Medicine & Health

A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that Alzheimer’s disease both starts earlier and moves faster in people with Down syndrome. The finding may have important implications for the treatment and care of this vulnerable group of patients.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a different and promising way to remove amyloid beta plaques in the brain: by directly mobilizing immune cells to consume them. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.

Social determinants of health are increasing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia risk, finds a recent study from the Brown School and the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that brain waves help flush waste out of the brain during sleep. The findings could lead to new approaches for treating Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions.

Two early-career Washington University faculty members have been awarded a prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship: psychologist Zachariah Reagh, in Arts & Sciences, and neuroscientist Gaia Tavoni, at the School of Medicine.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Lund University in Sweden showed that a blood test is as good at identifying people in early stages of the disease as cerebrospinal fluid tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Washington University in St. Louis and Deerfield Management, a health-care investment firm, announced the launch of VeritaScience, a new private R&D collaboration designed to advance the discovery, clinical development and commercialization of promising therapeutic and diagnostic candidates with potential to benefit human health.

Smoking shrinks the brain and effectively causes premature brain aging, according to a study by researchers at the School of Medicine. The findings help explain why smokers are at high risk of age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.

A woman who never developed Alzheimer’s despite a strong genetic predisposition may hold the key to stopping the disease in its tracks. Researchers at the School of Medicine found clues that could help cut the link between the early, asymptomatic stage and the late stage, when cognitive decline sets in.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have found that a form of cholesterol known as cholesteryl esters builds up in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s-like disease, and that clearing out the cholesteryl esters helps prevent brain damage and behavioral changes.