Knight Initiative News

Displaying 21 - 40 news posts of 45

1. Stanford Engineering Fixing cellular recycling centers may help treat neurodegenerative diseases

   Improving cells’ ability to sort and recycle components—including cholesterol—could lead to therapies for a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions.

   May 7 2025

   • Brain aging
   • Clinical / translational research
   • Molecules and cells

   

2. Stanford Medicine Study strengthens link between shingles vaccine and lower dementia risk

   A new analysis of a vaccination program in Wales by a Knight Initiative–supported team found that the shingles vaccine appeared to lower new dementia diagnoses by 20% — more than any other known intervention.

   Apr 2 2025

   • Brain aging
   • Clinical / translational research
   • Molecules and cells

   

3. Stanford Report Changes in brain’s "sugar shield" could be key to understanding effects of aging

   New findings about the sugary armor on the brain’s frontline cells could shed light on cognitive decline and diseases like Alzheimer’s—and open new avenues for treatment.

    

   Feb 26 2025

   • Molecules and cells
   • Discovery science
   • Brain aging

   

4. Stanford Medicine Magazine Sweet insight into memory

   What if forgetfulness didn't ahve to be a part of aging? Now, discoveries about the impact of glucose in mouse brains by Knight Initiative affiliate, Anne Brunet, and team suggest routes for eliciting new neuron growth in old brains.

   Jan 23 2025

   • Brain aging

   

5. Research news Blight or benefit: How cellular neighbors shape the aging brain

   Researchers at Stanford’s Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience merge spatial transcriptomics and AI to uncover how local cellular interactions drive brain aging and resilience

   Dec 19 2024

   • Brain resilience
   • Discovery science

   

6. Research news Unlocking the secrets of ketosis

   With Knight Initiative support, Stanford researchers uncover a biochemical “off-ramp” in ketosis, rewriting our understanding of how ketosis influences metabolism.

   Nov 12 2024

   • Molecules and cells
   • Brain function
   • Clinical / translational research

   

7. Research news Drugs that improve brain metabolism could help Alzheimer’s patients

   A team of neuroscientists at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience have zeroed in on a critical regulator of brain metabolism that may be over-activated in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

   Aug 22 2024

   • Brain aging
   • Molecules and cells
   • Clinical / translational research

   

8. Research news Q&A: Unlocking the secrets of taurine in obesity control

   Groundbreaking research supported by the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute deepens our understanding of how the amino acid taurine may help reduce appetite and prevent obesity.

   Aug 7 2024

   • Brain function

   

9. Stanford Medicine Study reveals brain mechanisms behind speech impairment in Parkinson’s

   Most Parkinson’s disease patients struggle with speech problems. New research by Stanford Medicine scientists uncovers the brain connections that could be essential to preserving speech.

   May 28 2024

   

10. Research news Research links age-related inflammation, microglia and Alzheimer’s Disease

    Pro-inflammatory protein TREM1 in peripheral immune cells may promote age-related cognitive decline and dementia, according to Knight Initiative–funded research.

    Mar 27 2024

    • Brain aging
    • Molecules and cells
    • Clinical / translational research

    

11. Research news Alzheimer’s risk gene tied to fatty blobs in brain’s immune cells

    Recent research supported by the Knight Initiative has identified a link between lipid droplets in the microglia to a known genetic risk factor for AD.

    Mar 20 2024

    • Clinical / translational research
    • Brain aging
    • Molecules and cells

    

12. Research news Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s biomarkers show promise for early diagnosis

    Two new studies supported by the Knight Initiative highlight groundbreaking new early biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disease.

    Mar 19 2024

    • Brain aging
    • Discovery science
    • Molecules and cells

    

13. Stanford Medicine Weight loss caused by common diabetes drug tied to “anti-hunger” molecule in study

    Research supported by the Knight Initiative found that metformin, a commonly prescribed diabetes drug associated with moderate weight loss, stimulates the production of lac-phe, a molecule abundant after exercise.

    Mar 18 2024

    • Brain aging

    

14. Research news Knight-funded research uncovers gene mutations that may prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

    Disabling the notorious APOE4 gene might protect against the disease, according to research from Michael Greicius and team.

    Feb 22 2024

    • Brain aging
    • Clinical / translational research
    • Discovery science

    

15. Stanford Medicine Stanford Medicine brings autopsy suite, morgue and decedent care into a single hospital space

    Stanford Hospital brings together two autopsy rooms, the morgue, including bereavement and viewing rooms, as well as decedent care team offices. The new space allows for more advanced research for the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience and others.

    Jan 9 2024

    

16. Stanford Medicine Stanford Medicine-led study finds way to predict which of our organs will fail first

    A new study co-authored by Knight Initiative Director Tony Wyss-Coray demonstrates a simple way of studying organ aging by analyzing distinct proteins in blood, enabling the prediction of individuals’ risk for diseases.

    Dec 6 2023

    

17. Stanford Medicine Magazine Can we get along?

    Stanford Medicine queried Wu Tsai Neuro and Knight Initiative affiliates share their expertise on the what the human brain are thinking about humans vs AI.

    Nov 10 2023

    

18. Research news Surprising finding links sleep, brain insulation, and neurodegeneration

    Erin Gibson’s lab has discovered that the precursor cells to myelin-producing oligodendrocytes are regulated by the circadian system in mice. When that regulation breaks down, the researchers saw abnormal myelination — but also fragmented sleep.

    Oct 30 2023

    • Clinical / translational research
    • Brain function
    • Circuits and systems

    

19. Sarafan ChEM-H Driver of neurodegenerative diseases revealed

    In searching for how a gene mutation associated with the cell’s recycling center leads to a rare disease, Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience and Wu Tsai Neuro affiliate Monther Abu-Remaileh and team identified a missing link in neurodegenerative condi

    Sep 14 2023

    

20. Research news Blood Cells Mutated in Old Age Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease

    Pathologist Siddhartha Jaiswal discovers a surprising twist to our biology: age-related mutations that increase the risk of blood disease also protect against brain disease.

    Aug 24 2023

    • Brain aging
    • Clinical / translational research
    • Molecules and cells