A new case report shows that a quick, bedside ultrasound test can detect possible brain abscesses by identifying characteristic lesions. While not a definitive diagnostic tool, this low-cost method could help emergency departments, especially in resource-limited settings, triage patients faster for advanced scans and crucial surgery.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a spectrum of liver conditions ranging from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis (MASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis, represents a global health epidemic with no approved pharmacotherapies.

Synaptic plasticity — the brain’s ability to modify the connections between neurons to support learning — is one of the neural functions profoundly altered in Huntington’s disease, with a direct impact on brain function. Researchers at the University of Barcelona used an innovative optogenetic tool to show that astrocytes, a type of brain cell traditionally considered to play a supporting role, also influence this plasticity and are themselves altered in Huntington’s disease. These results, obtained in animal models, open up new avenues for addressing this genetically driven neurodegenerative disease in patients.