Neurodegenerative Disease News and Research

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New diagnostic approach may help physicians more efficiently screen for dementia

A tiered diagnostic approach that incorporates clinical, imaging and laboratory data may help physicians more efficiently screen for neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, according to the consensus of a multi-disciplinary panel of experts.

From Quest Diagnostics 21 Apr 2016

Combination of sugar and polyphenols may prevent occurrence of neurodegenerative disease

Catherine Aaron and Gabrielle Beaudry were 17 when they knocked on the door of the laboratory of Alex Parker, a neuroscience researcher at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre. While students at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in Montreal, they were looking for a mentor for an after-school research project. Two and half years later, the results of this scientific adventure were published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

13 Apr 2016

Abnormally active Rab5 protein leads to early development of neurodegenerative disease

Writing in the April 11 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say abnormalities in a protein that helps transport and sort materials inside cells are linked to axonal dysfunction and degeneration of neurons in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Down syndrome (DS).

12 Apr 2016

Chemists design set of molecules that promote microscopic, anatomical changes in neurons

Chemists at the University of California San Diego have designed a set of molecules that promote microscopic, anatomical changes in neurons associated with the formation and retention of memories. These drug candidates also prevent deterioration of the same neuronal structures in the presence of amyloid-beta, a protein fragment that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

11 Apr 2016

Rockefeller scientists study molecular mechanism that causes linker cell death in worms

Some cells are meant to live, and some are meant to die. The linker cell of Caenorhabditis elegans, a tiny worm that is a favored model organism for biologists, is among those destined for termination.

11 Apr 2016

Salk scientists identify specific cellular switches that clear dying, dead neurons

By adolescence, your brain already contains most of the neurons that you'll have for the rest of your life. But a few regions continue to grow new nerve cells--and require the services of cellular sentinels, specialized immune cells that keep the brain safe by getting rid of dead or dysfunctional cells.

7 Apr 2016

Cognitive neuroscientists testing potential benefits of brain training tools

The draw is huge: Play video games and get smarter. For the past decade, various groups have claimed that their cognitive training programs do everything from staving off neurodegenerative disease to enhancing education and improving daily functioning. Absent from many of these claims has been neuroscientific evidence. Cognitive neuroscientists are now rigorously testing the potential benefits of such "brain training" tools.

6 Apr 2016

Women with Alzheimer’s disease have poorer cognitive abilities than men

Women with Alzheimer’s have poorer cognitive abilities than men at the same stage of the disease, reveal academics from the University of Hertfordshire in a paper published in World Journal of Psychiatry today.

22 Mar 2016

Antipsychotic drugs may do significantly more harm to Parkinson's disease patients

At least half of Parkinson's disease patients experience psychosis at some point during the course of their illness, and physicians commonly prescribe antipsychotic drugs, such as quetiapine, to treat the condition. However, a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan Medical School, and the Philadelphia and Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and suggests that these drugs may do significantly more harm in a subset of patients.

21 Mar 2016

Brain's immune cells play direct role in development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Cedars-Sinai research scientists have found that immune cells in the brain play a direct role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, offering hope for new therapies to target the neurodegenerative disease that gradually leads to paralysis and death.

18 Mar 2016

Real maple syrup shows promise in protecting brain health

As part of a two-day symposium at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, a group of international scientists shared promising results of 24 studies exploring the beneficial effects of natural products on the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease.

14 Mar 2016

Preliminary results of blood test to diagnose CTE during life published in Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

Exosome Sciences, Inc., in collaboration with majority shareholder Aethlon Medical, Inc. and investigators at Boston University and the University of Washington, announced today the published preliminary results of possibly the first blood test to detect the neurodegenerative disease, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) during life.

7 Mar 2016

Long-term exercise may benefit Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients

Long-term exercise appears to be beneficial for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) like mice, suggesting a potential of active physiotherapy for patient care; according to a study published today in the Journal of Physiology.

6 Mar 2016

New Notre Dame research may lead to a therapy for Niemann-Pick Type C disease

Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disease for which there is currently no cure. NPC primarily strikes children before and during adolescence and affects one in every 150,000 children. The disease causes cholesterol and other lipids to build up in the body's cells, which results in symptoms such as delayed motor development, deterioration of memory and balance, and seizures.

26 Feb 2016

New clinical trial focuses on respiratory drug ambroxol for treatment of Parkinson's disease

A medication approved to treat various respiratory diseases and that has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in preclinical studies is the focus of a new clinical trial for Parkinson's disease.

23 Feb 2016

Regrowing dopaminergic neurons may lead to new therapy for Parkinson's disease

While scientists are unsure of the molecular causes of Parkinson's Disease, they do know the disorder's tremors and other motor dysfunctions are linked to a loss of dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra, a structure in the midbrain.

16 Feb 2016

Lamin nucleoskeleton disordered in Alzheimer's

Brain cell death in Alzheimer's disease is linked to disruption of a skeleton that surrounds the nucleus of the cells, a researcher in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio said.

5 Feb 2016

Seafood consumption may benefit older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease

New research published Feb. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that older adults with a major risk gene for Alzheimer's disease known as APOE?4 who ate at least one seafood serving per week showed fewer signs of Alzheimer's-related brain changes. In contrast, this association was not found in the brains of volunteers who ate fish weekly but did not carry the risk gene.

3 Feb 2016

New treatment could stop progression of ALS

Researchers at Oregon State University announced today that they have essentially stopped the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, for nearly two years in one type of mouse model used to study the disease - allowing the mice to approach their normal lifespan.

29 Jan 2016

Ageing 2016 summit to explore various aspects of processes, research on ageing and senescence

Ageing 2016 will be held from February 9 to 11, 2016 at Cineworld: The O2 Peninsula Square London SE10 0DX United Kingdom. The annual international summit will look at the various aspects of processes and research involved in ageing and senescence.

25 Jan 2016