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Brain tumors hijack healthy neurons in order to grow

Scientists have discovered that brain tumors integrate themselves with the brain’s healthy neuronal network to support their growth.

19 Sep 2019

NMDAR receptor is responsible for breast-to-brain metastases, shows study

In 2018, breast cancer was the most common cancer in women worldwide, accounting for about a quarter of all reported cancers. One of the biggest problems with any type of cancer is metastasis; and when breast cancer metastasizes, the brain is a common destination.

19 Sep 2019

Synthetic cell intercepts and deciphers hidden messages of the immune system

When immune cells detect harmful pathogens or cancer, they mobilize and coordinate a competent defense response.

17 Sep 2019

Message transfer between mammal neurons regulated by 'clamp'

A fundamental question in nerve biology brings to mind a race car at the starting line: The engine is revving, but the brake is on. The system is ready to go, but under tight control.

9 Sep 2019

Zika virus damages the adult human brain and impairs memory in mouse model

Zika virus attracted worldwide attention in recent years due to the devastating consequences of infection for pregnant women and their fetuses, many of which were born with microcephaly and other severe neurological malformations.

5 Sep 2019

Neurobiological pathophysiology of schizophrenia differs based on gender

The neurobiological pathophysiology of schizophrenia differs significantly between males and females, according to a new study.

4 Sep 2019

Cannabis use may alter gene linked to autism in male sperm

Researchers from Duke University Medical centre, Durham, USA have come up with an important study that shows that use of cannabis among men could alter a specific gene in their sperm that is linked to autism. The study titled, “Cannabis use is associated with potentially heritable widespread changes in autism candidate gene DLGAP2 DNA methylation in sperm,” and is published in the latest issue of the journal Epigenetics.

28 Aug 2019

Reliable response of cortical neurons amidst noise and chaos

Neurons communicate with each other by sending out rapid pulses of electrical signals called spikes. At first glance, the generation of these spikes can be very reliable: when an isolated neuron is repeatedly given exactly the same electrical input, we find the same pattern of spikes.

22 Aug 2019

Research explains why many psychiatric drugs that work in the lab don’t work in people

Current drug development for neuropsychiatric disorders is in crisis, say experts. More than 90 percent of all drugs that are developed for illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), or the brain tumor glioblastoma complete successful trials in mice but then come to a grinding halt in human trials, wasting billions of dollars in drug research. This is partly because of obvious behavioral differences between the two species.

22 Aug 2019

Protein implicated in neuron growth and cell adhesion appears crucial for pain sensitization

Researchers from Japan's Osaka University have made an important leap in our understanding of how chronic pain conditions develop.

20 Aug 2019

Protein plays important roles in intracellular membrane trafficking in the brain

Our bodies couldn’t operate without the central nervous system - a complex network that coordinates our actions, reflexes, and sensations. Each neuron in your brain has one long cable that snakes away from the main part of the cell.

20 Aug 2019

Alzheimer’s disease risk gene is involved in synaptic transmission

A study published today in the journal Cell Reports sheds new light on how the CD2AP gene may enhance Alzheimer's disease susceptibility.

14 Aug 2019

Antibody target implicated in neuropsychiatric symptoms of lupus discovered

Researchers have identified a specific target of antibodies that are implicated in the neuropsychiatric symptoms of lupus, according to human research published in JNeurosci.

From Society for Neuroscience 13 Aug 2019

Researchers identify direct toxic action of beta-amyloid in the brain

The brains of Alzheimer's patients who have already developed clinical symptoms contain large clumps of the protein beta-amyloid, known as plaques. Many therapeutic approaches focus on removing plaques, but such attempts have met with only limited success to date.

9 Aug 2019

Alzheimers may be linked to genes that code formation of contacts between neurons

A team of neurobiologists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University published an article on their study of the causes of Alzheimer's disease and suggested therapy methods.

2 Aug 2019

Super-resolution microscopy helps unravel elusive causes of dementia

University of Queensland researchers have used super-resolution microscopy to observe key molecules at work inside living brain cells, further unraveling the puzzle of memory formation and the elusive causes of dementia.

2 Aug 2019

Astrocytic MORs in the hippocampus responsible for conditioned place preference

If somebody asks me "are you a coffee addict?" I may say, "Yeah it seems like, but on the one condition, only in my office." I don't have that much craving for coffee at home, but just being in the office, where I used to drink coffee all the time seeking to get caffeine jitters, seems to trigger my caffeine-addicted brain.

31 Jul 2019