Motor Neuron Disease News and Research

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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

Research offers hope for alcoholics

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have discovered a system in the brain that stops an alcoholic's craving for alcohol, as well as prevent relapse once they have recovered from alcohol addiction.

12 Dec 2006

$1M Myers Fellowship brings US research techniques to Melbourne

The Howard Florey Institute's inaugural Allan and Maria Myers Travel Fellowship has been awarded to world renowned neuroscientist, Prof Gerard Shaw, from the McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida College of Medicine.

20 Aug 2006

New research promising for improving brain cell survival after brain injury

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have found a protein in the brain that can save neurons from dying after experiencing traumatic brain injury from incidents such as stroke, car accidents and falls.

10 Jul 2006

Research shows brain's ability to overcome pain and thirst

Researchers at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have discovered how the brain prioritises pain and thirst in order to survive - a mechanism that helps elite athletes to 'push through the pain barrier'.

30 Jan 2006

Teenage drug use can lead to adult addiction and heart attack

A new study from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne may help explain why people who experimented with amphetamines, such as 'speed', as teenagers are more likely to become addicted and more susceptible to heart attack following re-use of the drug as adults.

30 Aug 2005

Researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed

University of Queensland researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed, paving the way for new strategies to treat conditions certain mental disorders.

18 Jul 2005

New clue to the causes of neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust, BBSRC - the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the EU have made an important discovery about the mechanisms underlying degenerative brain diseases.

26 Jun 2005

Clues about the causes of dementia in Huntington's disease

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have uncovered a clue about the causes of dementia in Huntington's disease, one of the disease's symptoms, by showing that mice susceptible to Huntington's disease have problems with learning and memory before the diseases' typical movement problems appear.

27 Apr 2005

RNA interference as promising therapy for ALS

Scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have used RNA interference in transgenic mice to silence a mutated gene that causes inherited cases of amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), substantially delaying both the onset and the progression rate of the fatal motor neuron disease.

13 Mar 2005

UK will vote against the declaration on human cloning

The UN declaration is non-binding and has no legal status, but it calls on countries to prohibit all forms of human cloning. This is totally unacceptable to the UK government which strongly supports stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research which involves the use of cloning technology.

8 Mar 2005

Neuren and Metabolic collaborate to develop range of nerve repair compounds

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Neuren) and Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Metabolic) have announced that the two companies have agreed to collaborate to co-develop Neuren's class of Neuro-regenerative Peptides (NRPs) for the treatment of degenerative conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, motor neuron disease and repairing the brain or nerves after injuries such as spinal cord injury.

7 Mar 2005

Finding points towards the possibility of retrovirus involvement in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)

A significant proportion of patients suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or motor neuron disease, have a marker of retrovirus activity in their blood, reports the February 8 issue of the medical journal Neurology.

7 Feb 2005