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Landmark study investigates potential of Ambroxol, a cough medicine, to slow Parkinson’s-related dementia

LONDON, Ont. – Dementia poses a major health challenge with no safe, affordable treatments to slow its progression.

Researchers at Lawson Research Institute (Lawson), the research arm of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, are investigating whether Ambroxol — a cough medicine used safely for decades in Europe — can slow dementia in people with Parkinson’s disease.

Published today in the prestigious JAMA Neurology, this 12-month clinical trial involving 55 participants with Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) monitored memory, psychiatric symptoms and GFAP, a blood marker linked to brain damage.

Parkinson’s disease dementia causes memory loss, confusion, hallucinations and mood changes. About half of those diagnosed with Parkinson’s develop dementia within 10 years, profoundly affecting patients, families and the health care system.

MRI study reveals structural brain changes in children with restrictive eating disorders

In the last decade, the incidence of restrictive eating disorders in children, like anorexia-nervosa and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorders (ARFID), has doubled. These disorders have severe consequences for growing children, resulting in nutritional deficiencies and problems with bone development, statural growth and puberty. Most studies have focused on the effects of these disorders in older individuals, and little is currently known about how restrictive eating disorders affect the brain in children or what mechanisms in the brain might be responsible for this restrictive eating behavior.

To get a better understanding of how these early-onset eating disorders work in the brain, researcher Clara Moreau and her team conducted MRI brain scans on 290 , of which 124 had been hospitalized for early-onset anorexia-nervosa (EO-AN), 50 had been hospitalized for ARFID, and 116 were children with no eating disorders. All participants were under 13 years old, and those who were hospitalized had very low body mass index (BMI) due to restrictive eating. The results were published in Nature Mental Health.

Although EO-AN and AFRID both result in low BMI and malnutrition due to restrictive eating, they are distinct disorders. EO-AN—as well as later onset anorexia-nervosa—is characterized by restrictive eating arising from a distorted body image, while restrictive eating in AFRID arises from sensory issues, such as a dislike of certain food textures, a lack of interest in food or fear of negative health consequences from food. These differences indicate that the disorders probably arise from different mechanisms in the brain.

How the Brain Increases Blood Flow on Demand

All day long, our brains carry out complicated and energy-intensive tasks such as remembering, solving problems, and making decisions.

To supply the energy these tasks require while conserving this precious fuel, the brain has evolved a system that allows it to quickly and efficiently send blood only to the areas that need it most in any given moment. This system is essential to brain function and overall health, yet how it works has remained somewhat of a mystery.

Now, a team led by researchers at Harvard Medical School has uncovered new details of how the brain moves blood to active areas in real time. Their findings are published July 16 in Cell.

In experiments in mice, the team discovered that the brain uses specialized channels in the lining of its blood vessels to communicate where blood is needed.

“This work helps us understand how you can get that super-important blood supply to the correct areas of the brain on a time scale that is useful,” said co-lead author Luke Kaplan, a research fellow in neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.

If confirmed in additional studies in animals and humans, the findings could be used to better understand findings on brain imaging tests such as functional MRI (fMRI). The insights may also advance understanding of neurodegenerative diseases, in which this communication system often breaks down, leading to cognitive problems.

Continue reading “How the Brain Increases Blood Flow on Demand” | >

Krembil Brain Institute researchers identify new model of Alzheimer’s as an autoimmune disease

(Toronto, Sept. 27, 2022) – Scientists at the Krembil Brain Institute, part of the University Health Network, have proposed a new mechanistic model (AD2) for Alzheimer’s, looking at it not as a brain disease, but as a chronic autoimmune condition that attacks the brain.

This novel research is published today, in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

“We don’t think of Alzheimer’s as fundamentally a disease of the brain. We think of it as a disease of the immune system within the brain,” says Dr. Donald Weaver, co-Director of the Krembil Brain Institute and author of the paper.

Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, impacts more than 50 million people around the world, with a new person being diagnosed every three seconds. Yet, despite more than 200 clinical trials in the past 30 years, there are no disease modifying therapeutics to prevent, halt or treat Alzheimer’s.

