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The upsurge in Parkinson's cases has been described as reaching pandemic levels. Caroline Tanner, MD, PhD, discusses her research, which explains why cases are rising, and what we can do to reduce our risk or slow progression.
MRIs are among the most accurate imaging tests used to diagnose brain tumors, and MRI-based monitoring of tumors guides critical treatment decisions. The clinical standard for measuring tumors
Saxitoxin, a neurotoxin released in algal blooms, has killed many people on the West Coast who've gathered shellfish that were exposed to it. The poison has also been developed as a chemical weapon. There is no antidote, yet — but it does exist.
UCSF Health today announced a $170,000 investment in start-up funding to partner with Foothill College to develop a new two-year Neurodiagnostic Technologist (NDT) program. This landmark initiative
UCSF researchers are using tiny "mini-organs" to model disease, personalize treatment, and understand human development. They are also addressing the limitations holding the field back: giving organoids a vascular system and making organoids reproducible.
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 falls in people with Parkinson’s
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 cycle" of an aneurysm and will likely change how physicians assess the risk for rupture and opportunities for personalizing treatment.
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 standard cognitive test.
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.
A large team of scientists, found that a single dose of psilocybin created positive changes in the brain and well-being, one hour and one month after administration.
Epilepsy physicians Jon Kleen and Eddie Chang used high-resolution technology to see how cognition is disrupted in people with epilepsy and predict when it will occur. The new view points the way to being able to fend of these disruptions.
UCSF's Cherry Leung, associate professor of community health systems with the UC San Francisco School of Nursing, researches the gut-brain axis as a potential adjunct therapy for improving adolescent mental health.
Ten UCSF graduate students presented their research in accessible, 3-minute talks at the 2026 Grad Slam event. This year’s first-place talk was by Brandon Corteau on how HER2 and HER3 can become a toxic power couple when paired together, and lead to the development of breast cancer.
Researchers discover that the nerve cells that make us uniquely human are also uniquely vulnerable to dying during the waves of inflammation that occur in multiple sclerosis.
UCSF researcher Daniel Mathalon, MD, PhD, believes that burgeoning knowledge about biomarkers — biological measures of a medical condition that also serve as markers of treatment effectiveness — could help intercept schizophrenia.
Tau proteins play an important role in our normal brain function, mainly by helping to stabilize neurons in the brain. But in Alzheimer’s disease, tau proteins can misfold and tangle inside neurons.
For years, scientists have studied how the brain controls movement by asking patients to perform structured tasks while connected to multiple sensors in a lab. While these studies have provided
A study from UCSF shows a previously unknown connection between the Epstein-Barr virus, known to play a role in MS, and an understudied type of immune cell.
Researchers found a "garbage man" enzyme that tags toxic clumps of proteins in the brain for removal, and saw a correlation with resilience against dementia.
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 monoclonal anti-Aβs are proteins made
Matthew Growdon's study finds "prescription cascades" where drug side effects lead to unnecessary second prescriptions, causing further harm and costly hospitalizations.
Scientists have thought that when we hear language, the brain processes it the same way, whether it's familiar or foreign. A new study reveals that exposure to a language changes how certain clusters of neurons respond to the familiar sounds. From those changes, we develop the understanding of syllables, words, and syntax.
UCSF researchers used AI to personalize Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's gait problems, leading to meaningful, customized improvements in walking and mobility—a major breakthrough for patients.
Neurologist Dr. Ptacek explains how "falling back" disrupts the 24-hour circadian clock, affecting mood and performance, with mitigation tips.
Martin Kampmann’s work, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), maps cellular “decision points” that determine whether brain cells survive or die, laying the groundwork for treatments that intervene before irreversible brain damage occurs from dementia.
