Sleep-Dementia Link; Neanderthal Mini-Brains; MS Tx and COVID Vax

Sleeping fewer than 5 hours a night was linked to dementia and all-cause mortality in older adults. (Aging)

Posture, gait, and quality of life tended to improve at 6 months and 1 year in people with bilateral vestibular hypofunction who had a prosthesis implanted that electrically stimulated vestibular nerve branches. (New England Journal of Medicine)

AC Immune boasted of “remarkable” interim findings from its phase Ib/IIa trial of a phospho-tau Alzheimer’s disease vaccine, but it’s not clear just what those findings are. (Endpoints News)

Researchers generated tiny, lab-grown brain organoids — also known as “mini-brains” — containing a gene variant from two extinct species, Neanderthals and Denisovans. (Science)

SPECT imaging with ¹²³I-FP-CIT, a radioactive compound that binds to dopamine transporters, differentiated dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in a small study. (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry)

There’s not enough evidence to support widespread use of cell-based therapies for Parkinson’s disease outside of carefully controlled clinical trials, a Movement Disorder Society position paper said.

Sanofi’s venglustat failed a phase II study of Parkinson’s patients with GBA mutations. (FierceBiotech)

Men who treated benign prostatic hyperplasia with the glycolysis-enhancing drugs terazosin (Hytrin), doxazosin (Cardura), or alfuzosin (Uroxatral) had lower risk of Parkinson’s disease than men who used tamsulosin (Flomax), which doesn’t affect glycolysis. (JAMA Neurology)

Rapid tapering of prednisone in generalized myasthenia gravis patients who required high doses along with azathioprine therapy appeared to be well tolerated and associated with good outcomes. (JAMA Neurology)

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society issued guidelines about timing of specific MS treatments with COVID-19 vaccinations.

Pooled patient-level data from two failed studies suggested patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure may reduce migraine frequency. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology)

About 8% of people with Parkinson’s used cannabis products, with more than half reporting beneficial clinical effects, a German survey showed. (Journal of Parkinson’s Disease)