Water Pills and Alzheimer’s; Genetic COVID Link; ‘Introducing, Selma Blair’

Older adults who regularly took bumetanide, a common diuretic, were 35% to 75% less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease; the water pills also appeared to reverse signs of Alzheimer’s in mouse and cell experiments. (Nature Aging)

Triptans produced better migraine relief but had more side effects than newer migraine drugs, a network meta-analysis showed. (JAMA Network Open)

Takeda stopped phase II trials of its investigational oral orexin agonist for narcolepsy due to a safety signal seen in the studies.

Obstructive sleep apnea was linked to brain white matter hyperintensities. (JAMA Network Open)

A variant of the OAS1 gene increased Alzheimer’s disease risk by about 3% to 6% in the population as a whole, while related variants on the same gene increased the likelihood of severe COVID-19 outcomes. (Brain)

Up to one-third of COVID-19 patients experienced at least one neurological manifestation, a meta-analysis of 350 studies found. (Neurology)

What if the patients many clinicians try to avoid — people with unexplained or functional symptoms — held the key to a better system of medical practice? (Brain)

The Alzheimer’s risk gene APOE4 was linked to better visual working memory in older adults. (Nature Aging)

Depressive symptoms in early adulthood increased the risk of cognitive impairment and the rate of cognitive decline. (Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease)

Infectious mononucleosis in adolescence or childhood was a risk factor for subsequent multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, independent of shared familial factors. (JAMA Network Open)

“Introducing, Selma Blair,” a new documentary chronicling the actress’s stem cell transplant and life with MS, debuted last week. (People)

Investigational gantenerumab earned an FDA breakthrough therapy designation for Alzheimer’s disease, based on data showing it reduced brain amyloid plaque, Genentech announced.

Do dormant microbes trigger Alzheimer’s? (BBC)