Brain Cell News and Research

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SAGA funding initiative aims to advance understanding of potential sex differences in Alzheimer's

The first-ever Alzheimer's Association Sex and Gender in Alzheimer's research grant awards will provide $2.2 million to nine projects to advance understanding of the disproportionate effect of Alzheimer's disease on women.

31 Aug 2016

NCATS scientists identify promising compounds effective in inhibiting Zika virus replication

Researchers at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences recently identified compounds that potentially can be used to inhibit Zika virus replication and reduce its ability to kill brain cells.

29 Aug 2016

Fluid-filled sacs that brain cells make to trap amyloid may contribute to Alzheimer's disease

Vesicles, fluid-filled sacs that brain cells make to trap amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's, appear to also contribute to the disease, scientists report.

29 Aug 2016

Skin cells derived from autistic donors grow faster than those from control subjects

Brain cells grow faster in children with some forms of autism due to distinct changes in core cell signaling patterns, according to research from the laboratory of Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, MD, PhD, chair of the department of genetics and genome sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

28 Aug 2016

Study suggests structural changes in the brain help cope with stressful situations

People who experience job loss, divorce, death of a loved one or any number of life's upheavals often adopt coping mechanisms to make the situation less traumatic.

25 Aug 2016

Research findings offer more insight into complexity and robustness of the brain

The brain is well capable of coping with the erratic way individual brain cells transmit information.

19 Aug 2016

TSRI scientists find evidence supporting new therapeutic strategy against cocaine addiction

An international team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has found strong evidence supporting a new strategy against drug addiction.

18 Aug 2016

USC researchers discover two Zika proteins potentially responsible for microcephaly

USC researchers have tracked down two Zika proteins potentially responsible for thousands of microcephaly cases in Brazil and elsewhere — taking one small step toward preventing Zika-infected mothers from birthing babies with abnormally small heads.

11 Aug 2016

Researchers identify reason why antidepressants take so long to work

An episode of major depression can be crippling, impairing the ability to sleep, work, or eat. In severe cases, the mood disorder can lead to suicide. But the drugs available to treat depression, which can affect one in six Americans in their lifetime, can take weeks or even months to start working.

29 Jul 2016

Inability to turn off genes in the brain can affect learning and memory

Every time you play a game of basketball, make a cup of coffee or flick on a light switch, you are turning on genes in your brain. These same genes typically are turned off when the activity ceases - but when that doesn't happen, damaging consequences can occur.

14 Jul 2016

Researchers discover new biological pathway involved in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have identified a new biological pathway involved in Alzheimer's disease. In experiments using fruit flies, blocking the pathway reduced the death of brain cells, suggesting that interfering with the pathway could represent a promising new strategy to treat the disease in human patients.

13 Jul 2016

Scientists use stem cell techniques to unravel biology of autism

The brains of some people with autism spectrum disorder grow faster than usual early on in life, often before diagnosis.

8 Jul 2016

New mouse model reveals how Alzheimer's causes dementia

Using a novel, newly developed mouse model that mimics the development of Alzheimer's disease in humans, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have been able to determine that a one-two punch of major biological "insults" must occur in the brain to cause the dementia that is the hallmark of the disease.

4 Jul 2016

Scientists provide new insights into role of star-shaped brain cells in memory, learning

A molecule that enables strong communication between our brain and muscles appears to also aid essential communication between our neurons, scientists report.

23 Jun 2016

Long-term suppression of neurotransmitter acetylcholine may lead to dementia-like changes in the brain

A new study from Western University is helping to explain why the long-term use of common anticholinergic drugs used to treat conditions like allergies and overactive bladder lead to an increased risk of developing dementia later in life.

23 Jun 2016

Tumour protein TP53 can locate DNA targets autonomously to prevent cancer

Geneticists from KU Leuven, Belgium, have shown that tumour protein TP53 knows exactly where to bind to our DNA to prevent cancer. Once bound to this specific DNA sequence, the protein can activate the right genes to repair damaged cells.

17 Jun 2016

New technique may help replace brain cells, restore memory

Although brains—even adult brains—are far more malleable than we used to think, they are eventually subject to age-related illnesses, like dementia, and loss of cognitive function.

15 Jun 2016

Study shows similarity between embryonic and reprogrammed stem cells

Stem cells are specialized undifferentiated cells that can divide and have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth.

13 Jun 2016

Metabolite of oral DMF drug for multiple sclerosis appears to slow onset of Parkinson's disease

The metabolite of a drug that is helping patients battle multiple sclerosis appears to significantly slow the onset of Parkinson's disease, researchers say.

9 Jun 2016

New dietary supplement can prevent, reverse massive brain cell loss

A dietary supplement containing a blend of thirty vitamins and minerals--all natural ingredients widely available in health food stores--has shown remarkable anti-aging properties that can prevent and even reverse massive brain cell loss, according to new research from McMaster University.

3 Jun 2016