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NUS scientists open possible new route for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy

A recent study led by scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) opens a possible new route for treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a devastating disease that is the most common genetic cause of infant death and also affects young adults.

18 Dec 2013

Research findings point to possible new strategy for treating ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating illness that gradually robs sufferers of muscle strength and eventually causes a lethal, full-body paralysis. The only drug available to treat the disease extends life spans by a meager three months on average.

17 Dec 2013

Study: Brain blood vessel cells may be therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease

A study in mice shows how a breakdown of the brain's blood vessels may amplify or cause problems associated with Alzheimer's disease. The results published in Nature Communications suggest that blood vessel cells called pericytes may provide novel targets for treatments and diagnoses.

14 Dec 2013

New computational model explains how brain maintains balance between plasticity, stability

To learn new motor skills, the brain must be plastic: able to rapidly change the strengths of connections between neurons, forming new patterns that accomplish a particular task. However, if the brain were too plastic, previously learned skills would be lost too easily.

9 Dec 2013

Bonn researchers use reprogrammed neurons for drug testing in Alzheimer patients

Why do certain Alzheimer medications work in animal models but not in clinical trials in humans? A research team from the University of Bonn and the biomedical enterprise LIFE & BRAIN GmbH has been able to show that results of established test methods with animal models and cell lines used up until now can hardly be translated to the processes in the human brain.

9 Dec 2013

Scientists test affected human nerve cells to foretell efficacy of Alzheimer drugs

6 Dec 2013

Study reports new links between brain cell activity and choices where two options have equal appeal

Life presents us with choices all the time: salad or pizza for lunch? Tea or coffee afterward? How we make these everyday decisions has been a topic of great interest to economists, who have devised theories about how we assign values to our options and use those values to make decisions.

6 Dec 2013

Understanding biochemical mechanisms associated with memory formation

A discovery by a research team led by Dr. Ryohei Yasuda at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience has significantly advanced basic understanding of biochemical mechanisms associated with how memories are formed.

6 Dec 2013

Biologists discover how nerve cells recycle tiny vesicles

University of Utah and German biologists discovered how nerve cells recycle tiny bubbles or "vesicles" that send chemical nerve signals from one cell to the next. The process is much faster and different than two previously proposed mechanisms for recycling the bubbles.

5 Dec 2013

Neuroscientists discover how brain cells form "geotags" for specific memories

Using a video game in which people navigate through a virtual town delivering objects to specific locations, a team of neuroscientists from the University of Pennsylvania and Freiburg University has discovered how brain cells that encode spatial information form "geotags" for specific memories and are activated immediately before those memories are recalled.

29 Nov 2013

Research: Modification of SUMO protein plays vital role in normal brain function

Scientists are a step closer to understanding how some of the brain's 100 billion nerve cells co-ordinate their communication.

28 Nov 2013

Certain Chinese medicines can regulate neurotrophic and apoptosis-related factors

Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, which is pathologically characterized by selective loss of dopaminergic neurons. Compound preparations of Chinese medicines that can tonify the kidney have been reported to significantly improve symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

28 Nov 2013

Compound extracted from wine-processed Fructus corni protects hippocampal neurons from damage

Studies have shown that Fructus corni has a protective effect on hepatocytes, and has anticancer, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, a compound extracted from wine-processed Fructus corni, has a protective effect on hippocampal neurons damaged by H2O2.

28 Nov 2013

Brain research provides new clues to Pavlovian conditioning

Do fruit flies hold the key to treating dementia? Researchers at the University of Houston have taken a significant step forward in unraveling the mechanisms of Pavlovian conditioning. Their work will help them understand how memories form and, ultimately, provide better treatments to improve memory in all ages.

27 Nov 2013

Asparagine found in meat, eggs and dairy products is important for normal brain development

Asparagine, found in foods such as meat, eggs, and dairy products, was until now considered non-essential because it is produced naturally by the body. Researchers at the University of Montreal and its affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital found that the amino acid is essential for normal brain development.

26 Nov 2013

Neuroscientists discover new role played by common but mysterious class of brain cells

Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists have discovered a new role played by a common but mysterious class of brain cells.

26 Nov 2013

Cedars-Sinai study presents new insights into mechanisms underlying the symptoms of autism

In what are believed to be the first studies of their kind, Cedars-Sinai researchers recording the real-time firing of individual nerve cells in the brain found that a specific type of neuron in a structure called the amygdala performed differently in people who suffer from autism spectrum disorder than in those who do not.

21 Nov 2013

Multiple sclerosis researchers receive NMSS drug development grant

A $500,000 drug development grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society was awarded to a partnership between a multiple sclerosis research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company. Dr. Patrizia Casaccia, MD, PhD, Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomics, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will be the academic lead.

21 Nov 2013

Study suggests potential new treatment for seizures

A study out today in the journal Nature Medicine suggests a potential new treatment for the seizures that often plague children with genetic metabolic disorders and individuals undergoing liver failure. The discovery hinges on a new understanding of the complex molecular chain reaction that occurs when the brain is exposed to too much ammonia.

17 Nov 2013

Scientists join patients to address Friedreich's Ataxia

The Spanish Federation of Ataxia (FEDAES)—in representation of the GENEFA Platform for a Friedreich's Ataxia cure—, the Babel Family association for biomedical research into Friedreich's Ataxia, the "Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa" (CMBSO), and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have signed an agreement through which these patients' associations will fund, by means of donations, a 3-year research project addressing Friedreich's Ataxia.

16 Nov 2013

Neuron News and Research

NUS scientists open possible new route for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy

Research findings point to possible new strategy for treating ALS

Study: Brain blood vessel cells may be therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease

New computational model explains how brain maintains balance between plasticity, stability

Bonn researchers use reprogrammed neurons for drug testing in Alzheimer patients

Scientists test affected human nerve cells to foretell efficacy of Alzheimer drugs

Study reports new links between brain cell activity and choices where two options have equal appeal

Understanding biochemical mechanisms associated with memory formation

Biologists discover how nerve cells recycle tiny vesicles

Neuroscientists discover how brain cells form "geotags" for specific memories

Research: Modification of SUMO protein plays vital role in normal brain function

Certain Chinese medicines can regulate neurotrophic and apoptosis-related factors

Compound extracted from wine-processed Fructus corni protects hippocampal neurons from damage

Brain research provides new clues to Pavlovian conditioning

Asparagine found in meat, eggs and dairy products is important for normal brain development

Neuroscientists discover new role played by common but mysterious class of brain cells

Cedars-Sinai study presents new insights into mechanisms underlying the symptoms of autism

Multiple sclerosis researchers receive NMSS drug development grant

Study suggests potential new treatment for seizures

Scientists join patients to address Friedreich's Ataxia

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