Alzheimer’s Signals in Nasal Swabs; Gabapentin and Autism; Leaky Blood-Brain Barrier

Nasal swabs detected early signals of Alzheimer’s changes in nerve and immune cells in a study of 22 adults, including several people with asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. (Nature Communications)

A case report described a child with autism who was treated with gabapentin for neuropathic pain and subsequently showed a marked increase in expressed vocabulary, from roughly 10 words at the start of treatment to about 150 words at 6 months and later. (Frontiers in Child Adolescent Psychiatry)

The neuroimaging community challenged a U.S. policy proposal that would mandate federally funded researchers to share human data exclusively through controlled-access repositories. (The Transmitter)

The TEMPO-3 trial of investigational tavapadon as an adjunctive Parkinson’s disease treatment showed promising results, supporting positive findings seen last year in the TEMPO-1 and TEMPO-2 studies of fixed and flexible tavapadon dosing. (JAMA Neurology)

Cross-sectional data confirmed the positive association between rest tremor amplitude and ipsilateral striatal dopamine transporter binding in a clinical sample of Parkinson’s patients. (Neurology)

The Lancet published final data from the phase III EVOKE and EVOKE Plus trials that showed oral semaglutide (Rybelsus) did not slow clinical progression over 2 years in people with early Alzheimer’s disease.

Exercise and intensive vascular risk reduction did not improve cognitive function in older adults with subjective cognitive decline or a family history of dementia in a multicenter randomized trial. (JAMA Neurology)

The blood-brain barrier in retired athletes remained leaky years after playing contact sports, an imaging study showed. (Science Translational Medicine)

Former NINDS Director Walter Koroshetz, MD, who was ousted from his NIH position in December, was appointed to the board of directors of the nonprofit Invisible Wounds Foundation.