Lewy Bodies News and Research

RSS

Key protein α-synuclein linked to inflammation and Parkinson's disease

Currently, there are no disease modifying therapies for Parkinson's disease that can change the progression of the disease. An international team of scientists led by faculty at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is hoping to change that.

30 Jun 2022

Antibiotic rifampicin attenuates C9orf72-linked dementia in genetically modified mice

What did Stephen Hawking and Mao Zedong have in common? They both suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a cure for which remains elusive. Scientists from Osaka Metropolitan University took an important step toward prevention of ALS and another brain disorder called Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with their research on the effects of the antibiotic rifampicin on genetically modified mice.

23 May 2022

Scientists gain important insights into novel mutation behind synucleinopathies

Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia belong to a family of neurodegenerative disorders called synucleinopathies because they are caused by the pathological accumulation of protein alpha-synuclein into structures called Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in the brain.

29 Apr 2022

Novel optobiological system may shine light on protein aggregation in Parkinson's disease

A novel system to control protein aggregation in a model of Parkinson's disease may answer longstanding questions about how the disease begins and spreads, according to a new study published March 9th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Abid Oueslati of Laval University, Quebec, Canada, and colleagues.

23 Mar 2022

Cell-hobbling fibrils found across diverse neurodegenerative diseases

Take a cell-deep tour of a brain afflicted with Alzheimer's disease, and you will find minuscule clumps of protein that seem suspicious. Ever since the 1980s, when neuroscientists began identifying these protein tangles, researchers have discovered that other brain diseases have their own tangled-protein signatures.

4 Mar 2022

Cell stress-related biochemical events may be partly driving Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease may be driven in part by cell stress-related biochemical events that disrupt a key cellular cleanup system, leading to the spread of harmful protein aggregates in the brain, according to a new study from scientists at Scripps Research.

23 Feb 2022

Combination of rifampicin and resveratrol helps stop dementia, finds study

Dementia is thought to occur when proteins called amyloid-β, tau, and α-synuclein accumulate in the brain and form oligomers. A research group from the Department of Translational Neuroscience, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, had previously shown in a study using mice that the antibiotic rifampicin removes oligomers from the brain and improves cognitive function.

29 Dec 2021

Study provides a new target for therapeutic intervention in Parkinson's disease

In an unexpected discovery, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers have identified what appears to be a significant vascular defect in patients with moderately severe Parkinson's disease.

14 Nov 2021

Study reveals a detrimental role of the immune system in Lewy body dementias

T-cells respond to buildups of alpha-synuclein, the aggregated protein clumps that are a feature of neurodegenerative diseases including dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Science.

14 Oct 2021

$35.1 million US grant focuses on investigating sleep disorder linked to neurodegeneration

People with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder act out their dreams. While sleeping safely in bed, for example, they might throw up their arms to catch an imaginary ball, or try to run from an illusory assailant.

5 Oct 2021

Nasal drugs show success in slowing Parkinson's disease progression in mice

Potential new treatments for Parkinson's disease developed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center have shown success in slowing progression of the disease in mice.

21 Sep 2021

Study reinforces that dementia with Lewy bodies can be classified into two different disease types

Results obtained in a study recently completed at the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital reinforce the notion that dementia with Lewy bodies can be pathologically classified into two different disease types.

8 Sep 2021

Study reveals the implication of lysosomes in the spread of Parkinson’s disease

Over the last few decades, neurodegenerative diseases became one of the top 10 global causes of death. Researchers worldwide are making a strong effort to understand neurodegenerative diseases pathogenesis, which is essential to develop efficient treatments against these incurable diseases.

23 Jul 2021

Autophagy disruption may be at the root of early cognitive changes in Huntington’s disease

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms, and motor symptoms are often preceded by cognitive changes.

15 Jul 2021

Promising preclinical results of new dementia treatment candidate set the stage for human trials

Researchers have identified a new treatment candidate that appears to not only halt neurodegenerative symptoms in mouse models of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but also reverse the effects of the disorders.

29 Jun 2021

Researchers develop integrative approach to better understand the origins of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and affects more than 10 million people around the world.

19 May 2021

Study indicates an amyloid link between melanoma and Parkinson’s disease

On the surface, Parkinson's disease -; a neurodegenerative disorder -; and melanoma -; a type of skin cancer -; do not appear to have much in common.

7 Apr 2021

Neuroinvasiveness of SARS-CoV-2 shown by viral RNA and inflammation in the brain

A new study describes the results of a macaque study that showed the development of neurological features of inflammation, following infection by SARS-CoV-2.

25 Feb 2021

Lewy body dementia may share similar genetic profiles with Alzheimer's disease

In a study led by National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers, scientists found that five genes may play a critical role in determining whether a person will suffer from Lewy body dementia, a devastating disorder that riddles the brain with clumps of abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies.

17 Feb 2021

Study unravels function of 'mystery protein' that kills brain cells of people with Parkinson's

A study published in Nature Communications today (Wednesday 10 February) presents compelling new evidence about what a key protein called alpha-synuclein actually does in neurons in the brain.

10 Feb 2021