https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us provides the latest news from German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases DZNE researchers have generated new insights into how the human genome shapes the chemical composition and concentration of blood lipids. Across the genome, they identified more than 50 regions whose relevance to lipid metabolism has not been known before. The findings are based on blood samples from more than 8,000 individuals and may provide a better understanding of aging processes and pathological conditions like Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular dysfunctions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-genetics-blood-lipids-unprecedented-precision.html Tue, 19 May 2026 18:20:04 EDT news698428621 In a condition known as "IgLON5 encephalitis," the immune system mistakenly attacks cells in the brain. This leads to brain inflammation and neuronal damage, which can manifest as sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment, and movement disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-neuronal-hyperactivity-triggers-severe-autoimmune.html Fri, 15 May 2026 09:02:57 EDT news698054521 Glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive brain tumor type in adults, remains difficult to treat because it can infiltrate surrounding brain tissue and spread far beyond the main tumor. Researchers from DZNE, University Hospital Bonn and the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation at the University of Bonn have captured this infiltration process in the living brain with advanced microscopy. Their study is based on observations in mice affected by a brain cancer very similar to human glioblastoma. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-advanced-imaging-uncovers-immune-cells.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:40:07 EDT news695994431 A certain blood protein regarded as an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease also appears to play a role in other disorders. Researchers at DZNE and the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH) at the University of Tübingen have found that elevated levels of phosphorylated tau protein (pTau) also occur in two lesser-known conditions that primarily affect the heart and kidneys. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-blood-marker-alzheimer-heart-kidney.html Wed, 11 Mar 2026 06:00:08 EDT news692355234 Memories and learning processes are based on changes in the brain's neuronal connections, and as a result, in signal transmission between neurons. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-brain-pulse-generators-memories.html Tue, 23 Dec 2025 05:00:06 EST news685643401 Neurons that specifically reduce and modulate electrical brain activity have a greater influence on emotional memories than previously thought. DZNE researchers came to this conclusion based on studies in mice. A team led by Bonn-based neuroscientist Sabine Krabbe reports these findings in the journal Nature Communications, along with experts from Switzerland and Israel. The study's results shed new light on how the brain generates and stores memory content and may help to elucidate the neural mechanisms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-inhibitory-neurons-amygdala-flexibly-emotional.html Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:22:23 EST news683551321 Specially qualified nurses with extended roles—known as Dementia Care Managers—can measurably improve the care of people with dementia living at home. This is the finding of a study conducted by DZNE in collaboration with partners from the medical and health care sectors. More than 400 people with mild to moderate dementia participated in this research. Care provided by Dementia Care Managers reduced unmet needs more effectively than standard care and improved the quality of life of the affected individuals. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-dementia-home-effective.html Tue, 28 Oct 2025 14:26:02 EDT news680880361 Individuals with an increased risk of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease may have impaired spatial orientation skills. DZNE researchers have come to this conclusion based on a study involving around 100 older adults who were tasked with determining their position within a virtual environment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-virtual-reality-reveals-impaired-spatial.html Wed, 03 Sep 2025 14:00:03 EDT news676046522 The human brain ages less than thought and in layers—at least in the area of the cerebral cortex responsible for the sense of touch. Researchers at DZNE, the University of Magdeburg, and the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research at the University of Tübingen came to this conclusion based on brain scans of young and older adults in addition to studies in mice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-evidence-neuroplasticity-advanced-age-lifelong.html Mon, 11 Aug 2025 10:37:05 EDT news674127421 Researchers from DZNE, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), and Technical University of Munich (TUM) have found that the enzyme "gamma-secretase"—implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cancer—selects its reaction partners according to a complex scheme of molecular features. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-ai-method-enzyme-linked-alzheimer.html Wed, 09 Jul 2025 14:05:34 EDT news671288725 Long-term fasting in 24-hour cycles increases the sex drive of male mice by lowering the concentration of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. This effect is linked to a diet-induced deficiency of the precursor substance tryptophan—an amino acid that must be obtained through food. