Cajal Neuroscience Inc., a startup seeking new targets to use in medicines for neurodegeneration, has launched with the completion of a $96 million series A financing led by The Column Group and Lux Capital. The company, inspired by the pioneering work of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, is focused on the "mechanistic, spatial and temporal complexity of neurodegeneration" to determine "how, where and when different mechanisms contribute to disease."

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven has patented compounds reported to useful for the treatment of epilepsy.

Scientists at USA Elixiria Biotech Inc. and colleagues described data from preclinical studies evaluating the potential of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonist, ELB-00824, for protection against chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP).

Axsome Therapeutics Inc.’s AXS-05 (dextromethorphan + bupropion) has notched another success by hitting its phase III primary endpoint in treating a notoriously difficult Alzheimer’s disease (AD) indication when compared to placebo. Newly released data from the Accord study showed AXS-05, an oral, NMDA receptor antagonist with multimodal activity, statistically significantly delayed time to relapse of AD agitation vs. placebo (p=0.014), which was the primary endpoint.

Brain insulin signaling is known to control peripheral energy metabolism and regulation of mood and cognition. Dysregulation in this signaling has been tied to brain pathological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Previous findings have reported a strong connection between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and AD, suggesting insulin resistance as a potential risk factor for AD pathology and other forms of dementia.