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Researchers use highly accurate biomarker to measure aging in HIV infected patients

Thanks to combination antiretroviral therapies, many people with HIV can expect to live decades after being infected. Yet doctors have observed these patients often show signs of premature aging.

22 Apr 2016

Hippo signaling pathway controls phases of quiescence in fruit fly central nervous system

Neural stem cells are responsible for the formation of differentiated daughter cells in the developing brain. If no new cells are needed, the stem cells may enter a resting phase called quiescence. Biologists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have now discovered that the phases of quiescence in the Drosophila fruit fly central nervous system are controlled by the Hippo signaling pathway. Drosophila serves as a model organism that helps geneticists to decode the molecular fundamentals of cellular biology and unravel mechanisms that are conserved in human beings and other vertebrates.

21 Apr 2016

Study shows beneficial effect of hNSC transplantation for TBI

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, often causing lifelong disability for those who survive. Treatment is limited to supportive care, but stem cell therapy has received recent attention as a way to promote recovery for injuries to the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, researchers transplanted human neural stem cells (hNSCs) into the brains of mice modeled with TBI to investigate whether the hosts' immune systems and the stem cells acting in concert would enhance repair.

20 Apr 2016

Removal of Dnmt1 enzyme during OPC differentiation could lead to neurological symptoms

The removal of the enzyme Dnmt1 during oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) differentiation in the central nervous system resulted in inefficient myelin formation and neurological deterioration, including loss of control of bodily movements, in mice, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in the medical journal Cell Reports. The results could lead to a new understanding of multiple sclerosis and other myelin disorders in humans.

16 Apr 2016

Manipulation of signals in nervous system can enhance recovery after traumatic injury

Neurobiologists at UC San Diego have discovered how signals that orchestrate the construction of the nervous system also influence recovery after traumatic injury. They also found that manipulating these signals can enhance the return of function.

12 Apr 2016

Biopsy of submandibular gland can help identify pathology of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies

Accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and the related disease "dementia with Lewy bodies," can be difficult in the early stages of both conditions. While brain biopsies can be more accurate, the risk of complications has been considered too high. New research published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease indicates that a biopsy of the submandibular gland can help identify the same pathology that is seen in the brain, providing some of the increased accuracy of brain biopsy, but not the increased risk.

12 Apr 2016

New data from studies evaluating diagnostic tools, therapies for infectious diseases released at ECCMID 2016

New data from ten late-breaking abstracts is released at ECCMID 2016 – the annual meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease.

12 Apr 2016

Brazilian researchers reveal harmful effects of Zika virus in human neural stem cells, neurospheres

Brazilian researchers from the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) have demonstrated the harmful effects of ZIKA virus (ZIKV) in human neural stem cells, neurospheres and brain organoids.

12 Apr 2016

Glial cells can modulate specific nerve endings in the brain, find Rockefeller scientists

More than half of our brains are made up of glial cells, which wrap around nerve fibers and insulate them--similarly to how the plastic casing of an electric cable insulates the copper wire within--allowing electrical and chemical impulses to travel faster.

12 Apr 2016

Zika virus may be linked to autoimmune disorder that attacks the brain's myelin

The Zika virus may be associated with an autoimmune disorder that attacks the brain's myelin similar to multiple sclerosis, according to a small study that is being released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 to 21, 2016.

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

New technologies can improve memory, learning in cognitive deficit patients

People are using brain-machine interfaces to restore motor function in ways never before possible - through limb prosthetics and exoskletons. But technologies to repair and improve cognition have been more elusive. That is rapidly changing with new tools - from fully implantable brain devices to neuron-eavesdropping grids atop the brain - to directly probe the mind.

6 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

Liraglutide drug makes highly desirable foods less appealing to people

Understanding the motivations that drive humans to eat is an important consideration in the development of weight loss therapies. Now a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center helps explain how the diabetes and weight loss drug liraglutide acts on brain receptors to make enticing foods seems less desirable.

5 Apr 2016

Chronic lack of sleep, irregular sleep-wake cycles may increase risk of Parkinson's disease

Chronic lack of sleep and irregular sleep-wake cycles may be risk factors of Parkinson's disease, new work by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University suggests. In an animal model, the researchers show that disturbances in circadian rhythm that exist before Parkinson's onset dramatically worsen motor and learning deficits brought on by the disease.

5 Apr 2016

Study findings strongly point to independent control of sensory neurons during motor learning

Sensory neurons in human muscles provide important information used for the perception and control of movement. Learning to move in a novel context also relies on the brain's independent control of these sensors, not just of muscles, according to a new study published in the journal Current Biology.

2 Apr 2016

Aging reduces axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury

Older Americans are increasingly active, and this lifestyle shift has contributed to the rise in average age of a person experiencing a spinal cord injury. The changing demographic calls for a better understanding of how aging impacts recovery and repair after a spinal cord injury.

1 Apr 2016

Concussion-related symptoms improve following initial session of OMT

Two case reports published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association document improvements in concussion-related symptoms following an initial session of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT).

29 Mar 2016

Oral administration of cyclotide may improve symptoms of multiple sclerosis

MedUni Vienna has made a crucial development in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS): Together with his team and the research group led by Gernot Schabbauer, international partners from Australia, Germany and Sweden, Christian Gruber, Chief Researcher at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology has demonstrated in an animal model that, following treatment with a specially synthesized plant peptide (cyclotide), there is no further progression of the usual clinical signs of multiple sclerosis.

29 Mar 2016

Transient contractions could be new target for therapeutic intervention in urinary bladder dysfunction

Researchers at the University of Vermont College of Medicine have made a discovery that helps explain how we know when to empty our bladders and may lead to new therapeutic interventions for bladder dysfunction.

28 Mar 2016

Central Nervous System News and Research

Researchers use highly accurate biomarker to measure aging in HIV infected patients

Hippo signaling pathway controls phases of quiescence in fruit fly central nervous system

Study shows beneficial effect of hNSC transplantation for TBI

Removal of Dnmt1 enzyme during OPC differentiation could lead to neurological symptoms

Manipulation of signals in nervous system can enhance recovery after traumatic injury

Biopsy of submandibular gland can help identify pathology of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies

New data from studies evaluating diagnostic tools, therapies for infectious diseases released at ECCMID 2016

Brazilian researchers reveal harmful effects of Zika virus in human neural stem cells, neurospheres

Glial cells can modulate specific nerve endings in the brain, find Rockefeller scientists

Zika virus may be linked to autoimmune disorder that attacks the brain's myelin

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

New technologies can improve memory, learning in cognitive deficit patients

Cognitive neuroscientists testing potential benefits of brain training tools

Liraglutide drug makes highly desirable foods less appealing to people

Chronic lack of sleep, irregular sleep-wake cycles may increase risk of Parkinson's disease

Study findings strongly point to independent control of sensory neurons during motor learning

Aging reduces axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury

Concussion-related symptoms improve following initial session of OMT

Oral administration of cyclotide may improve symptoms of multiple sclerosis

Transient contractions could be new target for therapeutic intervention in urinary bladder dysfunction

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