Neurological Disease News and Research

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Gene involved in B-cell development might play a role in multiple sclerosis

The results of a large study published today in the open access journal BMC Neurology reveal that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are more likely to carry two specific genetic variations in the Early B-cell factor gene (EBF-1), than healthy individuals.

30 Oct 2005

Aβ and Fyn cooperate to cause Alzheimer-like changes in the brain

Reporting in two companion papers in the October 19 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, investigators from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease show in genetically engineered mouse models of the disease that the accumulation of Alzheimer-related neurotoxic amyloid-beta (Aâ) peptides can deplete key proteins in a specific memory center of the brain.

18 Oct 2005

Rett syndrome discovery

The gene responsible for Rett syndrome, a devastating neurological disease found mostly in girls, not only silences some genes but in combination with another also regulates alternative splicing, crucial to the formation of proteins -- a finding that may explain the symptoms associated with this puzzling disorder and others related to it

17 Oct 2005

Neurologix announces positive interim results of gene therapy clinical trial for patients with Parkinson's disease

Neurologix has announced positive interim results of its landmark gene therapy clinical trial for patients with Parkinson's disease. Neurologix's 12-patient, dose-escalating Phase I trial is the world's first study to use a viral vector (the non-pathogenic adeno-associated virus, or AAV) for the treatment of an adult neurological disease.

26 Sep 2005

Parkinson's dark period can be minimized or alleviated with the right kind of care

Some people call it "the dark time," the period between when a person is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and when treatment with medication begins.

26 Sep 2005

John Hopkins scientists uncover "tags" that force proteins to cell surface

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered internal "shipping labels" that allow -- and perhaps force -- hundreds if not thousands of proteins to get to the surface of cells and stay there.

22 Sep 2005

Researchers identify three rapid diagnostic methods that can target antibodies commonly found in multiple sclerosis

Yale School of Medicine researchers have identified three rapid diagnostic methods that can target antibodies commonly found in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, greatly improving potential diagnosis and treatment.

20 Sep 2005

Prions rapidly 'remodel' good protein into bad

Two Brown Medical School biologists have figured out the fate of healthy protein when it comes in contact with the infectious prion form in yeast: The protein converts to the prion form, rendering it infectious. In an instant, good protein goes bad.

19 Sep 2005

Microtubules critical to development of mental disorders

Neuroscientists at the University at Buffalo have shown in two recently published papers that destabilization of structures called microtubules, intracellular highways that transport receptors to their working sites in the brain, likely underlie many mental disorders and could be promising targets for intervention.

12 Sep 2005

Scientists characterize the most infectious prion protein particles

A new study of prions - apparently malformed proteins that initiate deadly brain diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans - has yielded surprising information about how the size of prions relates to their infectivity.

10 Sep 2005

Ataxin-1 affects the development of the nervous system

In some neurological diseases, too much of what is usually a good thing can be bad, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in this week's issue of the journal Cell.

28 Aug 2005

Factors inhibiting the brain's natural self-healing process identified

Factors that inhibit the brain's natural self-healing process and that may offer new insights into how to prevent brain damage in premature babies have been identified by a team of researchers supported in part by the March of Dimes.

7 Aug 2005

Power3 converts provisional patent applications

Power3 Medical Products announced today that it has converted two provisional patent applications by the filing of two utility patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the Company's disease specific biomarker discovery and disease specific immuno- diagnostic test designs.

4 Aug 2005

Living Cell Technologies announces results for treating Huntington's disease

Living Cell Technologies announced pre-clinical results today showing its brain protection product, NeurotrophinCell (NtCell) produces a marked reduction in the size of brain lesions in a Huntington's disease (HD) model.

2 Aug 2005

Researchers reveal secret of key protein in brain and heart function

Brown University biologists have solved the structure of a critical piece of synapse-associated protein 97 (SAP97) found in abundance in the heart and head, where it is believed to play a role in everything from cardiac contractions to memory creation. Results are published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

31 Jul 2005

Discovery of a receptor that appears to function as one "lock" that HSV opens to allow it to enter human cells

It's one of the most common viruses in America, and one that causes the most guilt and shame. It can get inside almost any kind of human cell, reproduce in vast numbers, and linger for years in the body, causing everything from recurrent genital blisters to sores around the mouth. Its complications can kill, and it may increase susceptibility to many nerve and brain disorders.

24 Jul 2005

Researchers gain better understanding of how nerves need to be reconnected after spinal cord injury

Nerve cells relay messages at blink-of-the-eye speeds by squirting chemicals called neurotransmitters across tiny gaps called synapses to awaiting message receptors. But lots of different receptors and neurotransmitters work simultaneously. Which goes where to send the proper message?

13 Jul 2005

"Ipod-like" device to help correct balance disorders

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Neurological Sciences Institute and the University of Bologna have developed a portable "Ipod-like" device that can be used to help correct balance disorders. Scientists believe this new device, based on auditory feedback of balance, can be worn on the belt like a pager to provide regular therapy for patients with balance disorders, improving their day-to-day activities.

13 Jul 2005

Study proves Lorenzo's Oil prevents rare disease in boys

U.S. researchers have confirmed that a treatment called Lorenzo's Oil can prevent the onset of a rare but devastating neurological disease in young boys, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy or X-ALD.

12 Jul 2005

Researchers isolate substance most responsible for the tissue damage that follows initial spinal cord injury

Purdue University researchers may have isolated the substance most responsible for the tissue damage that follows initial spinal cord injury, a discovery that could also improve treatments for a host of other neurodegenerative conditions.

21 Jun 2005