https://medicalxpress.com/neurology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Neurology For decades, neuroscientists have studied the human brain by asking people to lie very still inside a brain scanner and perform carefully controlled tasks. Those experiments have revealed a remarkable amount about how the brain works. But they also leave out something fundamental. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-video-games-mri-scanners-aim.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 22:20:01 EDT news710670468 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 New research from the Bogalusa Heart Study has found that greater exposure to clinical obesity during young adulthood is associated with a greater burden of white matter changes in the brain by midlife, providing new insight into how metabolic health across the life span may influence brain health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-life-clinical-obesity-linked-brain.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:00:09 EDT news710683081 Amid the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), a team led by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has conducted what they describe as the most extensive systematic evaluation to date of associations between ADRD and nearly 200 environmental exposures—from pollution to diet to social connections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-environmental-exposures-alzheimer-disease-dementias.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:40:20 EDT news710679722 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 Nearly one-third of people with epilepsy who were prescribed certain hormonal contraceptives also received antiseizure medications that may make those contraceptives less effective, according to a University of Pittsburgh–led study published in Neurology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-common-epilepsy-medication-birth-combinations.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:00:10 EDT news710583350 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 Marianne Blake has lived in the same home for nearly half a century. She plays bridge regularly, drives to her hair appointments and, at 88 years old, enjoys her independence. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-clinical-trial-ai-medication-device.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:20:01 EDT news710590682 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 Early detection of cognitive impairment can connect patients with evaluation and treatment sooner, but many screening methods are difficult to incorporate into routine primary care. A study led by Regenstrief Institute research scientist Arthur Owora, Ph.D., MPH, evaluated a scalable approach that combines electronic health record data with a brief patient questionnaire to identify patients who may benefit from further cognitive assessment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-early-cognitive-impairment-primary.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:20:01 EDT news710586782 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 New treatments that can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease could provide significant lifetime benefits to patients and society, with even greater benefits when initiated earlier, according to new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-alzheimer-treatment-earlier-benefits-patients.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:01 EDT news710577541 A new Curtin University study has found almost half of people who experience a concussion still have problems a year later, while also revealing which factors put patients most at risk of long-term symptoms. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-mental-health-disorders-factors-term.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:20:05 EDT news710575261 A graphene-based brain sensor could help doctors watch the hidden damage unfolding during a stroke in real time, offering new hope of preventing devastating brain injuries before they become irreversible. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-graphene-sensors-reveal-brain-tissue.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:00:08 EDT news710573521 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 Childhood abuse leaves a scar on the brain, a new neuroimaging study led by UCLA psychologists has shown. The researchers found associations between the severity of different maltreatment exposures and cortical thickness, surface area and subcortical volume based on MRI images of individuals. The effect was more pronounced in young women than in men or in children. The study is the largest of its kind to examine the neurobiological legacy of childhood maltreatment across a diverse, global sample of people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-childhood-abuse-scar-brain.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:20:10 EDT news710507582 Detecting impaired motor function as early as possible after birth with the help of a standard camera linked to intelligent systems can help diagnose infantile conditions characterized by hypotonia: reduced muscle tone, which can limit active movement. A research team is investigating this approach based on work carried out on babies with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic neuromuscular disorder. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-camera-combined-ai-diagnosis-movement.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:00:10 EDT news710505361 The brain is unbelievably complicated, which is both daunting and fascinating for neuroscientists like me. In the space of a cubic millimeter—about the size of a single poppy seed—there are tens of thousands of neurons and other brain support cells, all influencing each other's function. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-nobel-technique-scientists-brain.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:40:06 EDT news710504102 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