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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for dementia. New data provide further support for this association and demonstrate the influence of age at injury and injury severity on dementia risk after TBI, revealing that even mild TBI increases dementia risk in those aged ≥65 years.
The past year has seen some extraordinary activity in clinical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. Two trials were completed, with negative results, but the discovery of novel ALS-associated genes, and body fluid and imaging biomarkers warrants cautious optimism. Here, we provide a snapshot of some of the main findings in 2014.
The short-term safety and efficacy of IFN-β in patients with multiple sclerosis are well established, but less is known about this drug when taken over years and decades. Sormani and Bruzzi discuss the difficulties associated with designing studies of the long-term treatment effects of IFN-β. They then present techniques that have been employed to minimize potential sources of bias. The authors conclude that long-term use of IFN-β reduces clinical progression, but important questions relating to mortality warrant further investigation.
The notion that the classic motor features of Parkinson disease (PD) are preceded by a prodrome has received renewed interest in the past decade. A recent study corroborates previous findings that smell loss and constipation are signifiers of nigral degeneration. But can we really predict who is going to get PD?
The recent TOPIC trial found that teriflunomide could prevent relapses in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). Many other multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies are effective for CIS, because CIS is the first clinical manifestation of MS for most patients. Questions remain over the utility of future trials like TOPIC.
Despite a growing emphasis on biomarkers in research into Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD), there is little consensus as to which biomarkers are most effective. In this Review, Lleó and colleagues discuss cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for AD and PD, with a particular emphasis on applicability to clinical trials. Compared with AD, less is known about CSF biomarkers in PD, and the authors highlight several areas for further research.
LDL-lowering drugs are widely recommended for the secondary prevention of vascular events in patients who have experienced a stroke or transient ischaemic attack. As a new study illustrates, however, lipid management among this group remains inadequate, possibly placing patients at unnecessary risk of stroke recurrence.
The network between mitochondia is in a constant state of flux, with organelles fusing and separating in response to cellular metabolic demands. Disturbances to mitochondrial fusion and fission have been observed in several human diseases, and in this Review, Florence Burté and colleagues discuss how the mitochondrial network might play a crucial part in neurodegeneration. The authors focus on major protein mediators of mitochondrial dynamics, including optic atrophy protein and the mitofusins, and trace the involvement of mitochondrial dynamics in autosomal dominant optic atrophy, Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease and other disorders.