UNLV announced Monday that it has launched a center dedicated to scientific research about brain and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The UNLV department of brain health has formally launched the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, offering hope through scientific discovery for patients who are suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia and other brain and neurological diseases.

The UNLV department of brain health has formally launched the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, offering hope through scientific discovery for patients who are suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia and other brain and neurological diseases.

The UNLV department of brain health has formally launched the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, offering hope through scientific discovery for patients who are suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia and other brain and neurological diseases.

An experimental drug could help caregivers as well as patients, as it substantially improved agitation in Alzheimer's patients in a late-stage clinical trial. The announcement boosted the shares of the maker of the treatment, Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM), nearly 25% to more than $95.

The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran’s missile strike this month on an Iraqi air base, and although half have returned to work, the casualty total belies President Donald Trump’s initial claim that no Americans were harmed. He later characterized the injuries as “not very serious.”

The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran's missile strike this month on an Iraqi air base, and although half have returned to work, the casualty total belies President Donald Trump's initial claim that no Americans were harmed. He later characterized the injuries as “not very serious.”

The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran's missile strike this month on an Iraqi air base, and although half have returned to work, the casualty total belies President Donald Trump's initial claim that no Americans were harmed. He later characterized the injuries as “not very serious.”

Jefferson Kinney, the founding chairman of the UNLV Cellular and Molecular Brain Research Laboratory, said the lab was created, in part, to complement the brain health center’s work.

As new treatments are developed for traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease, a significant amount of credit could go to UNLV’s new Department of Brain Health.

Biogen Inc. stunned Alzheimer’s researchers in March when it said its highly awaited Alzheimer’s treatment aducanumab was unlikely to work. Seven months later, the company reversed course and said the drug did work after all -- at least in one of two large trials.

Nearly fifty-thousand Nevadans are currently living with Alzheimer's, and that number is only expected to skyrocket over the next decade. On this Nevada Week, we'll explore how close local researchers are to a cure. Plus, what role do citizen scientists and caregivers play toward fighting this neurodegenerative disease?