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-intermittent-fasting-sex-male-mice.html Fri, 28 Mar 2025 11:00:04 EDT news662374585 Researchers from DZNE and Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg have identified individuals with increased risk for dementia using mobility data, recorded during a smartphone-based wayfinding task on the university campus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-10-smartphone-wayfinding-task-people-dementia.html Thu, 03 Oct 2024 14:00:02 EDT news647166630 Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe neurological disease for which there is presently no cure, although current therapies can alleviate symptoms. In the search for better treatment options, scientists at DZNE and the Dresden University of Technology are now drawing attention to previously unnoticed abnormalities in embryonic development. They base their argument on studies of so-called organoids: laboratory-grown tissue cultures that can reconstruct disease processes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-prelude-neuromuscular-disease-spinal-muscular.html Fri, 26 Jul 2024 11:00:01 EDT news641140801 Dexamethasone is one of the most important drugs in the treatment of severe COVID-19, but patients respond very differently to the therapy. Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now discovered how the cortisone compound influences the impaired inflammatory response and which patients benefit from it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-scientists-unravel-life-effect-dexamethasone.html Wed, 03 Jul 2024 11:00:01 EDT news639215581 In a study of 991 adults, scientists at DZNE have shown that the most common forms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) as well as the neurological diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) can be recognized by blood testing. Their procedure is not yet ready for routine medical use, but in the long term it could facilitate disease diagnosis and advance the development of new therapies already now. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-blood-markers-rare-dementia-neurological.html Tue, 18 Jun 2024 05:00:02 EDT news637853942 The fact that experiences leave their trace in the connectivity of the brain has been known for a while, but a pioneering study by researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and TUD Dresden University of Technology now shows how huge these effects really are. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-varied-life-boosts-brain-functional.html Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:07:56 EDT news608465270 Researchers at DZNE and the University Hospital Bonn, together with the Berlin-based company PeakProfiling GmbH, have developed a computer-assisted method that recognizes the severity of speech disturbances resulting from ataxia, a brain disease, with great accuracy. They report on this in npj Digital Medicine. In the long term, the new methodology, which leverages artificial intelligence, could be used in science as well as in clinical routine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-computer-assisted-procedure-ataxia-related-speech-disturbances.html Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:27:32 EDT news601043248 Researchers from the DZNE have solved an important puzzle in neurobiology: the wiring and the movement of nerve cells are interwoven, but separately controlled. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-02-centrosome-shown-play-important-role.html Wed, 15 Feb 2023 13:11:03 EST news595689061 The protein medin is deposited in the blood vessels of the brains of Alzheimer's patients along with the protein amyloid-β. Researchers from DZNE have discovered this so-called co-aggregation. They have now published their observation in Nature. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-alzheimer-therapies.html Thu, 17 Nov 2022 09:55:04 EST news587901301 Exercise keeps body and mind healthy—but little is known about exactly how and where physical activity affects our brains. "In previous research, the brain was usually considered as a whole," says Fabienne Fox, neuroscientist and lead author of a current study. "Our goal was to take a more detailed look at the brain and find out which regions of the brain physical activity impacts most." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-brain-benefits-moderate-physical.html Wed, 03 Aug 2022 10:47:04 EDT news578742421 Using a state-of-the-art method, researchers at DZNE and the University of Texas have succeeded for the first time at unraveling the effects of autoimmune antibodies that are directed against the brain in detail at the atomic level. To this end, they studied two antibodies that dock to so-called GABAA receptors in one variant of autoimmune encephalitis. Their findings on the structural mechanisms, which they have now published in the journal Cell are an important step towards the development of effective therapies—and they also pave the way for further promising investigations using the new method. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07-functioning-antibodies-autoimmune-encephalitis-deciphered.html Fri, 08 Jul 2022 10:23:32 EDT news576494609 Researchers from DZNE and Ulm University Hospital have identified a protein in the blood that may indicate the degradation of neural connections years before the onset of dementia symptoms. If these findings are confirmed, recording this protein called "beta-synuclein" could contribute to the early detection of Alzheimer's disease and possibly also help to assess nerve damage resulting from stroke or traumatic brain injury. