Researchers are now able to wirelessly record the directly measured brain activity of patients living with Parkinson's disease and to then use that information to adjust the stimulation delivered by an implanted device. Direct recording of deep and surface brain activity offers a unique look into the underlying causes of many brain disorders; however, technological challenges up to this point have limited direct human brain recordings to relatively short periods of time in controlled clinical settings.

Enhancing the brain's lymphatic system when administering immunotherapies may lead to better clinical outcomes for Alzheimer's disease patients, according to a new study in mice. Results published April 28 in Nature suggest that treatments such as the immunotherapies BAN2401 or aducanumab might be more effective when the brain's lymphatic system can better drain the amyloid-beta protein that accumulates in the brains of those living with Alzheimer's.

A clinical trial to test the antibiotic dalbavancin for safety and efficacy in treating complicated Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteremia has begun. The trial will enroll 200 adults hospitalized with complicated S. aureus infection at approximately 20 trial sites around the United States. The trial is being sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

A study assessing how people with immune system deficiencies or dysregulations respond to COVID-19 vaccination has begun enrolling participants at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The single-site study is led by researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and aims to enroll 500 people, 400 with primary or secondary immune system disorders and 100 without such conditions.

A new Phase 3 trial to test the safety and efficacy of therapeutics for COVID-19 has begun enrolling patients hospitalized with life-threatening cases of COVID-19, including those with acute respiratory failure. The trial is supported by two components of the NIH, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and is part of the NIH Accelerating COVID-19 Treatment Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) public-private partnership.