NEURODEGENERATION

Biogen, Ionis to discontinue development of experimental ALS drug

Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals said on Thursday they will terminate the development of their experimental treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) after failing to show improvement in patients in an early-to-mid stage study.

More in NEURODEGENERATION

Poor sleep may increase Alzheimer's risk: Study

Researchers at Washington University found that sleeplessness accelerates the spread through the brain of toxic clumps of tau ― a harbinger of brain damage and decisive step along the path to dementia.
Genes tied to dementia identified: Researchers

Researchers discovered two major groups of genes involved in mutations that result in an overproduction of a protein called tau, a hallmark of the progressive loss of neurons seen in major forms of dementia.
Lower weight in late life may increase risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

BWH/MGH study associates lower body mass index with greater deposits of Alzheimer’s-associated amyloid plaques in the brains of older individuals
Scientists develop new blood test to detect multiple diseases

The novel method, developed in a series of experiments involving 320 patients and controls, infers cell death in specific tissue from the methylation patterns of circulating DNA that is released by dying cells.