Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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Gladstone-led study finds underlying mechanisms behind Huntington's disease

Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's. Names forever linked to what they represent: diseases that ravage the brain's neurons and leave entire regions to wither and die. These and other so-called neurodegenerative diseases are often associated with the buildup of toxic proteins that lead to the death of neurons.

22 Jul 2013

Quickly clearing out damaged proteins may help prevent neurodegenerative disorders: Study

Recycling is not only good for the environment, it's good for the brain. A study using rat cells indicates that quickly clearing out defective proteins in the brain may prevent loss of brain cells.

22 Jul 2013

Scientists take important step toward pharmacologic development of treatment for fatal brain disorders

A team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a mechanism that can prevent the normal prion protein from changing its molecular shape into the abnormal form responsible for neurodegenerative diseases. This finding, published in the July 18 issue of Cell Reports, offers new hope in the battle against a foe that until now has always proved fatal.

19 Jul 2013

Weill Cornell reports new findings from IVIG Phase 3 trial in Alzheimer's disease at AAIC 2013

Weill Cornell Medical College neurologist Dr. Norman Relkin reported new findings today from the Phase 3 clinical trial of IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Boston, Mass.

16 Jul 2013

Study identifies new therapeutic targets for Huntington's disease

A scientific study describes that GluN3A subunits of NMDA receptors that interact with glutamate —the main exciting neurotransmitter in the nervous system— are therapeutic targets against Huntington's disease.

16 Jul 2013

Researchers show cerebrovascular disease affecting blood circulation in brain associated with dementia

Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that, across a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular disease affecting circulation of blood in the brain was significantly associated with dementia.

10 Jul 2013

Researcher uncover biomarkers from stem cells derived from bone marrow of ALS patients

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating motor neuron disease that rapidly atrophies the muscles, leading to complete paralysis. Despite its high profile - established when it afflicted the New York Yankees' Lou Gehrig - ALS remains a disease that scientists are unable to predict, prevent, or cure.

10 Jul 2013

Researchers discover potential biomarkers that track progression of neurodegenerative disease

A hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's is that by the time symptoms appear, significant brain damage has already occurred-and currently there are no treatments that can reverse it.

9 Jul 2013

Key to treating neurodegenerative prion diseases may lie in ribosome, shows research

New research results from Uppsala University, Sweden, show that the key to treating neurodegenerative prion diseases such as mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease may lie in the ribosome, the protein synthesis machinery of the cell. The results were recently published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

2 Jul 2013

Low levels of amyloid fibres are more harmful to health, say scientists

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's could be better understood thanks to insight into proteins linked to such conditions, a study suggests.

2 Jul 2013

Researchers discover an important mechanism that regulates proteasome activity

Dysfunction of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) has been detected in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and certain types of cancer. Such dysfunction is also believed to be related to some degenerative muscle diseases. Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, have now discovered an important mechanism that regulates proteasome activity.

1 Jul 2013

Mouse models demonstrate new potential target in fight against Alzheimer's disease

Building on research published eight years ago in the journal Chemistry and Biology, Kenneth S. Kosik, Harriman Professor in Neuroscience and co-director of the Neuroscience Research Institute (NRI) at UC Santa Barbara, and his team have now applied their findings to two distinct, well-known mouse models, demonstrating a new potential target in the fight against Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

27 Jun 2013

FDA grants fast track designation to Genervon Biopharmaceuticals for ALS drug GM604

In a huge victory for ALS sufferers, FDA granted Genervon Biopharmaceuticals a fast track designation for its first in class highly effective multi-target master regulator biotechnology drug GM604 for ALS. FDA said it met the necessary criteria.

27 Jun 2013

TSRI scientists find dual inhibitor that attacks two enzymes associated with Parkinson's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found a compound that could counter Parkinson's disease in two ways at once.

21 Jun 2013

Penn researchers find ALS disease progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern

The motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern which can be classified into four distinct stages, report pathologists with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the Annals of Neurology.

20 Jun 2013

Mannitol could prevent aggregation of toxic proteins in the brain, says Tel Aviv University researcher

Mannitol, a sugar alcohol produced by fungi, bacteria, and algae, is a common component of sugar-free gum and candy. The sweetener is also used in the medical field - it's approved by the FDA as a diuretic to flush out excess fluids and used during surgery as a substance that opens the blood/brain barrier to ease the passage of other drugs.

18 Jun 2013

Researchers uncover DNA damage checkpoint used by cells to monitor oxidatively damaged DNA

In current health lore, antioxidants are all the rage, as "everybody knows" that reducing the amount of "reactive oxygen species" -- cell-damaging molecules that are byproducts of cellular metabolism -- is critical to staying healthy. What everyone doesn't know is that our bodies already have a complex set of processes built into our cells that handle these harmful byproducts of living and repair the damage they cause.

15 Jun 2013

UCSF researchers discover memory-boosting molecule in mice

Memory improved in mice injected with a small, drug-like molecule discovered by UCSF San Francisco researchers studying how cells respond to biological stress.

15 Jun 2013

TAU researcher develops peptide to protect and restore microtubule function

A structure called "the microtubule network" is a crucial part of our nervous system. It acts as a transportation system within nerve cells, carrying essential proteins and enabling cell-to-cell communications. But in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, ALS, and Parkinson's, this network breaks down, hindering motor abilities and cognitive function.

14 Jun 2013

African-Americans have much greater decrease in their sense of smell, study finds

The ability to distinguish between odors declines steadily with age, but a new study shows that African-Americans have a much greater decrease in their sense of smell than Caucasians.

13 Jun 2013