An international team of scientists have conducted a path-breaking research study in which artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to identify a molecular machine, which plays an essential ‘cargo’ role in controlling the delivery of proteins to the surface of human cells, and is implicated in several diseases.

A study, in mice, found that gut bacteria — partly by producing compounds such as short chain fatty acids — affect the behavior of immune cells throughout the body, including ones in the brain that can damage brain tissue and exacerbate neurodegeneration in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The human brain has a sweet tooth, burning through nearly one quarter of the body’s sugar energy, or glucose, each day. Now, researchers at Gladstone Institutes and UC San Francisco (UCSF) have shed new light on exactly how neurons — the cells that send electrical signals through the brain — consume and metabolize glucose, as well as how these cells adapt to glucose shortages

A study has revealed that the cerebrospinal fluid immune system in our brain and spinal fluid becomes dysregulated as we age and that people suffering from cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease have a drastically altered CSF immune system as compared to healthy individuals.

By culturing human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons on coatings with ‘dancing molecules,’ researchers created mature neurons. These neurons could be transplanted into patients with spinal cord injuries or neurodegenerative diseases to replace lost or damaged neurons.

A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has developed a laboratory test that can measure levels of amyloid beta oligomers in blood samples. This toxic protein is an indicator for the development Alzheimer’s disease.

A study by the Alzheimer’s Association has revealed that a daily intake of multivitamins may slow cognitive aging for older adults. Although the results are encouraging, the Association is still not recommending the idea as studies are independent studies are yet to be conducted on larger and more diverse populations.

The number of young people that died due to Covid-19 increased in 2021 as compared to 2020 which affected older adults. A study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital has quantified this downward age-shift in Covid-19 deaths, using Years of Life Lost rather than mortality.

People who eat or drink more foods with antioxidant flavonols, which are found in several fruits and vegetables as well as tea and wine, may have a slower rate of memory decline, according to a study published in the November 22, 2022, online issue of Neurology.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have discovered that increasing the production of new neurons in mice with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) rescues the animals’ memory defects. The study shows that new neurons can incorporate into the neural circuits that store memories and restore their normal function.