman University has found that a short, three-week digital training program, combined with standard drug treatment for Parkinson's disease, led to significant improvements in patients' motor function and measurable changes in the brain's motor circuits. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-week-digital-linked-motor-gains.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:00:03 EDT news704632622 Neurons transmit information to the next cell by converting electrical signals into chemical signals. A critical step in this process is the influx of calcium ions into the cell through voltage-gated calcium channels. A research team led by Professor Byung Chang Suh of the Department of Brain Sciences has, for the first time, uncovered a molecular mechanism that regulates the N-type voltage-gated calcium channel (CaV2.2), which plays a critical role in neural signal transmission. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-molecular-lever-neuron-treatments-epilepsy.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:40:08 EDT news704630641 Memory is not a perfect record. Some memories fade, while others remain hidden and can be brought back by reminders. But reminders can also distort what is remembered, and scientists still know little about how the brain accurately recovers memories or forms false ones. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-forgotten-memories-silent-brain.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:09 EDT news704630101 A joint research team led by professors Sungsu Park of Sungkyunkwan University and Sun-Ha Paek of Seoul National University College of Medicine has demonstrated for the first time that the sequence in which immune cells interact with cancer cells can critically influence the therapeutic response in glioblastoma. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-tumor-chip-method-reveals-factor.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 11:40:02 EDT news704629801 For some families, the reason their child is not developing as expected remains unclear for a long time. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN) in Magdeburg have now identified a genetic cause of a previously unexplained developmental disorder. They showed that changes in the NPTN gene can impair the function of nerve cells. Affected children experience developmental delays, often autism and, in some cases, epilepsy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-nptn-gene-linked-rare-developmental.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:02 EDT news704621705 Sleep is a crucial physiological process that supports recovery, clears metabolic waste products from the brain, regulates metabolism and supports the functioning of the immune system. Sleep is also known to play a key role in consolidating different types of memories, ranging from memories of past events and memorized facts to newly acquired skills or habits (i.e., procedural memories). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-replay-skills-independently-hippocampus-mouse.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:40:24 EDT news704550515 A team of CNRS scientists has pinpointed the brain mechanisms behind the famous "Proust's madeleine" phenomenon, in which smells bring back vivid, emotional memories. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-proust-madeleine-neuroscience.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:20:01 EDT news704621578 Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Penn Engineering have developed an advanced artificial intelligence system that measures a child's ability to imitate simple body movements using ordinary video recordings. The Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation, or CAMI-2DNet, brings researchers one step closer to a scalable, objective method for evaluating imitation, which is an important behavioral marker associated with autism. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-ai-autism-screening-accessible.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 07:00:10 EDT news704604601 Compared with Army veterans, male veterans of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard have higher rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), while Marine veterans have lower rates, according to a new study published July 29, 2026, in Neurology. The study also found that male and female officers had higher rates of ALS than enlisted personnel. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-veterans-als-military.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:00:06 EDT news704463369 Consuming less sugar in utero and during the first 1 to 2 years of life was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia later in life, according to a study published July 29, 2026, in Neurology. The study also found that lower sugar consumption early in life was associated with a delay in developing dementia. The study does not prove that lower sugar consumption directly prevents dementia; it only shows an association between sugar and dementia risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-limiting-sugar-early-life-dementia.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:00:01 EDT news704463387 A gene-editing tool designed to precisely rewrite the gene that causes Huntington's disease reduced toxic protein fragments and symptoms associated with the disease in mice, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-gene-tool-huntington-toxic-protein.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:40:08 EDT news704552413 A single IV injection of a microRNA-based biologic developed by Guangping Gao, Ph.D., Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, Jun Xie, Ph.D., and Zuoshang Xu, MD, Ph.D., suppressed production of the mutant SOD1 protein that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), delayed disease onset by 60 days and extended lifespan by 100 days—more than tripling the average survival time—in mouse models of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-scientists-microrna-based-gene-therapy.