Patients who received the drug fared better cognitively and functionally than those taking placebo, but still experienced losses in performance.

Manipulating the production of new neurons can improve cognition in animal models of the disease, raising the possibility that figuring out a way for humans to make more neurons could make a difference for people with dementia.

Knocking out the receptor for a lipid that causes inflammation rejuvenates macrophage metabolism and restores cognitive function in an Alzheimer’s disease model.

The variant causes a buildup of BACE1 protein in axons in cultured neurons and mice. Researchers say it might be time to rethink failed trials that inhibit BACE1 to treat the neurodegenerative disease.

The test will be a cheaper and more accessible alternative to currently available diagnostic tools, researchers say.

An imaging agent reveals aggregated tau protein in the brain during PET scans and could improve the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly tauopathies.

Surviving Stress: The mysteries of neuronal survival and neurodegeneration

These “coarse-grained” plaques resemble those that clog up the brain’s blood vessels in a different disease, pointing to links between the vascular system and the neurodegenerative disease.

After six months, patients with fast-progressing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who had received the experimental treatment had less loss of function than those who received a placebo.