Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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Researchers identify direct toxic action of beta-amyloid in the brain

The brains of Alzheimer's patients who have already developed clinical symptoms contain large clumps of the protein beta-amyloid, known as plaques. Many therapeutic approaches focus on removing plaques, but such attempts have met with only limited success to date.

9 Aug 2019

New method to enhance heart-attack repair using stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

The heart cannot regenerate muscle tissue after a heart attack has killed part of the muscle wall. That dead tissue can strain surrounding muscle, leading to a lethal heart enlargement.

8 Aug 2019

Scientists identify group of proteins for repair of nerve fibers

Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases have identified a group of proteins that help to regenerate damaged nerve cells. Their findings are reported in the journal Neuron.

7 Aug 2019

APOE gene variant may be protective and prolong life, finds study

A new study of 38,537 persons of European ancestry suggests that a rare variation of a gene called APOE may be protective and prolong life, in sharp contrast to a more widely studied APOE variant that increases risk of death.

7 Aug 2019

University of North Dakota receives $10 million to expand epigenetics research program

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences a $10 million, five-year grant to expand the School's epigenetics research program.

6 Aug 2019

Quanterix corporation releases operating results for second quarter 2019

Quanterix announced financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.

From Quanterix 6 Aug 2019

Scientist wins two-year grant for diagnosis of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's via innovative skin test

Wenquan Zou, MD, PhD, an expert in prion and degenerative neurological diseases, has received a two-year grant for developing diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other related brain-based degenerative disorders via an innovative skin test that uses ultrasensitive technology.

2 Aug 2019

Alzheimers may be linked to genes that code formation of contacts between neurons

A team of neurobiologists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University published an article on their study of the causes of Alzheimer's disease and suggested therapy methods.

2 Aug 2019

First-of-its-kind study in space station seeks to find causes of major diseases

High above the Earth, researchers are conducting a first-of-its-kind study to help patients with Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis on the planet below. The International Space Station experiment is looking for what triggers these diseases by studying how nerve and immune brain cells interact.

1 Aug 2019

Johns Hopkins researchers use nanotechnology to repair faulty brain circuits

Working with mouse and human tissue, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report new evidence that a protein pumped out of some — but not all — populations of “helper” cells in the brain, called astrocytes, plays a specific role in directing the formation of connections among neurons needed for learning and forming new memories.

31 Jul 2019

New MRI can record changes in biological makeup of brain tissue

MRI's give us a picture of our body's insides—organs, bones, nerves and soft tissue. But what if MRI's could show us the molecular makeup of our body parts, and help doctors more quickly determine the onset of disease and begin treatment?

31 Jul 2019

Study forms basis for therapeutic strategies to combat cancers caused by HMGA1a

The researchers led by Professor Raphael Stoll therefore expect their results to form a basis for future therapeutic strategies to combat cancers caused by HMGA1a.

30 Jul 2019

Aging nerve cells fail to take out the intracellular "trash"

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have found that with age the neurons or nerve cells fail to perform an activity that they could when they were younger. The team explains that normal cells take out protein and other “trash” or “garbage” through a process of autophagy. This rids the cell of the dysfunctional proteins and aggregates of unused proteins.

22 Jul 2019