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-dementia-blood-early-loss-neuronal.html Mon, 27 Jun 2022 10:18:19 EDT news575543896 Recovery from severe COVID-19 is characterized by a reduction of certain white blood cells and changes in the molecular regulation of the immune system. This is the conclusion of an international research team coordinated by DZNE, which reports on this in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. The scientists examined the blood of 139 patients who had received intensive care. Using a novel method of data analysis, they identified—despite individual differences in the time course of the disease—mechanisms of shared relevance that characterized the recovery process from an immunological perspective. These findings demonstrate a novel approach for assessing disease status, which could contribute to more targeted and thus more effective treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-insights-recovery-severe-covid-.html Tue, 14 Jun 2022 10:28:40 EDT news574421316 Subjective memory disorders in conjunction with conspicuous levels of beta-amyloid proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid are a strong indication of developing Alzheimer's disease. This is the conclusion of a DZNE study involving about 1,000 older adults. A team led by dementia researcher Frank Jessen reports on these findings in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. The study results could contribute to the early detection and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-dementia-combination-alzheimer-early-stage.html Thu, 12 May 2022 13:37:45 EDT news571581462 In the course of Alzheimer's disease, two proteins called amyloid and tau accumulate in the brain. A DZNE study with more than 200 participants now provides insights into the interaction of these pathological phenomena. The data suggest that tau load in the brain impairs memory functions only when amyloid burden is also high. These findings therefore support therapeutic approaches aimed at removing amyloid from the brain in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. A research team led by Prof. Emrah Düzel reports on this in the journal Brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-tau-protein-brain-impairs-memory.html Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:26:11 EDT news567872768 In individuals with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's disease, the immune cells of the brain—the "microglia"—start exerting a protective effect up to two decades before the first symptoms appear. A team from Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München draws this conclusion based on a study of more than 200 volunteers, which they report in the journal The Lancet Neurology. In light of their study data, the scientists consider modulating the activity of microglia to be a promising therapeutic approach. To this end, they aim to develop drugs that target a cellular receptor called TREM2. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-alzheimer-immune-cells-decades-symptom.html Thu, 17 Mar 2022 10:55:25 EDT news566733321 Findings by researchers from Germany support the view that hyperactive immune cells in the brain can have a protective effect in the course of neurodegenerative diseases. Experts from Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) and LMU Klinikum München report on this in The EMBO Journal. The scientists are currently considering that modulating the activity of immune cells in the brain via a receptor called TREM2 may significantly impact neurodegenerative disease processes. Thus, they see activating TREM2 as a promising approach for drug research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-highly-responsive-immune-cells-beneficial.html Mon, 14 Feb 2022 12:50:12 EST news564065404 In the journal Science, researchers from Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) and Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin present new findings on the immune response against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Their study is based on investigations of antibodies elicited by infection with the Beta variant of the virus. The researchers conclude that the Beta variant can confer broad immunity to multiple viral strains, which could be beneficial for protection against the currently prevalent Delta and Omicron variants, as well as against future viral variants. In their view, this aspect should be taken into account in the development of vaccination strategies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-gain-insights-antibody-response-viral.html Tue, 25 Jan 2022 14:14:05 EST news562342439 Long before the onset of dementia, there is evidence for increased activity of the brain's immune system. Researchers from DZNE and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) come to this conclusion based on a study of more than 1,000 older adults. To this end, various proteins were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid: They served as so-called biomarkers that indicate inflammatory processes of the nervous system. As it turned out, some of these molecules seem to be part of a damage control program of the immune system, which could be useful for the development of new drugs. The study results have been published in the scientific journal Neuron. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-alzheimer-inflammatory-markers-conspicuous-early.html Wed, 12 Jan 2022 11:30:14 EST news561209410 Some viral diseases could possibly contribute to neurodegeneration. DZNE researchers report this in the journal Nature Communications. Their assessment is based on laboratory experiments in which they were able to show that certain viral molecules facilitate intercellular spreading of protein aggregates that are hallmarks of brain diseases like Alzheimer's. These findings may provide clues how acute or chronic viral infections could contribute to neurodegeneration. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-10-viral-infections-neurodegeneration.html Tue, 19 Oct 2021 12:54:16 EDT news553866851