Glial Cell News and Research

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Xcelligence System provides real-time detection of neuronal cell death

Time course analyses of neuronal cell death and its underlying mechanisms require laborious experiments and multiple endpoint assays, often involving labelling with irritating compounds and cell disruption. A recent study used the xCELLigence System of Roche to investigate the response of the neuronal-like cell line HT-22 and cultured primary rat cortical neurons to different cell death stimuli and neuroprotectants.

18 Aug 2010

Researchers develop genetically mutated stem cells for myelin research

Vanishing White Matter (VWM) disease is a devastating condition that involves the destruction of brain myelin due to a mutation in a central factor. To understand the disease and test potential treatments that could apply to other disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, Prof. Orna Elroy-Stein of Tel Aviv University's Department of Cell Research and Immunology is leading a scientific breakthrough by developing laboratory mice which carry the VWM mutation an important new tool.

18 Aug 2010

Non-viral gene therapy delays onset of eye disease

In one of only two studies of its kind, a study from researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts demonstrates that non-viral gene therapy can delay the onset of some forms of eye disease and preserve vision. The team developed nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic genes to the retina and found that treated mice temporarily retained more eyesight than controls.

17 Aug 2010

Transition commences dosing in TT-301 Phase 1 clinical study for rheumatoid arthritis, ICH, TBI

Transition Therapeutics Inc. announced today that the first patient has been dosed with drug candidate TT-301 in a Phase 1 clinical study. TT-301 is a small molecule compound that has demonstrated efficacy in preclinical models of rheumatoid arthritis, intracerebral haemorrhage and traumatic brain injury.

30 Jun 2010

Special public meeting to spotlight stem cell-based therapies for ALS

Local scientists, health advocates and leaders from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine will gather in San Diego June 23 for a special public meeting to spotlight a new University of California, San Diego grant to pursue novel, fast-tracked stem cell-based therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

18 Jun 2010

Study reveals increase of enzyme MAO-A in female brain during immediate postpartum period

Within the first week after giving birth, up to 70 percent of all women experience symptoms of the baby blues. While most women recover quickly, up to 13 percent of all new mothers suffer from symptoms of a clinical-level postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is defined as a major depressive episode starting within 4 weeks after delivery and is a significant public health problem. Postpartum blues represents a major risk factor for developing postpartum depression and severe postpartum blues symptoms can be viewed as a prodromal stage for postpartum depression.

17 Jun 2010

Johns Hopkins professor receives $1M MSCRF grant to study glial cells for treating myelin disorders

Q Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that Piotr Walczak, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University has received notification of a $1,000,000 grant to be awarded by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) which will enable further study of Q's human neural glial cell product Q-Cells® in preclinical models of demyelinating disease.

2 Jun 2010

Mannitol improves effectiveness of HUCBs in neonatal rat models of cerebral palsy

The sugar-alcohol compound mannitol improved the therapeutic effectiveness of human umbilical cord blood cells injected into neonatal rat models of cerebral palsy, reports a new international study led by the University of South Florida. The mannitol opened the blood-brain barrier by temporarily shrinking the tight endothelial cells that make up the barrier.

2 Jun 2010

New study provides cause-and-effect link between immune system cells and mental illness

A Nobel Prize-winning University of Utah geneticist discovered that bone marrow transplants cure mutant mice who pull out their hair compulsively. The study provides the first cause-and-effect link between immune system cells and mental illness, and points toward eventual new psychiatric treatments.

28 May 2010

UCSF scientists discover new stem cell in developing human brain

UCSF scientists have discovered a new stem cell in the developing human brain. The cell produces nerve cells that help form the neocortex - the site of higher cognitive function -- and likely accounts for the dramatic expansion of the region in the lineages that lead to man, the researchers say.

26 May 2010

Study explores genetic imbalances that give rise to childhood brain tumors

The most comprehensive analysis yet of the genetic imbalances at the heart of childhood brain tumors known as high-grade gliomas (HGGs) identified a cancer gene that is unusually active in some tumors and is now the focus of a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital clinical trial.

21 May 2010

Research team converts astroglia into two main classes of cortical neurons

The research team led by Professor Magdalena Götz of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich reports a major step forward in discovering a therapy for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or stroke. The researchers were able to convert glial cells of the brain into two different functional classes of neurons. The findings are published on May 18th in the renowned journal PLoS Biology.

19 May 2010

Carcinogenic potential of mobile phone use not clear cut

The most comprehensive international study to date on the association between mobile phone use and brain cancers has not shown a strong causal link between the two but research on their relationship needs to continue, Professor Bruce Armstrong from the School of Public Health says.

17 May 2010

Potential drug to annul ADAM-17 protein activity needed

Over the past four years, in the installations of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Cadiz, a group of researchers, headed by Doctor Carmen Estrada, has been studying neurogenesis - the process of forming new neurons from mother cells - in the adult mammal brain. The purpose of this research project is to contribute to the knowledge of this process with the object of finding some additional mechanism that would facilitate the treatment of pathologies of the central nervous system (CNS) that are suffered in consequence of neuronal death.

19 Apr 2010

DNA modification can define early onset glioblastoma

A class of brain tumor that tends to emerge in younger patients but is less aggressive than others can be identified by examining DNA methylation of a specific set of genes, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues with The Cancer Genome Atlas report today online at Cancer Cell.

16 Apr 2010

Clinical utility and pharmacological action of MN-166 in treatment of MS

MediciNova, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market and the Hercules Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange, today reported that this week's issue of Neurology includes two articles related to the potential clinical utility and unique pharmacological action of MN-166 in treating multiple sclerosis (MS).

3 Apr 2010

Research reveals link between repeated anaesthesia and memory impairment

There is a link between repeated anaesthesia in children and memory impairment, though physical activity can help to form new cells that improve memory, reveals new research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

9 Mar 2010

Repeated anaesthesia in children linked to memory impairment

8 Mar 2010

Biovail reports 33% increase in total revenues for fourth-quarter 2009

Biovail Corporation today announced financial results for the three-month and 12-month periods ending December 31, 2009.

25 Feb 2010

Unusual molecule in brain and retina can trigger vision loss

Scientists have identified a double agent in the eye that, once triggered, can morph from neuron protector to neuron killer. The discovery has significant health implications since the neurons killed through this process results in vision loss and blindness.

2 Feb 2010