Years before tau tangles show up in brain scans of patients with Alzheimer's disease, a biomarker test developed at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine can detect small amounts of the clumping-prone tau protein and its misfolded pathological forms that litter the brain, cerebrospinal fluid and potentially blood, new research published today in Nature Medicine suggests.

Virginia Tech neuroscientists have uncovered a mitochondrial process that helps brain cells adapt and strengthen connections, supporting learning, memory, and social recognition. Their research, focused on the hippocampal CA2 region in mice, reveals that mitochondria in these neurons vary depending on their location, with those at distant synapses relying on a key calcium-regulating protein (MCU). Removing this protein disrupted plasticity at these outer synapses, highlighting how mitochondrial function shapes cognitive processes and may contribute to neurological disorders.

The sabotage of cellular messaging, triggered by the formation of chronic stress granules in the brain, may be a key factor in the development of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases — much like a citywide power failure shutting down critical systems. Stress granules are clumps of proteins and RNA that form in response to cell stress.

Nearly every disease has an inflammatory component, but blood tests can’t pinpoint inflammation in specific organs or tissues in the human body.

Now researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a method to detect inflammation using antibodies, potentially leading to blood tests for disease-specific biomarkers such as for heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and various cancers. Their breakthrough also holds promise for drug discovery.