Understanding the genetic factors behind pediatric pilocytic astrocytoma and possible treatments

White coat with WashU Medicine logo

Pediatric pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) is a common type of low-grade brain tumor in children, influenced by specific genetic changes. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have conducted a study, published in Genes & Development, using advanced stem cell techniques to investigate the genetic alterations that cause PA and how they affect […]

Faster, cheaper, better: the rise of blood tests for Alzheimer’s (Links to an external site)

Illustration of vials with red liquid inside. One vial looks like a woman's head.

Ellen was on a cycling holiday in September 2023 when her memory and thinking skills began to falter. Riding behind her husband on their bright green tandem bike through the rolling hills of Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, Ellen found herself struggling to follow simple navigation cues. When she returned home to Missouri, Ellen (who asked that […]

10 Small Things Neurologists Wish You’d Do for Your Brain (Links to an external site)

Illustration of a brain with items like a toothbrush, free weight and people running

Small tweaks to your daily routine can go a long way toward protecting your body’s control center and preventing cognitive decline down the road. In fact, scientists believe that as many as 45 percent of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented with help from some simple, sometimes surprising, changes in behavior.

Boosting brain’s waste removal system improves memory in old mice (Links to an external site)

Aging compromises the lymphatic vessels (green) in tissue called the meninges (blue) surrounding the brain, disabling waste drainage from the brain and impacting cognitive function. Researchers at WashU Medicine boosted lymphatic vessel integrity (bottom) in old mice and found improvements in their memory compared with old mice without rejuvenated lymphatic vessels (top).

As aging bodies decline, the brain loses the ability to cleanse itself of waste, a scenario that scientists think could be contributing to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among others. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have found a way around that problem by […]

Researchers find a hint at how to delay Alzheimer’s symptoms. Now they have to prove it (Links to an external site)

Jake Heinrichs hugs wife Rachel Chavkin

The research led by Washington University in St. Louis involves families that pass down rare gene mutations almost guaranteeing they’ll develop symptoms at the same age their affected relatives did – information that helps scientists tell if treatments are having any effect. The new findings center on a subset of 22 participants who received amyloid-removing […]

Anti-amyloid drug shows signs of preventing Alzheimer’s dementia (Links to an external site)

Randall J. Bateman, MD, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology at WashU Medicine, is the study director of an international clinical trial that finds an anti-amyloid drug can delay the onset of cognitive decline if given many years before symptoms of Alzheimer's disease arise. The participants in the study had inherited genetic variants that lead to early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and among those who received the drug the longest – an average of eight years – the treatment lowered the risk of developing symptoms from essentially 100% to about 50%, according to a preliminary analysis of the data.

An experimental drug appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s-related dementia in people destined to develop the disease in their 30s, 40s or 50s, according to the results of a study led by the Knight Family Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network-Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), which is based at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The […]

Promising risk assessment results for new pediatric stroke treatment option

patient with IV

A recent safety surveillance paper published in Neurology reported that of eleven pediatric patients who were treated with tenecteplase for suspected stroke, there were no instances of intracranial bleeding or other safety concerns. This study is an important first step toward further research to establish the safety and efficacy of tenecteplase for treating pediatric stroke. […]