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Controlling heart cells using a laser: an interview with Prof. Konstantin Agladze

We control their electrical activity. Cardiac cells are capable of producing and transmitting electric signals through changes in a cell membrane potential.

9 May 2016

Reasons for life-threatening blood clots in elite athletes

Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., a professor of medicine and director of the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Program at the University of Vermont, provides commentary on the causes of life-threatening blood clots in elite athletes.

6 May 2016

Gene therapy could be potential treatment for neuropathic pain in cancer patients

A study providing new information about neuropathic pain afflicting some 90 percent of cancer patients who have had nerve damage caused by tumors, surgery, chemotherapy or radiation indicates gene therapy as a possible treatment.

6 May 2016

Scientists use non-invasive way to track rapid myelination of nerve fibers in children's brains

Much like electricity traveling down wires, nerve impulses in our brain travel along nerve fibers. And just as wires need insulation to function well, nerve fibers, too, rely on a kind of insulation called myelin, a fatty substance that protects them and increases the speed at which nerve impulses travel.

6 May 2016

Gene-replacement therapy could be potential treatment option for SMARD1

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a disease that causes progressive degeneration in the nerve cells that control muscles, thereby causing muscle weakness and eventually death.

6 May 2016

Implantable brain device shows promising results in animal study

An implantable brain device that literally melts away at a pre-determined rate minimizes injury to tissue normally associated with standard electrode implantation, according to research led by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

6 May 2016

Human brains constantly make statistical computations to estimate confidence

The directions, which came via cell phone, were a little garbled, but as you understood them: "Turn left at the 3rd light and go straight; the restaurant will be on your right side." Ten minutes ago you made the turn. Still no restaurant in sight. How far will you be willing to drive in the same direction?

5 May 2016

Proton therapy offers new hope to patients with inoperable tumors

An enormous high tech machine is providing new hope to patients across the country with inoperable tumors. Proton therapy is a precise radiation technique that reduces the side effects often accompanied by traditional treatment options. Thanks to this remarkable technology, a new proton therapy center at UF Health Cancer Center - Orlando Health is saving the eyesight of a new mother who was diagnosed with a tumor behind her eye during her second trimester of pregnancy.

5 May 2016

Muscle & Nerve study links intramuscular fat with BMI and physical activity levels

Ultrasound-estimated percent intramuscular fat of muscles in the lower extremity was inversely associated with physical activity level and positively associated with body mass index in a recent study.

4 May 2016

Researchers investigate incidence of new position-related nerve deficit in spine surgery

Winner of the Sanford J. Larson, MD, PhD, Award, Gurpreet Surinder Gandhoke, MD, presented his research, Incidence of Position Related Neuropraxia in 4,489 Consecutive Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery. Role of SSEP Monitoring? during the 2016 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

4 May 2016

Oral administration of Jakinibs reduces Parkinson's disease pathogenesis in rat model

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers report the first documentation that suppressing a key cell-signaling pathway in a rat model of Parkinson's disease reduces pathogenesis. Oral administration of AZD1480 — one of the JAK/STAT pathway inhibitors generally known as Jakinibs — lessened the destructive inflammation and nerve cell degradation in the area of the brain affected by Parkinson's.

4 May 2016

Lund study shows transplanted nerve cells can survive for many years in diseased human brain

In the late 1980s and over the 1990s, researchers at Lund University in Sweden pioneered the transplantation of new nerve cells into the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease. The outcomes proved for the first time that transplanted nerve cells can survive and function in the diseased human brain. Some patients showed marked improvement after the transplantation while others showed moderate or no relief of symptoms.

4 May 2016

Aggregation of SOD1 protein in nerve cells can lead to ALS

Persons with the serious disorder ALS, can have a genetic mutation that causes the protein SOD1 to aggregate in motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Researchers at Umea University have discovered that, when injected into mice, the SOD1 aggregation spreads rapidly leading to ALS. The discovery has been described in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

4 May 2016

Riluzole drug can reverse key genetic changes linked to Alzheimer's disease

Aging takes its toll on the brain, and the cells of the hippocampus--a brain region with circuitry crucial to learning and memory--are particularly vulnerable to changes that can lead to Alzheimer's disease or cognitive decline. With the hope of counteracting the changes that can lead to these two conditions, researchers at Rockefeller University and their colleagues have begun examining the effects of a drug known to affect this circuitry.

4 May 2016

Study opens door for new opportunities in finding antidotes to nerve agent sarin

The nerve agent sarin causes a deadly overstimulation of the nervous system that can be stopped if treated with an antidote within minutes of poisoning. Today, a ground-breaking study has been published in PNAS, which in detail describes how such a drug works. Researchers at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, Umea University and in Germany are behind the study.

3 May 2016

Xiao procedure lacks efficacy for bladder control in children

Researchers at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital report the results of a double-blinded randomized controlled trial of the "Xiao procedure" in children with spina bifida.

3 May 2016

Brain receptor that initiates adolescent synaptic pruning appears to go awry in autism, schizophrenia

Research led by SUNY Downstate Medical Center has identified a brain receptor that appears to initiate adolescent synaptic pruning, a process believed necessary for learning, but one that appears to go awry in both autism and schizophrenia.

3 May 2016

Study shows cannabinoid type 2 receptor plays vital role in signal processing of the brain

The cannabinoid type 2 receptor - also called "CB2 receptor" - is a special membrane protein. Its function is to receive chemical signals that control cellular activity. "Until now, this receptor was considered part of the immune system without function in nerve cells.

3 May 2016

Snapshots of NMDA receptor activation may help in novel drug design

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Janelia Research Campus/HHMI, have obtained snapshots of the activation of an important type of brain-cell receptor. Dysfunction of the receptor has been implicated in a range of neurological illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, seizure, schizophrenia, autism, and injuries related to stroke.

3 May 2016

NEI to discuss research advances in regenerative medicine for eye disease at ARVO 2016

The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of NIH, is participating in the Inaugural Press Conference from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting (ARVO 2016), the largest gathering of eye and vision researchers in the world, attracting over 11,000 attendees from more than 75 countries.

2 May 2016

Nerve News and Research

Controlling heart cells using a laser: an interview with Prof. Konstantin Agladze

Reasons for life-threatening blood clots in elite athletes

Gene therapy could be potential treatment for neuropathic pain in cancer patients

Scientists use non-invasive way to track rapid myelination of nerve fibers in children's brains

Gene-replacement therapy could be potential treatment option for SMARD1

Implantable brain device shows promising results in animal study

Human brains constantly make statistical computations to estimate confidence

Proton therapy offers new hope to patients with inoperable tumors

Muscle & Nerve study links intramuscular fat with BMI and physical activity levels

Researchers investigate incidence of new position-related nerve deficit in spine surgery

Oral administration of Jakinibs reduces Parkinson's disease pathogenesis in rat model

Lund study shows transplanted nerve cells can survive for many years in diseased human brain

Aggregation of SOD1 protein in nerve cells can lead to ALS

Riluzole drug can reverse key genetic changes linked to Alzheimer's disease

Study opens door for new opportunities in finding antidotes to nerve agent sarin

Xiao procedure lacks efficacy for bladder control in children

Brain receptor that initiates adolescent synaptic pruning appears to go awry in autism, schizophrenia

Study shows cannabinoid type 2 receptor plays vital role in signal processing of the brain

Snapshots of NMDA receptor activation may help in novel drug design

NEI to discuss research advances in regenerative medicine for eye disease at ARVO 2016

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (2nd Edition) eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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