Volume 14 Issue 7, July 2018

The WHO’s revised classification system for CNS tumours now incorporates genetic features, including the mutation status of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) genes. A new article proposes that mutational status of CDKN2A and CDKN2B should also be included to facilitate grading of IDH-mutated gliomas with both prognostic and clinical relevance.

Following on from a recent European Academy of Neurology guideline on pharmacological treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), the American Academy of Neurology has issued an updated practice guideline on disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for MS. The guideline provides 30 general recommendations for initiating, switching and stopping DMTs, and indicates future research directions.

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is associated with highly heterogeneous clinical symptoms. This Review considers how new advances in structural and functional neuroimaging have revealed ways in which focal lesions can affect remote brain regions and lead to global dysfunction, resulting in the variable presentation of SVD.

Interest in tau-targeting strategies for Alzheimer disease is increasing, in part because of the failure of various amyloid-β-targeting treatments in clinical trials. Congdon and Sigurdsson review the current status of tau-targeting therapies, including anti-tau drugs and immunotherapies.

Free haemoglobin released from red blood cells after intracranial bleeding can lead to neurotoxicity and exacerbate injury. In this Review, the authors consider the biology behind haemoglobin toxicity and the clinical potential of targeting haemoglobin scavenging systems to aid recovery.

In this Review, the authors discuss all aspects of immune-mediated disorders of the CNS in children, from the clinical features and treatment to pathological mechanisms and biomarkers, and outline priorities for collaborative research to develop precision medicine for these disorders.