(Circa 2022 the immune function and immune molecules have been focused on recently making immunotherapy targets interesting consdering they can help remove plaques)

Circadian disruption by night light linked to multiple cardiovascular outcomes

Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute researchers, along with colleagues in the UK and U.S., have linked brighter night-time light exposure to elevated risks of five major cardiovascular diseases.

Circadian rhythms govern fluctuations in blood pressure, heart rate, platelet activation, hormone secretion, and glucose metabolism. Long-term disruption of those rhythms in animal and human studies have produced myocardial fibrosis, hypertension, inflammation, and impaired autonomic balance. Previous research efforts relied largely on satellite-derived estimates or small cohorts using bedroom or wrist light sensors, leaving personal exposure patterns uncharted at population scale.

In the study, “Personal night light exposure predicts incidence of cardiovascular diseases in 88,000 individuals,” posted on medRxiv, researchers conducted a prospective cohort analysis to assess whether day and night light exposure predicts incidence of cardiovascular diseases and whether relationships vary with genetic susceptibility, sex, and age.

Antibody sIgM emerges as a key guardian of gut health and metabolism

A pioneering new study published in Nature Microbiology, led by J. Oriol Sunyer, professor of immunology and pathobiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, and a team of researchers at Penn Vet and the University of New Mexico, has uncovered a surprising new player in gut health: an antibody called secretory immunoglobulin M (sIgM).

While another antibody, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), has long been known for helping balance the bacteria in our intestines, this new research shows that sIgM may be just as vital—if not more so—in protecting gut health and maintaining overall well-being.

Secretory immunoglobulins—immunoglobulins found in the mucosal surfaces or linings of various organs and tracts of vertebrates—modulate the colonization, composition, and metabolism of the gut microbiome. While sIgA and secretory immunoglobulin T (sIgT) are considered the key immunoglobulins involved in the maintenance of microbiome homeostasis in the gut of mammals and fish, respectively, Sunyer and his colleagues challenged this paradigm by demonstrating that sIgM plays a crucial and non-redundant role in the regulation of gut microbiota and metabolism.

Clinical trial shows taking blood pressure medication at night improves nocturnal and daytime control

Research led by Sichuan University in China has revealed that bedtime antihypertensive medication dosing improves nocturnal blood pressure control over morning dosing in patients with hypertension.

Hypertension is a major global health challenge. In China, nearly 300 million individuals live with elevated blood pressure and fewer than 17% achieve adequate control. Nocturnal pressure is often the most difficult to manage and can be a better predictor of heart attack and stroke than daytime readings.

Previous studies have examined the optimal timing for antihypertensive medication with conflicting evidence and substantial variability in study outcomes.

New gene tool leads to better treatments for complex diseases

Genetic changes can signal evidence of disease, but pinpointing which genes and what’s changed can be difficult.

But in a study of traits that offer clues to a person’s —such as lipid and and inflammation—a team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University devised a and tool to improve how genes and genetic changes that cause diseases are identified.

Their new approach could allow doctors to detect and treat so-called cardiometabolic diseases earlier in their development. Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

Is Intelligence Genetic? Scientists Discover Heritable Brain State That Powers Cognitive Flexibility

Brain dynamics and cognition share genetic roots. Criticality may guide future brain health research. A recent study published on June 24 in PNAS presents strong evidence that brain criticality—the delicate balance between neural excitation and inhibition—is heavily influenced by genetic factors

Mysterious New Structure Discovered Hiding Inside Human Cells

After centuries of mapping the human body in ever-finer detail, scientists are still making discoveries. Here we are, in 2025, and a previously unknown cellular structure that could be vital to our health has just been added to the anatomy books.

The membrane-bound organelle appears to play a huge role in helping cells sort, discard, and recycle their contents. It’s called a hemifusome, and a team of scientists says it could shed new light on disease.

“This is like discovering a new recycling center inside the cell,” said biophysicist Seham Ebrahim of the University of Virginia. “We think the hemifusome helps manage how cells package and process material, and when this goes wrong, it may contribute to diseases that affect many systems in the body.”