Bacon and Dementia Risk; Zinc Fingers and Tau; Older Adults Light Up

— News and commentary from the world of neurology and neuroscience

MedicalToday
Brain scan images with NeuroBreak in the center.

A daily 25-g serving of processed meat -- e.g, a few pieces of bacon -- was tied to over 8 years, a U.K. Biobank study suggested, but other factors also came into play. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

Focused ultrasound images , opening new possible ways for paralyzed people to control prostheses one day. (Neuron)

About one in five had incidental findings in a large study; 4% prompted further clinical evaluation. (JAMA Neurology)

Compared with placebo, ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) appeared to , post-hoc analyses of two studies suggested. (European Journal of Neurology)

"Zinc finger" protein transcription factors -- DNA-binding proteins that can be harnessed to target and affect gene expression -- out to 11 months by 50% to 80%. (Science Advances)

Functional MRI showed when people wrote in paper notebooks than when they entered data into electronic tablets or smartphones. (Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience)

The International Association for the Study of Pain to treat pain due to the lack of evidence from high-quality research. (PAIN)

Meanwhile, the number of is on the rise. (New York Times)

A second intravenous immunoglobulin dose was not effective and carried risks of serious adverse events for . (Lancet Neurology)

Dosing will stop in the phase III trial of based on a pre-planned review of the study data, Genentech said. No new safety signals were seen.

In other Genentech news, the company announced that motor function in patients 2 to 25 years old with type 2 or non-ambulant type 3 spinal muscular atrophy at 2 years.

Can birth control pills help from concussions? (Journal of Neurotrauma)

  • Judy George covers neurology and neuroscience news for , writing about brain aging, Alzheimer’s, dementia, MS, rare diseases, epilepsy, autism, headache, stroke, Parkinson’s, ALS, concussion, CTE, sleep, pain, and more.