ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Imagine your toddler learning to walk and talk and then all of a sudden, your child stops and starts regressing inside of themselves. That’s what happens to children born with a rare genetic neurological disorder called Rett syndrome. It steals a child’s ability to talk and use any sort […]
It’s not easy to distinguish between the dozens of subtypes of limb girdle muscular dystrophy — a rare, genetic muscle disease characterized by weakness in the hips and shoulders that causes difficulty walking and lifting the arms. Until now, determining the subtype has not been critical in caring for patients, because no specific treatments have […]
When it comes to a disease as complex as Alzheimer’s, scientists have found a number of factors that can contribute to your risk, from genes to circulatory issues, inflammation, and lifestyle behaviors. In a new study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis report on another possible factor: the types of bacteria living […]
People in the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease — after brain changes have begun but before cognitive symptoms become apparent — harbor an assortment of bacteria in their intestines that differs from the gut bacteria of healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
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.” […]
Women are about twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Some of that is age; in the U.S., women outlive men by five to six years, and advanced age is the strongest risk factor for Alzheimer’s. But there’s more to it than that, so Alzheimer’s researchers continue to look for other […]
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., […]
The seemingly simple act of reaching for a cup of coffee requires a lot of effort from the brain. It has to plan a trajectory to the cup, control dozens of muscles, make adjustments based on feedback from the eyes and fingers, and maintain its focus on the goal: a tasty jolt of caffeine. And […]
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 […]
Calm body, calm mind, say the practitioners of mindfulness. A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that the idea that the body and mind are inextricably intertwined is more than just an abstraction. The study shows that parts of the brain area that control movement are plugged […]