Brain Cell News and Research

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Scientists create new tool to study the genetic underpinnings of brain disorders

Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and colleagues created a new computational tool called H-MAGMA to study the genetic underpinnings of nine brain disorders, including the identification of new genes associated with each disorder.

9 Mar 2020

Targeting overactive immune cells with experimental drug could improve TBI symptoms

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that targeting overactive immune cells in the brain with an experimental drug could limit brain cell loss and reverse cognitive and motor difficulties caused by traumatic brain injury.

25 Feb 2020

New drug offers hope for preserving brain cells for a time after stroke

After 50 years of research and the testing of over 1,000 drugs, there is new hope for preserving brain cells for a time after stroke.

21 Feb 2020

Accumulated brain protein affects genes in Alzheimer's disease

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal Cell Reports shows how the build-up of specific brain cell proteins are linked to altered gene expression that causes the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

11 Feb 2020

Researchers culture human blood-brain barrier on a chip

A scrupulous gatekeeper stands between the brain and its circulatory system to let in the good and keep out the bad, but this porter, called the blood-brain barrier, also blocks trial drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer's or cancer from getting into the brain.

10 Feb 2020

Researchers reveal new activity above the surface in brain-cell receptors

Like buoys bobbing on the ocean, many receptors float on the surface of a cell's membrane with a part sticking above the water and another underwater, inside the cell's cytoplasm.

7 Feb 2020

Study sheds new light on genetic relationship between three mood disorders

Researchers shed new light on the genetic relationship between three mood disorders associated with depression--major depression and bipolar disorder types 1 and 2, in a new study in the journal Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier.

5 Feb 2020

New compound prevents amyloid formation to fight Alzheimer’s disease

It is known that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the formation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain. A novel compound shows promise in preventing amyloid formation, fighting Alzheimer’s disease development.

3 Feb 2020

Exploring link between elevated blood pressure early in life and dementia

Whether elevated blood pressure early in life translates to increased risk of dementia is a question scientists are working to answer.

28 Jan 2020

Study suggests prenatal origin for ‘young’ Parkinson’s disease

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine on January 2020 suggests that Parkinson’s disease developing before the age of 50 years could be due to an abnormality in certain brain cells that remains dormant until the age of onset of the disease. It also indicates the potential usefulness of a specific drug to prevent this by correcting the brain cell disorder.

27 Jan 2020

Scientists reveal the damaging effect of Zika virus on a type of brain cell

The Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Brazil in 2015 sparked for many health agencies and scientists to study the pathogen, which has been linked to microcephaly and other fetal neurological disorders collectively known as Congenital Zika Syndrome.

27 Jan 2020

Stanford scientists complete first global census of cell surface proteins

Stanford scientists have completed the first global census of diverse proteins sprouting tree-like from the outer membrane of a cell. These cell surface proteins govern how cells interact with one another and how they assemble into tissues and organs such as hearts and brains.

24 Jan 2020

Discovery of mechanism by which Zika virus enters brain cells

Two independent studies published by Cell Press on January 16, 2020, report that the mechanism by which Zika virus enters brain cells has been identified and even more, exploited to prevent Zika infection and to kill cancer cells instead.

16 Jan 2020

Surgical removal of tumor may boost survival of patients with brainstem high-grade gliomas

For adult patients with brainstem high-grade gliomas -- one of the rarest and deadliest forms of brain cancer -- surgically removing the entire tumor may add many months or potentially years of survival beyond that offered by radiation and chemotherapy, according to results of a medical records study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 9 Jan 2020

New approach using deep learning could speed up brain image microscopy by 16 times

Textbook descriptions of brain cells make neurons look simple: a long spine-like central axon with branching dendrites.

8 Jan 2020

Dresden scientists identify newborn neurons in zebrafish

The zebrafish is a master of regeneration: If brain cells are lost due to injury or disease, it can simply reproduce them - contrary to humans where this only happens in the fetal stage. However, the zebrafish is evolutionarily related to humans and, thus, possesses the same brain cell types as humans.

7 Jan 2020

Lab-grown brain organoids may hold the answers to personalized treatments for glioblastomas

Lab-grown brain organoids developed from a patient's own glioblastoma, the most aggressive and common form of brain cancer, may hold the answers on how to best treat it.

26 Dec 2019

Oversleeping puts you at risk of stroke

Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality in the United States. A new study has found that sleeping too much, such as sleeping nine hours a day and having frequent naps may increase the risk of this cardiovascular disease.

15 Dec 2019

Study could help improve GENUS to become a therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease

The sweeping extent to which increasing 40Hz "gamma" rhythm power in the brain can affect the pathology and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mouse models has been surprising, even to the MIT neuroscientists who've pioneered the idea. So surprising, in fact, they can't yet explain why it happens.

11 Dec 2019

Scientists create artificial neurons that help cure chronic diseases

Artificial brain cells could now be implanted in the brain to repair the damage caused by chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, thanks to a team of scientists who created bionic neurons that work like the real thing.

4 Dec 2019