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New study sheds light on the disruption of astrocytes in depression

A new study published by the team of Naguib Mechawar, Ph.D., a researcher with the McGill Group for Suicide Studies of the Douglas Institute (CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Ile de Montreal) and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, sheds new light on the disruption of astrocytes in depression.

3 Jun 2015

RI-MUHC researchers receive $1.5 million to develop glutamate biosensor platform for brain diseases

In the human brain and retina, glutamate is an important messenger that carries information from one neuron to another. The level of glutamate transmitted between neurons is crucial to cell communication: too high and neurons die, too low and the information is not communicated properly. In either case this can contribute to neurological diseases including stroke, glaucoma, and Alzheimer's.

29 May 2015

Discovery has clear implications in the quest for new epilepsy treatments

The mission of neural stem cells located in the hippocampus, one of the main regions of the brain, is to generate new neurons during the adult life of mammals, including human beings, of course, and their function is to participate in certain types of learning and responses to anxiety and stress.

18 May 2015

Experimental cancer drug shows promise against incurable paediatric brain cancer

US-Australian drug discovery company, Novogen Limited, in conjunction with Australian paediatric cancer researchers, released key pre-clinical data on experimental cancer drug-candidate, TRXE-009, confirming its potential to become an important new therapy against an incurable paediatric brain cancer called DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma).

8 May 2015

Scientists report that enzyme that alters testosterone to estrogen has big impact in healthy, injured brain

An enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen appears to have significant impact in a healthy and injured brain, scientists report.

5 May 2015

Understanding how nerve cells in the brain produce energy required to function

New research published today in the journal Nature Communications represents a potentially fundamental shift in our understanding of how nerve cells in the brain generate the energy needed to function. The study shows neurons are more independent than previously believed and this research has implications for a range of neurological disorders.

25 Apr 2015

Zinc deficiency can activate Hedgehog signaling pathway

Zinc deficiency - long associated with numerous diseases, e.g. autism, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancers - can lead to activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway, a biomolecular pathway that plays essential roles in developing organisms and in diseases, according to new research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

17 Apr 2015

Patient's own skin cells may hold key to new treatments for neurological diseases

A patient's very own skin cells may hold the key to new treatments and even cures for devastating neurological diseases. A generous $1 million donation from Mr. J. Sebastian van Berkom, and critical partnerships with Brain Canada, Laval University, Marigold Foundation and the FRQS-Réseau Parkinson Quebec are driving an innovative, iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cell) research platform that will transform research into Parkinson's and other neurological diseases.

31 Mar 2015

Experimental drug that attacks brain tumor cells passes early tests

An experimental drug that attacks brain tumor tissue by crippling the cells' energy source called the mitochondria has passed early tests in animal models and human tissue cultures, say Houston Methodist scientists.

25 Mar 2015

Deuterium-containing sigma-1 agonist demonstrates anti-seizure, anti-inflammatory effects in TBI model

Research results published in the Journal of Neurotrauma and conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) as part of a collaboration with Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. showed that a novel deuterium-containing sigma-1 agonist invented at Concert, called C-10068, demonstrated anti-seizure and anti-inflammatory effects in a preclinical model of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

24 Mar 2015

IU researchers reveal how Toxoplasma parasites modify brain cells

Rodents infected with a common parasite lose their fear of cats, resulting in easy meals for the felines. Now IU School of Medicine researchers have identified a new way the parasite may modify brain cells, possibly helping explain changes in the behavior of mice -- and humans.

19 Mar 2015

Researchers discover new cause to explain development of temporal lobe epilepsy

Epilepsy is a very prevalent neurological disorder. Approximately one-third of patients are resistant to currently available therapies. A team of researchers under the guidance of the Institute of Cellular Neurosciences at the University of Bonn has discovered a new cause to explain the development of temporal lobe epilepsy: At an early stage, astrocytes are uncoupled from each other.

19 Mar 2015

Novogen's TRXE-009 therapy shows promise against brain cancer

Australian/US biotechnology company, Novogen Limited, today announces that it has confirmed that one of its lead candidate products, TRXE-009, is showing the potential to become an important new therapy in the fight against adult and pediatric brain cancer.

4 Mar 2015

Findings may lay foundation for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

This story starts in 1955, upon the death of Albert Einstein, when the pathologist charged with performing the famous scientist's autopsy stole his brain.

3 Feb 2015

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists identify the brain's on-off thirst switch

Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately begin drinking water, even if they are fully hydrated. A second set of cells suppresses the urge to drink.

28 Jan 2015

Reducing A2A adenosine receptor levels prevents memory impairments in Alzheimer's mouse model

A study by scientists from the Gladstone Institutes shows that decreasing the number of A2A adenosine receptors in a particular type of brain cells called astrocytes improved memory in healthy mice. What's more, reducing receptor levels also prevented memory impairments in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

28 Jan 2015

UT Southwestern researchers identify cell signaling mechanism that plays vital role in brain cancer

UT Southwestern Medical Center neurology researchers have identified an important cell signaling mechanism that plays an important role in brain cancer and may provide a new therapeutic target.

16 Dec 2014

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center releases November tip sheet of story ideas

Following is the November 2014 tip sheet of story ideas from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

27 Nov 2014

New hope for premature babies with breathing troubles

Babies start breathing in the womb, inhaling and exhaling irregularly at first, and then gradually more and more, until the day when they're born and have to do it all the time. But premature babies sometimes have trouble. They stop breathing periodically, sometimes for 20 or 30 seconds at a time.

24 Nov 2014

Special receptor signalling mediates astrocytic hyperactivity in Alzheimer's disease mouse model

It has long been known that astrocytes change their shapes as a consequence of Alzheimer's. Cells located near the "plaques", as the protein deposits typical for this disease are called, grow in size and form additional extensions.

20 Nov 2014