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:20:02 EDT news704551862 Scientists in Britain and Spain have discovered critical windows after glioblastoma surgery when the brain's defenses falter, creating a rare chance to deliver powerful treatments exactly where needed. If doctors time treatment within two narrow postoperative windows identified by the researchers, existing lipid nanoparticle medicines—already approved and routinely used in oncology hospitals today—could be redeployed to deliver early, precision-targeted therapy to the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-surgery-bloodbrain-disruption-windows-glioblastoma.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:07 EDT news704452104 When we think of kidney disease, we think of dialysis or a kidney transplant. Less well known is that kidney disease, which affects more than 10% of the world's population, can have significant consequences for the functioning of other organs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-kidney-disease-brain.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:00:03 EDT news704548681 New research published in Neuro-Oncology offers a glimpse at promising discoveries that could help shape the future of glioblastoma treatment and patient outcomes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-pathway-glioblastoma-cells-vulnerable-treatment.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:40:07 EDT news704543341 Sugar restriction during the first 1,000 days after conception may significantly reduce a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's by up to 46%. Those are the findings of a new study published in the journal npj Aging that examined the long-term effects of early-life nutrition on brain aging and lifelong mental health. The findings also suggest that some benefits may begin before birth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-sugar-early-life-alzheimer.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:40:08 EDT news704539618 A cell therapy called deramiocel could slow muscle weakening in boys and young men with advanced Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and may also slow heart damage in those who already have heart muscle disease, a Phase III clinical trial published in The Lancet has found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-bloodstream-cell-therapy-muscle-decline.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:00:06 EDT news704535302 Research shows that improvisation and creativity are good for the brain. In an episode of the Greater Good Science Center's "Science of Happiness" podcast, host Shuka Kalantari talked to Karen Barrett about what happens in the brain when people improvise music. Barrett is an assistant professor in the Institute for Health & Aging at the University of California, San Francisco who researches the effects of music on aging and health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-qa-scanned-brains-kids-tunes.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:00:04 EDT news704534882 Riding a bike, reading a book or folding laundry while watching TV can feel effortless, almost like your brain does it on autopilot. This ease comes from repetition, built through practicing the same task again and again. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), responsible for flexible thinking and decision-making, plays a role in this process, but it also creates a bottleneck. Although highly flexible, it can generally handle only one decision at a time, making multitasking difficult. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-skill-automatic-brain-rewires-bypass.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:40:08 EDT news704536216 An overactive immune response in the brain may play a role in Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe genetic epilepsy that typically begins in infancy, according to Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. Children with the condition experience frequent seizures that are often difficult to control with medication and may also face developmental, cognitive and behavioral challenges. Until now, most research has focused on how a mutation in the SCN1A gene disrupts electrical signaling in the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-inflammation-dravet-syndrome-potential-treatment.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:07 EDT news704533501 A study conducted by the University of Barcelona provides new evidence on the role of the glymphatic system, which clears waste from the brain, in neurodegenerative diseases. The study shows that patients with conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) exhibit a higher accumulation of wasteosomes, small structures that act as waste containers, in key regions of the waste-clearance system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-impaired-functioning-brain-clearance-involved.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 19:40:02 EDT news704450442 Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumor and is among the most aggressive cancers in humans. Despite multimodal therapy with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, there is still no cure. A major reason is the tumor's invasive behavior: Glioblastoma cells migrate far beyond the visible tumor into healthy brain tissue. These infiltrating cells cannot be completely removed and seed tumor recurrence—often within just a few months. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-human-tissue-tracks-glioblastoma-invasion.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:40:03 EDT news704470742 Scientists at Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have discovered how an experimental therapy can help brain cells overcome the effects of a disease-causing genetic deletion. Instead of repairing the deletion and its immediate consequences, the therapy redirects brain development by helping at-risk neurons grow and connect more normally. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-brain-cells-healthy-growth-disease.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:40:01 EDT news704469422 A new pan-European study has identified the key behavioral factors that influence whether health care professionals prescribe new, novel or nonroutine treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-behaviors-decisions-medicines-neurodegenerative-diseases.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:00:01 EDT news704470262