Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

RSS

Weill Cornell Medical College to lead new NYC translational research collaboration

Weill Cornell Medical College has been selected by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to establish and lead a new Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC), creating an ambitious and innovative network for biomedical collaboration on New York's Upper East Side.

20 Sep 2007

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and BG Medicine collaborate

The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and BG Medicine have announced a collaboration to discover plasma biomarkers of drug efficacy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of mortality in infants and toddlers.

18 Sep 2007

Proteins Nox1 and Nox2 play important role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

University of Iowa researchers investigating the basic biology of cell signaling have made a discovery that may have therapeutic implications for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 Sep 2007

Autophagy-induced signals are essential for normal development

A cannibalistic process called autophagy spurs dying embryonic stem cells to send "eat me" and "come get me" signals to have their corpses purged, a last gasp that paves the way for normal mammalian development, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

30 Aug 2007

Avicena signs distribution agreement with RITA Corporation for dermaceutical compounds

Avicena Group, Inc., a late-stage biotechnology company that develops central nervous system therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases as well as dermaceutical products announced today that it has signed an exclusive worldwide distribution agreement with RITA Corporation, a leading supplier of specialty chemicals to the personal care industry.

29 Aug 2007

Zinc and macular degeneration link

A team of scientists, including three researchers at George Mason University, found that the mineral zinc could play a role in the development of macular degeneration.

28 Aug 2007

Potential new therapy for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers have provided new information about how communication among neurons may be prevented from deteriorating in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).

24 Aug 2007

New prion protein 'Shadoo' discovered - may offer insight into mad cow disease

Scientists have discovered a new protein that may offer fresh insights into brain function in mad cow disease.

17 Aug 2007

Scientists discover how HIV/AIDS disrupts the normal replication of stem cells in the adult brain

A prominent problem in AIDS is a form of dementia that robs one's ability to concentrate and perform normal movements.

17 Aug 2007

Antioxidant overload

Despite the popular notion that antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, offer health-promoting benefits by protecting against damaging free radicals, a new study in the August 10 issue of the journal Cell reveals that, in fact, balance is the key.

12 Aug 2007

New way to treat Alzheimer's

A team of scientists led by professor Kiminobu Sugaya at the University of Central Florida may have found a new way to treat Alzheimer's disease.

7 Aug 2007

New drugs to combat bioterrorism

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop new drugs to combat agents of bioterrorism.

7 Aug 2007

Overexposure to metals and Alzheimer's disease

A multi-institutional team of researchers led by Emory University has defined for the first time how metal ions bind to amyloid fibrils in the brain in a way that appears toxic to neurons.

7 Aug 2007

Potential new ways to prevent smoking-related cellular damage

In the current issue of PLoS One, researchers show how a poorly understood and previously unsuspected mechanism may be the key to understanding how life-style associated forms of oxidative stress, such as exposure to cigarette smoke, damage cells in the lungs.

7 Aug 2007

New gene mutation linked to frontotemporal dementia

Researchers have identified a new gene mutation linked to frontotemporal dementia, according to a study published in the July 10, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Jul 2007

New insights into prion propagation

Prions - infectious, oddly-folded proteins that are the main suspects in fatal neurodegenerative diseases such as Cruetzfeldt-Jakob and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow" - remain mostly a mystery to scientists.

9 Jul 2007

New genetic test advances detection and diagnosis of muscular dystrophy

A new genetic test targeting the most common types of muscular dystrophy--those caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene--is far quicker with greater accuracy and sensitivity than existing tests.

28 Jun 2007

Early exposure to iron and later exposure to herbicide paraquat may accelerate age-related neurodegeneration

Exposure to iron during the first weeks of life in combination with exposure later in life to a common herbicide may contribute to the subsequent degeneration of brain cells associated with the onset of Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a new study in mice.

28 Jun 2007

Scientists link cell's protein recycling systems

Many age-related neurological diseases are associated with defective proteins accumulating in nerve cells, suggesting that the cell's normal disposal mechanisms are not operating correctly.

17 Jun 2007

Focus on motor neurone disease

Motor neurone disease (MND), also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a degenerative disease of unknown cause which causes patients to lose basic motor functions and has a devastating effect on them and their families.

17 Jun 2007