Publication from Horie, Sato, Ghoshal and Bateman wins ISTAART 2023 Publication of the Year Award

Horie, Sato, Ghoshal, Bateman

An article published in Nature Medicine from neurologists Kanta Horie, PhD, Chihiro Sato, PhD, Nupur Ghoshal, MD, PhD, Randall Bateman, MD, and colleagues has won the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) 2023 Publication of the Year Award. The article is titled, “CSF tau microtubule-binding region identifies pathological changes in primary tauopathies.” […]

Addressing Alzheimer’s disproportionate impact on people of color (Links to an external site)

Dr. Joyce Balls-Berry. Photo by Wiley Price.

The Alzheimer’s Association partnered with Washington University in St. Louis on Thursday, May 4 to explore answers to the question along with other health equity issues related to the disease. The event featured three researchers in St. Louis who aim to improve health equity in research, care, and support.  One of those researchers is Dr. Joyce […]

Living Well: Migraines (Links to an external site)

Rachel Darken, MD, PhD

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – The National Headache Foundation estimates nearly 12% of the population experience migraine headaches. But, many people do not know they suffer from this, therefore, it’s never treated. In today’s Living Well, News 4′s Taylor Holt talks to a doctor about how to know if you have them and how you […]

Donation makes 2023 Cerebral Palsy Family Day possible

Waldy Upchurch plays tennis.

The Department of Neurology’s Cerebral Palsy Center is hosting its inaugural Cerebral Palsy Family Day on June 24, 2023, at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The event originated when a family previously seen in the Cerebral Palsy (CP) Center provided the center with a generous donation. The donor’s wishes were for caregivers of individuals with CP […]

Butt, de Bruin and Keyrouz recipients of 2023 Dean’s Impact Awards

Omar butt, Gabriela de Bruin, Salah Keyrouz

The Washington University Department of Neurology’s Omar Butt, MD, PhD, Gabriela de Bruin, MD, and Salah Keyrouz, MD, FAHA, were recipients of the 2023 Dean’s Impact Awards for their superior efforts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. They demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and delivered exceptional results across the missions of the School […]

Alicia Vonderheid announced as Department of Neurology’s Staff Employee of the Quarter

Ali Vonderheid

The Department of Neurology congratulates Neurology Clinical Research Coordinator II Alicia Vonderheid for being awarded the Neurology Staff Employee of the Quarter for Q3 FY23. Vonderheid was nominated by faculty and staff because of her exceptional ability to make research participants and their caretakers feel calm and cared for. Those who nominated her, also, highlighted […]

Drug for rare form of ALS, based in part on WashU research, approved by FDA (Links to an external site)

A new drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a rare, inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Called tofersen, the drug — developed by Biogen Inc. and based in part on research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis — slows the progression of the deadly, paralyzing disease.

A new drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a rare, inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a paralyzing neurological disease. Known as tofersen, the drug has been shown to slow progression of the deadly disease. International clinical trials of tofersen, developed by the global biotechnology company Biogen Inc., […]

Sleeping pill reduces levels of Alzheimer’s proteins (Links to an external site)

Two doses of an FDA-approved sleeping pill reduced levels of Alzheimer’s proteins in a small study of healthy volunteers led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, although much more work needs to be done to confirm the viability of such an approach.

Sleep disturbances can be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Many people eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s start experiencing difficulty falling and staying asleep years before cognitive problems such as memory loss and confusion emerge. It’s a vicious cycle: Alzheimer’s disease involves changes to the brain that disrupt sleep, and poor sleep accelerates harmful changes to […]