Neurodegeneration News and Research

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Neurodegeneration is the umbrella term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons.

Scientists examine how neural responses change over time in patients with Parkinson's disease

Neuroscientists peered into the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and two similar conditions to see how their neural responses changed over time.

16 Aug 2016

SBP board member donates $1M for researchers to study pancreatic and prostate cancer

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) has received a $1M donation from The Epstein Family Foundation for scientists to study pancreatic and prostate cancer.

10 Aug 2016

Scientists make major advance in understanding how stem cells become specialized

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have made a major advance in understanding how the cells of an organism, which all contain the same genetic information, come to be so diverse.

5 Aug 2016

Research findings may have implications for ALS and other neurological disorders

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) is a progressive disorder that devastates motor nerve cells. People diagnosed with ALS slowly lose the ability to control muscle movement, and are ultimately unable to speak, eat, move, or breathe.

4 Aug 2016

Combinations of FDA-approved drugs may prevent vision loss linked to retinal degeneration

Combinations of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs protect against the loss of cells required for vision in a mouse model of blinding retinal diseases.

4 Aug 2016

Research paves way for development of new drugs to prevent cancer and Alzheimer's

A new generation of drugs that prevent cancer and Alzheimer's could be developed, thanks to research from the University of Warwick.

3 Aug 2016

Lower weight late in life linked to greater risk for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital have found an association between lower weight and more extensive deposits of the Alzheimer's-associated protein beta-amyloid in the brains of cognitively normal older individuals.

2 Aug 2016

Overcoming gene silencing barriers to target neurological conditions: an interview with Dr Errol de Souza

Many gene mutations that cause neurological disorders have been identified. For example, in a rare neurological disorder such as Huntington’s disease, an autosomal dominant mutation through expansion of CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) triplet repeats in the gene coding for the Huntingtin protein results in abnormal protein production.

1 Aug 2016

Novel method sheds light on how disruption in LRRK2 gene causes inherited Parkinson's disease

Scientists have developed a new method of measuring the activity of disease-causing mutations in the LRRK2 gene, a major cause of inherited Parkinson's disease.

29 Jul 2016

UAB researchers uncover vital mechanism for L-DOPA-induced-dyskinesia

Though the drug levodopa can dramatically improve Parkinson's disease symptoms, within five years one-half of the patients using L-DOPA develop an irreversible condition -- involuntary repetitive, rapid and jerky movements.

29 Jul 2016

Researchers discover three new risk genes for ALS

Published today in Nature Genetics, the study reveals three new risk genes for ALS and one of these - C21orf2 - increases an individual's risk of developing the dis-ease by 65 per cent.

26 Jul 2016

Good ceramides in skin creams and shampoos may hold promise for Alzheimer's treatment

The best-selling lipid in the world, often prominently featured on skin cream and shampoo labels, appears to also hold promise for Alzheimer's treatment, scientists say.

25 Jul 2016

New protein may help scientists understand role of Abeta in Alzheimer's disease

A new protein which will help scientists to understand why nerve cells die in people with Alzheimer's disease has been designed in a University of Sussex laboratory.

22 Jul 2016

Huntington's disease monkey model embodies full array of symptoms similar to human patients

Transgenic Huntington's disease monkeys display a full spectrum of symptoms resembling the human disease, ranging from motor problems and neurodegeneration to emotional dysregulation and immune system changes, scientists at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University report.

21 Jul 2016

Researchers discover novel neuroprotection strategies to slow progression of Parkinson's disease

Using a robust model for Parkinson's disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues have discovered an interaction in neurons that contributes to Parkinson's disease, and they have shown that drugs now under development may block the process.

20 Jul 2016

New research shows how toxic Alzheimer's protein spreads through the brain

A toxic Alzheimer's protein can spread through the brain--jumping from one neuron to another--via the extracellular space that surrounds the brain's neurons, suggests new research from Columbia University Medical Center.

19 Jul 2016

Study shows how dietary restriction impacts autophagy in intestine to increase lifespan

Dietary restriction, or limited food intake without malnutrition, has beneficial effects on longevity in many species, including humans. A new study from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), published today in PLoS Genetics, represents a major advance in understanding how dietary restriction leads to these advantages.

15 Jul 2016

JAD announces recipient of 2016 Alzheimer Award

The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease is pleased to announce that Mark W. Bondi, PhD, ABPP/CN, Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego and Director of the Neuropsychological Assessment Unit at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2016 Alzheimer Award presented by the journal in recognition of his outstanding work on the development of a novel and promising method of staging preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) based on number of abnormal biomarkers that is predictive of progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD.

15 Jul 2016

VIB research reveals new insights into ALS

Research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) conducted by VIB-KU Leuven has led to interesting and unexpected conclusions.

14 Jul 2016

Researchers reveal molecular mechanism of autophagy initiation

Researchers revealed that Atg13 links autophagy initiation factors to each other using a string-like conformation, thereby promoting the association of diverse elements of the autophagy initiation machinery, initiating autophagosome formation through the recruitment of Atg9 vesicles and phosphorylation of various Atg factors.

12 Jul 2016