Glial Cell News and Research

RSS

Researchers mobilize brain's native stem cells to replenish neuron lost in Huntington's disease

Researchers have been able to mobilize the brain's native stem cells to replenish a type of neuron lost in Huntington's disease.

7 Jun 2013

Scientists pinpoint genetic traits of cells that give rise to gliomas

A multi-institutional team of researchers have pinpointed the genetic traits of the cells that give rise to gliomas - the most common form of malignant brain cancer. The findings, which appear in the journal Cell Reports, provide scientists with rich new potential set of targets to treat the disease.

4 Jun 2013

Transplantation of human stem cells improves muscle function in rats used to model ALS

Transplantation of human stem cells in an experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS, a nerve disease that destroys nerve control of muscles, causing death by respiratory failure.

29 May 2013

Novel drug may increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for brain cancer

A novel drug may help increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for the most deadly form of brain cancer, report scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. In mouse models of human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the new drug helped significantly extend survival when used in combination with radiation therapy.

15 May 2013

Researchers identify key regulator that controls expansion and folding of brain during fetal development

During fetal development of the mammalian brain, the cerebral cortex undergoes a marked expansion in surface area in some species, which is accommodated by folding of the tissue in species with most expanded neuron numbers and surface area. Researchers have now identified a key regulator of this crucial process.

26 Apr 2013

Astrocytes more effective in promoting recovery after brain injury

The production of a certain kind of brain cell that had been considered an impediment to healing may actually be needed to staunch bleeding and promote repair after a stroke or head trauma, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

25 Apr 2013

CI therapy appears to benefit children with cerebral palsy

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) report that children with cerebral palsy who underwent Constraint Induced Movement therapy (CI therapy) saw a significant increase in grey matter volume in areas of the brain associated with movement.

22 Apr 2013

Researchers identify gene mutations responsible for subtype of childhood brain tumor

The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has identified mutations responsible for more than half of a subtype of childhood brain tumor that takes a high toll on patients.

15 Apr 2013

Data shows efficacy of MANF in neuroprotection 6-hydroxydopamine rat models of Parkinson's disease

Amarantus BioScience, Inc., a biotechnology company discovering and developing treatments and diagnostics for diseases associated with neurodegeneration and apoptosis, today reported positive preclinical data for its lead therapeutic MANF in neuroprotection 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat models of Parkinson's disease.

28 Mar 2013

USF, Saneron receive patent for transplantation method using umbilical cord blood cells

Researchers at Saneron CCEL Therapeutics and the University of South Florida have received a patent relating to a method for obtaining and using umbilical cord blood cells from a donor or patient to provide neural cells for transplantation aimed at repairing a variety of neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and spinal cord, such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease as well as brain and spinal cord injury.

7 Mar 2013

CB2 receptors might serve as potential therapeutic targets for cerebral ischemia

A new study published in the March issue of The American Journal of Pathology suggests that cortical type 2 cannabinoid (CB2) receptors might serve as potential therapeutic targets for cerebral ischemia.

22 Feb 2013

Tau release from healthy neurons can be regulated by neuronal activity

Researchers from King's College London have discovered that neuronal activity can stimulate tau release from healthy neurons in the absence of cell death.

16 Feb 2013

Reprogrammed human skin cells highly effective in treating myelin disorders

A study out today in the journal Cell Stem Cell shows that human brain cells created by reprogramming skin cells are highly effective in treating myelin disorders, a family of diseases that includes multiple sclerosis and rare childhood disorders called pediatric leukodystrophies.

10 Feb 2013

Location of altered brain metabolite levels found in bipolar I patients

Bipolar I disorder patients have increased phospholipid levels in the thalami and increased N-acetyl-aspartate levels in the left hippocampus compared with healthy individuals, a team of investigators has discovered.

5 Feb 2013

Research shows brain cells regulate blood vessel development

Zhen Huang freely admits he was not interested in blood vessels four years ago when he was studying brain development in a fetal mouse. Instead, he wanted to see how changing a particular gene in brain cells called glia would affect the growth of neurons.

25 Jan 2013

Leprosy bacteria able to change the make-up of Schwann cells

A discovery about the way in which bugs spread throughout the body could help to develop stem cell treatments.

19 Jan 2013

ELTD1 biomarker may help diagnose glioma

Researchers using sophisticated genetic testing techniques have identified a promising new biomarker for diagnosis of glioma—the most common type of malignant brain tumor, reports the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

17 Jan 2013

Some epileptic seizures may originate in glia: Study

Epileptic seizures occur when neurons in the brain become excessively active. However, a new study from MIT neuroscientists suggests that some seizures may originate in non-neuronal cells known as glia, which were long believed to play a mere supporting role in brain function.

17 Jan 2013

Study investigates prolonged pathological outcomes of traumatic brain injury

Researchers from the University of South Florida and colleagues at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital studying the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury using rat models, have found that, overtime, TBI results in progressive brain deterioration characterized by elevated inflammation and suppressed cell regeneration.

7 Jan 2013

RET fusion signals unique NSCLC subtype

The presence of RET fusion genes in approximately 1.5% of non-small-cell lung cancer defines a subset of tumors with distinct clinicopathologic features, research suggests.

10 Dec 2012