In this episode of In Conversation With, Morgane Boillot, Senior Editor at The Lancet Neurology, speaks with connective tissue disorders — including Marfan syndrome — and human genetics expert Hal Dietz from Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, USA) about the genetics of spontaneous spinal CSF leaks.

Together, they explore the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and current treatment of spontaneous spinal CSF leaks, and discuss genetic findings revealing rare deleterious variants in FBN2, the gene encoding fibrillin-2, in patients with type 1b leaks. The conversation covers translational and mechanistic findings — including CRISPR-Cas9 mouse models and cellular interactions with the extracellular matrix — and what these reveal about the underlying biology of fibrillin-1 and fibrillin-2-related disorders. It also addresses the potential clinical implications of these findings, and Professor Dietz shares his hopes for their use in therapeutic development.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(26)00140-7/fulltext

In this episode of In Conversation With, Elena Becker-Barroso, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Neurology, speaks with movement disorders specialist Tony Schapira from UCL’s Queen Square Institute of Neurology about GBA1-associated Parkinson’s disease. Together, they explore the genetic, clinical, and biochemical links between GBA1 variants, lysosomal function, Gaucher disease, alpha-synuclein pathology, and Parkinson’s progression. The conversation also highlights current challenges in risk prediction, biomarkers, genetic counselling, clinical management, and emerging therapeutic approaches aimed at modifying or even preventing disease.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(26)00090-6/fulltext

Join The Lancet Neurology’s In Conversation With… as editors Elena Becker-Barroso and Laura Hart welcome Henry Brodaty and Alice Powell from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) to discuss cognitive resilience and ageing.

This episode teases apart cognitive resilience, cognitive reserve, brain maintenance, and brain reserve; explores how social determinants, life-course factors, and vascular health shape resilience; and delves into robust measures, biomarkers, and how pathologies interact with resilience. It also covers multicomponent interventions and their transferability to low-income and middle-income countries, how clinicians should communicate risk, and the key knowledge gaps and priorities for global cognitive resilience research. Don’t miss this timely exploration of dementia prevention and healthy brain ageing.

Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(26)00027-X/fulltext