Research | Page 22 | Neurology | Washington University in St. Louis

Brain tumors occur often in kids with common genetic syndrome (Links to an external site)

August 8, 2018June 28, 2022

Stephanie Morris, MD, examines Henry Shrinivas, 1. Both Henry and his sister Sophie, 2, have been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis (NF1), a common genetic syndrome. A new study shows that children with NF1 are much more likely to have brain tumors than previously thought.

The frequency of brain tumors has been underestimated in children with the common genetic syndrome neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), according to a new study. This disorder is characterized by birthmarks on the skin and benign nerve tumors that develop in or on the skin. Brain tumors also are known to occur in children and adults […]

New ALS therapy in clinical trials (Links to an external site)

July 16, 2018June 28, 2022

Robert Bucelli, MD, PhD, measures Gregory Easter's neuromuscular function. Easter, who has an inherited form of amytrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neuromuscular disease, is taking part in a clinical trial to evaluate an experimental drug. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows the drug extends survival and reverses some neuromuscular damage in mice and rats and may help people whose disease is caused by mutations in the gene SOD1.

About 20,000 people in the United States are living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The invariably fatal disease kills the nerve cells that control walking, eating and breathing. Few people survive more than three years after diagnosis.

Can fasting improve MS symptoms? (Links to an external site)

June 28, 2018June 28, 2022

Laura Piccio, MD, talks with DeAnna Clark during a checkup. Clark, who has MS, is participating in a study led by Piccio to evaluate whether partial fasting can benefit people with MS.

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) can find an abundance of conflicting advice suggesting that special diets – everything from avoiding processed foods to going low-carb – will ease their symptoms. But the evidence is scanty that dietary changes can improve fatigue or other MS symptoms.

Decades of dedication lead to drug trial for rare, fatal illness (Links to an external site)

June 19, 2018June 28, 2022

John P. Atkinson, MD, (right) talks with patient Kim Morey, of Bentonville, Ark., a participant in the first clinical trial evaluating a potential drug therapy for a rare, fatal disease called retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukodystrophy (RVCL). Atkinson, who directs the RVCL Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is leading the trial and has played a key role in research to describe the disease and develop a genetic test to identify it.

When Kim Morey was a young girl, a mysterious illness affected her family, striking relatives one by one at around the age of 40, she recalled. “My dad’s grandmother had it, and then his mother and her sisters,” Morey said. “Then my dad’s cousin. And soon after that, my dad started showing symptoms.”

Drugs that suppress immune system may protect against Parkinson’s (Links to an external site)

May 31, 2018June 29, 2022

Parkinson's disease is caused by the injury or death of brain cells known as dopaminergic neurons (shown here in a computer-generated image). A new study shows that people who take drugs that suppress the immune system are less likely to develop the disease, which is characterized by difficulty with movement.

People who take drugs that suppress the immune system are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings, published May 31 in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, suggest that a person’s own immune system helps nudge him or her down the […]

Brain scans may help diagnose neurological, psychiatric disorders (Links to an external site)

April 18, 2018June 29, 2022

Brain networks from nine people were analyzed to generate the heat map above, which shows the areas that change the most (red) to the least (green), from person to person. A new study shows that individual brain networks are remarkably stable from day to day and while undertaking different tasks, suggesting that finding differences between individuals could help diagnose brain disorders or diseases.

There are no laboratory tests to diagnose migraines, depression, bipolar disorder and many other ailments of the brain. Doctors typically gauge such illnesses based on self-reported symptoms and behavior.

Antibody removes Alzheimer’s plaques, in mice (Links to an external site)

March 26, 2018June 29, 2022

Antibodies against APOE (red) bind to amyloid plaques (blue) in brain tissue from people with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers have found that the antibody can sweep away the damaging plaques, at least in mice, which could lead to a therapy for the devastating disease.

Years before people start showing characteristic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, sticky plaques begin forming in their brains, damaging nearby cells. For decades, doctors have sought ways to clear out these plaques as a way to prevent or treat the disease.

Link between 2 key Alzheimer’s proteins explained (Links to an external site)

March 21, 2018June 29, 2022

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by clumps of two proteins – amyloid beta and tau – in the brain, but the link between the two has never been entirely clear. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that people with more amyloid in the brain produce more tau, which could lead to new treatments for the disease based on targeting the production of tau.

Alzheimer’s blood test detects disease decades before symptoms, aiding drug search

March 6, 2018June 29, 2022

Getty Images A woman with Alzheimer's performs a memory exercise in a nursing home.

Alzheimer’s remains a deadly and incurable disease that affects 5.5 million Americans. It is one of the greatest threats to the solvency of Medicare. New blood tests can identify patients up to 20 years before physical symptoms. This could prove crucial in developing preventative treatments. Published 10:00 AM ET Mon, 5 March 2018 Updated 10:25 […]

Stroke recovery improved by sensory deprivation, mouse study shows (Links to an external site)

January 31, 2018June 29, 2022

Researchers helped mice recover faster from stroke by clipping their whiskers (as shown in video). This temporarily shuts off neural signaling between the whiskers – an important sensory organ for mice – and the brain, opening up a vacant space in the brain and making it more receptive to rewiring. Temporary sensory deprivation potentially could aid recovery for stroke patients, according to senior author Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Temporarily shutting off neuronal signals to a healthy part of the brain may aid stroke recovery, according to new research in mice. The findings, from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are published Jan. 31 in Science Translational Medicine.