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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

Researchers pinpoint mechanism underlying astrocyte-mediated recovery of brain tissue after injury

A Kobe University research team has pinpointed the mechanism underlying astrocyte-mediated restoration of brain tissue after an injury. This could lead to new treatments that encourage regeneration by limiting damage to neurons incurred by reduced blood supply or trauma.

15 Dec 2016

Researchers develop new microfluidic device to study brain inflammation

The blood-brain barrier is a network of specialized cells that surrounds the arteries and veins within the brain. It forms a unique gateway that both provides brain cells with the nutrients they require and protects them from potentially harmful compounds.

6 Dec 2016

Scientists identify potential drug for pre-treating cells that swell after mild traumatic brain injury

A team of biomedical engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have identified a cause of fluid swelling of the brain, or cellular edema, that occurs during a concussion.

22 Nov 2016

Researchers identify new biomarker in spinal fluid and blood serum of patients with neurological disorder

Research from Mayo Clinic included in the November issue of JAMA Neurology identifies a new biomarker for brain and spinal cord inflammation, allowing for faster diagnosis and treatment of patients.

14 Nov 2016

Omega-3 fatty acids could promote clearance of metabolites in the brain, research shows

New research published online in The FASEB Journal suggests that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are found in fish oil, could improve the function of the glymphatic system, which facilitates the clearance of waste from the brain, and promote the clearance of metabolites including amyloid-β peptides, a primary culprit in Alzheimer's disease.

26 Oct 2016

Oligodendrocytes selectively myelinate specific set of neuronal axons, research shows

There are three kinds of glial cells in the brain, oligodendrocyte, astrocyte and microglia. Oligodendrocytes myelinate neuronal axons to increase conduction velocity of neuronal impulses.

21 Oct 2016

MIT neuroscientists identify brain cells that play vital role in controlling appetite

MIT neuroscientists have discovered that brain cells called glial cells play a critical role in controlling appetite and feeding behavior.

18 Oct 2016

Depriving deadly brain cancer cells of cholesterol causes tumor regression in mouse models

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and The Scripps Research Institute, with colleagues in Los Angeles and Japan, report that depriving deadly brain cancer cells of cholesterol, which they import from neighboring healthy cells, specifically kills tumor cells and caused tumor regression and prolonged survival in mouse models.

13 Oct 2016

Fluid-filled sacs that brain cells make to trap amyloid may contribute to Alzheimer's disease

Vesicles, fluid-filled sacs that brain cells make to trap amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's, appear to also contribute to the disease, scientists report.

29 Aug 2016