News & Discoveries

How to Fill a Shortage of Specialists in ALS, Epilepsy, and Stroke

Partnership with Foothill College will create Northern California’s first program to develop much-needed neurodiagnostic technology training for the diagnosis of neurological disorders. UCSF Health today announced a $170,000 investment in start-up funding to partner with Foothill College to…

UCSF Screens First Patients in Novel Alzheimer’s Trial

Study will test new drugs for early disease in an effort to prevent the buildup of toxic tau tangles that lead to cognitive decline. A study will test new drugs for early disease in an effort to prevent the buildup of toxic tau tangles that lead to cognitive decline.

I’m a Neurologist. Here’s How to Protect Your Aging Brain

It’s never too early — or too late — to make changes that may prevent, delay, or slow the progression of dementia. Research suggests that these changes could carry as much clout as our genes. UCSF expert Kristine Yaffe, MD, explores how targeting modifiable risk factors—like sleep and exercise—can…

Brain Stimulation That Adapts to Parkinson’s Patients’ Every Step

This new approach to improve walking for people with Parkinson’s Disease could open a new chapter in personalized neuromodulation. UC San Francisco researchers have developed a new form of deep brain stimulation (DBS) that adjusts in real time as a person walks, helping to improve gait and reduce…

UCSF Taps Andy Josephson as New Dean for the School of Medicine

A gifted clinician, educator, and research leader, Josephson will helm the school in a time of rapid change. S. Andrew Josephson, MD, a master clinician and educator who has led UCSF’s top-ranked Department of Neurology since 2017, has been named the next dean for the UCSF School of Medicine and…

Understanding How Brain Aneurysms Form May Help Predict Ruptures

Once blood vessels lose the ability to expand and contract with each heartbeat, artery walls are more prone to rupture. Ethan Winkler, who studies aneurysms, discovered a dynamic between cells in the brain's blood vessels that explains why aneurysms burst. The findings describe a "life…

A Stroke Left 17-Year-Old Andrew Hunched on the Floor in Pain

More than 20 years ago, virtually nothing was known about pediatric stroke. Today, UCSF research fuels life-saving advances in care. Two decades ago, children with stroke were falling into this gap between stroke providers who didn’t treat children and child neurologists who were uncomfortable…

Can an Alzheimer’s Blood Test Detect Early, Subtle Cognitive Decline?

Biomarkers in midlife adults without dementia may be linked to the earliest signs of waning cognition, researchers found. About 6% of asymptomatic adults have a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease and are already showing very subtle signs of the disease that would not come to light in a…

Improving Prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease with AI

A team at UCSF developed a multitask deep learning framework that can effectively predict Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, cognitive scores, and future cognitive decline using only baseline MRI and demographics.

How to Overcome Global Price Barriers for New Alzheimer’s Drugs

UCSF and Trinity College Dublin researchers determine cost-effective thresholds for Alzheimer’s-modifying therapies in 174 countries. In the last few years, progress has been made in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease with a class of therapies called anti-amyloid antibodies (anti-Aβ). These…