als Archives - Brain ASAP

REDDI MEG AI Classified Four Neurodegenerative Diseases With 0.81 Balanced Accuracy

June 22, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 preprint in medRxiv reported that REDDI, an interpretable AI pipeline using resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG), classified four neurodegenerative diseases with mean balanced accuracy of 0.81. Key Findings The dataset covered four disease groups: it included 32 people with mild cognitive impairment, 18 with multiple sclerosis, 20 with Parkinson’s disease, and 39 with amyotrophic …

Masitinib ALS Follow-Up Reported Higher 5-Year Survival

June 21, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint reanalyzed long-term survivors from the AB10015 ALS trial and reported that masitinib-treated patients had higher 5-year survival than historical benchmarks, but the analysis was post hoc, sponsor-supported, and lacked long-term placebo follow-up. Key Findings Five-year survival was 42.3%: 55 of 130 patients assigned to masitinib 4.5 mg/kg/day were alive at …

Glycolysis May Shape Neurodegenerative Disease Metabolism

June 21, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 Reviews in the Neurosciences review argues that glycolysis, the cell pathway that turns glucose into usable energy and lactate, is a disease-shaping process across Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, Huntington’s disease, Wilson disease, and multiple sclerosis rather than a background energy problem. Key Findings Glycolysis changes differed by brain cell type, with …

SPP1 Marked Shared Microglia Programs in Neurodegeneration

June 7, 2026 by BrainASAP

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Glia used human single-nucleus RNA sequencing datasets and mouse validation to identify a shared neurodegeneration-linked microglial transcription program, highlighting SPP1 as a disease-associated microglia marker. Key Findings Five disease contexts: The analysis integrated human microglia datasets from Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and aging. Single-nucleus RNA-seq: …

Anxiety in ALS Was Driven Mostly by Depression Symptoms

May 17, 2026 by BrainASAP

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: …

White Matter Hyperintensities Tracked ALS Progression and Survival

May 17, 2026 by BrainASAP

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 …

C9orf72 Myeloid Cells Restrained Microbial Inflammation

May 15, 2026May 7, 2026 by BrainASAP

C9orf72 Myeloid Cells Restrained Microbial Inflammation TL;DR: A gut-microbe signal called bacterial glycogen triggered damaging inflammation when C9orf72-deficient immune cells could not restrain it, linking an ALS/FTD gene to gut-brain immune control. Key Findings Ten bacterial strains triggered C9orf72-dependent cytokine release: The inflammatory response depended on how myeloid immune cells handled microbial signals. Bacterial glycogen …

TDP43 Failure Disrupts DNA Repair in ALS and FTD

May 15, 2026April 10, 2026 by BrainASAP

The Broken Repair Crew: How TDP43 Sabotages Genome Stability TL;DR: TDP43, the protein that misfires in ALS and FTD, secretly controls DNA repair genes—and when it breaks, mutations pile up in neurons, potentially explaining both neurodegeneration and the cancer link in these diseases. A protein known for its role in neurodegenerative disease has a hidden …

PCSK9 Inhibitors May Increase Parkinson’s Disease & Reduce ALS Risk (2024 Study)

July 16, 2024 by BrainASAP

PCSK9 inhibitors significantly reduce the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) but increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Highlights: ALS Risk Reduction: PCSK9 inhibitors marginally reduced the risk of ALS with an odds ratio of 0.89 (p = 0.048). PD Risk Increase: PCSK9 inhibitors increased the risk of Parkinson’s disease, with an odds ratio …