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Discovery of signaling pathway offers new functional framework for treating schizophrenia

Neuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine have discovered a new signaling pathway that directly connects two major receptors in the brain associated with learning and memory – the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and the alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (a7nAChR) – which has significance for current efforts to develop drugs to treat schizophrenia.

4 May 2017

Powerful pain medicine may help reduce vision damage of glaucoma

The tip of our optic nerve is typically the first place injured by glaucoma. Now researchers want to know if the powerful pain medicine (+)-pentazocine can help avoid the damage.

2 May 2017

Unique microscope reveals clues to destructive autoimmune disease

Using a unique microscope capable of illuminating living cell structures in great detail, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found clues into how a destructive autoimmune disease works, setting the stage for more discoveries in the future.

26 Apr 2017

Study identifies CD38 gene to be essential for postnatal glial cell development

Cells in the brain are categorized roughly into two; neurons and the others, namely, glial cells. It is essential for sound development of the brain that both neurons and glial cells develop in a normal and adequate manner not only at fetal but also postnatal stages.

7 Apr 2017

Newly-discovered mechanism for compound may help prevent neurologic damage

Researchers at Oregon State University have found that a compound called rapamycin has unusual properties that may help address neurologic damage such as Alzheimer's disease.

5 Apr 2017

New report outlines strategies for regenerating retinal ganglion cells

A new report gives recommendations for regenerating retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), crucial neurons in the back of the eye that carry visual information to the brain.

31 Mar 2017

Research helps elucidate mechanisms behind low-level laser therapy in treating neuropathic pain

Low-level laser therapy has been shown by recent studies to be a non-invasive and effective alternative for treating neuropathic pain, a chronic condition caused by nerve damage, spinal cord injury or diseases such as diabetes.

28 Mar 2017

Astrocytes prove to be surprisingly vital players in the body's clock

Until recently, work on biological clocks that dictate daily fluctuations in most body functions, including core body temperature and alertness, focused on neurons, those electrically excitable cells that are the divas of the central nervous system.

25 Mar 2017

Penn researcher wins Scientific Innovations Award from Chicago-based Brain Research Foundation

James Eberwine, PhD, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Professor of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received the 2017 Scientific Innovations Award from the Chicago-based Brain Research Foundation, which supports research for preventing and treating neurological diseases.

22 Mar 2017

Researchers make surprising and crucial discovery about Alexander disease

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have made a surprising and potentially crucial discovery about Alexander disease, a rare and fatal neurological disorder with no known cure.

15 Mar 2017

New research project unravels disease mechanisms of schizophrenia

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet collaborating in the large-scale Karolinska Schizophrenia Project are taking an integrative approach to unravel the disease mechanisms of schizophrenia.

14 Mar 2017

New optical nanosensor enables spatiotemporal mapping of the brain with improved accuracy

A new optical nanosensor enabling more accurate measurement and spatiotemporal mapping of the brain also shows the way forward for design of future multimodal sensors and a broader range of applications, say researchers in an article published in the current issue of Neurophotonics.

2 Mar 2017

New treatment may hold promise for progressive form of multiple sclerosis, study suggests

A research team led by scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital has revealed how an FDA-approved drug works in the central nervous system in mice to suppress chronic inflammation.

9 Feb 2017

New study uncovers important links between glioblastoma and epileptic seizures

Detecting brain tumors at the earliest possible stage and eliminating them before seizures begin might be possible one day, according to research by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital.

7 Feb 2017

Study provides insights into functions of astrocytes following brain injury or disease

Astrocytes have long been implicated in the pathology of a range of human neurodegenerative diseases or injuries including Alzheimer's, Huntington's Parkinson's disease, brain trauma and spinal cord injury.

3 Feb 2017

Study provides insights into molecular mechanisms of ZIKV infection

Zika virus (ZIKV) interferes with the cellular machinery controlling cell division and alters the expression of hundreds of genes guiding the formation and development of neurons and astrocytes, according to findings released on January 23rd 2017 at Scientific Reports.

24 Jan 2017

Characterizing the Brain - Cell by Cell

My group develops approaches to study cell-to-cell signaling in the brain – how the cells of the brain talk to each other. The brain is heterogeneous, probably more so than any other organ in our body, and many of its functions depend on the unique characteristics of these cells.

From Pittcon 23 Jan 2017

Researchers identify brain cell types from cell culture of adult human neurons

Studying brain disorders in people and developing drugs to treat them has been slowed by the inability to investigate single living cells from adult patients

18 Jan 2017

New graphene system can detect activity levels of interfaced normal and cancer cells

What can't graphene do? You can scratch "detect cancer" off of that list. By interfacing brain cells onto graphene, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have shown they can differentiate a single hyperactive cancerous cell from a normal cell, pointing the way to developing a simple, noninvasive tool for early cancer diagnosis.

20 Dec 2016

Study improves molecular understanding of the brain in people with epilepsy

Neural stem cells have been found in epileptic brain tissue—outside the regions of the brain where they normally reside. In a group of patients who underwent surgery for epilepsy, over half had stem cells where healthy individuals do not have them, according to a study from Sahlgrenska Academy.

15 Dec 2016