TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint applied the AT(N) framework, an Alzheimer’s disease biomarker system for amyloid, tau, and neurodegeneration, to 84 older adults with focal epilepsy and found that only 32.1% had normal blood biomarkers, while early-onset epilepsy carried higher odds of biomarker abnormality. Key Findings Epilepsy cohort: Researchers analyzed focal epilepsy participants from the …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Microbiome found that in older adults at metabolic risk, virgin olive oil was linked to better cognitive preservation and richer gut microbiota, while common refined olive oil pointed the other way. Key Findings Metabolic-risk cohort tracked over time: The analysis followed 656 older adults who were 55-75 years old, cognitively …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Cell Chemical Biology found that alzheimer’s inflammation may be driven by a specific chemical switch: S-nitrosylation of STING at cysteine 148, which pushed innate immune signaling toward synaptic damage. Key Findings STING carried the redox switch: The study identified S-nitrosylation of human STING at cysteine 148 as a redox modification …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Neurology Open Access found that in 793 dementia-free adults, higher vitamin D levels around age 39 were associated with less tau readout on PET brain imaging about 16 years later, while amyloid beta did not show the same relationship. Key Findings 793 dementia-free adults: Participants had vitamin D measured in …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Translational Psychiatry found that three different plasma p-tau217 assays separated Alzheimer’s dementia from controls and frontotemporal degeneration with excellent accuracy, shifting the test from whether the marker works to which platform clinics can deploy. Key Findings Three p-tau217 assays all performed strongly: The cohort included 39 cognitively unimpaired controls, 28 …
TL;DR: A 2026 review in Reviews in the Neurosciences argues that chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN), nerve injury from cancer treatment, can involve central nervous system changes that help explain chronic neuropathic pain and chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment. Key Findings 70-80% during treatment: The review cites chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity as affecting about 70-80% of patients during treatment. …
TL;DR: A 2026 Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring study found that orbitofrontal and frontoinsular visual rating scales on MRI helped distinguish possible from probable behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Key Findings bvFTD cohort: The study included 93 probable and 15 possible bvFTD patients, plus healthy controls for cross-sectional comparisons. Best regions: Orbitofrontal and …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Nature Communications found that self-administered finger-prick blood tests for phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217), an Alzheimer’s tau marker, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocyte-injury marker, correlated with cognition and function in older adults. Key Findings Remote sampling: Participants used capillary finger-prick blood collection rather than standard clinic-based venous blood …
TL;DR: A 2026 BJPsych Open study found clinically significant anxiety in about 18% of non-demented ALS patients for state anxiety and 14% for trait anxiety, with anxiety scores driven mainly by cognitive-affective depression symptoms rather than motor severity. Key Findings ALS cohort: The study compared 433 non-demented ALS patients with 313 healthy controls. State anxiety: …
TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden, the amount of MRI-visible white-matter injury, was greater and progressed faster in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with progression tied to worse motor and cognitive scores. Key Findings 369-person MRI sample: Researchers analyzed 204 ALS patients and 165 healthy controls from the Canadian ALS …
