Brain Cell News and Research

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European scientists develop, test drug that could reduce harmful side-effects of 'binge drinking'

A drug that could reduce the harmful side-effects of 'binge drinking', especially by teenagers, has been successfully developed and tested by a team of European scientists, including the University of Huddersfield's Professor Mike Page and Dr Karl Hemming. There is also the potential for new ways to treat Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases that damage the brain.

27 Nov 2014

Dantrolene drug may be effective treatment for rare form of diabetes

A commonly prescribed muscle relaxant may be an effective treatment for a rare but devastating form of diabetes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

24 Nov 2014

Blocking key brain receptor cell could neutralize biological consequences of Alzheimer's

Blocking a key receptor in brain cells that is used by oxygen free radicals could play a major role in neutralizing the biological consequences of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Temple University.

19 Nov 2014

Spinal cord injuries can cause brain degeneration, find UM SOM researchers

Most research on spinal cord injuries has focused on effects due to spinal cord damage and scientists have neglected the effects on brain function. University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have found for the first time that spinal cord injuries (SCI) can cause widespread and sustained brain inflammation that leads to progressive loss of nerve cells, with associated cognitive problems and depression.

17 Nov 2014

RI-MUHC-led study identifies new player in brain function and memory

Is it possible to change the amount of information the brain can store? Maybe, according to a new international study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC).

14 Nov 2014

Researchers edging closer to first ever stem cell transplants for people with Parkinson's disease

A major breakthrough in the development of stem cell-derived brain cells has put researchers on a firm path towards the first ever stem cell transplantations in people with Parkinson's disease. A new study presents the next generation of transplantable dopamine neurons produced from stem cells. These cells carry the same properties as the dopamine neurons found in the human brain.

7 Nov 2014

Researchers identify potential therapeutic target for glioblastoma

A multicenter team of researchers has identified an enzyme key to the survival and spread of glioblastoma cancer cells that is not present in healthy brain cells, making the enzyme a promising therapeutic target.

4 Nov 2014

Researchers discover link between seizures and migraines

Seizures and migraines have always been considered separate physiological events in the brain, but now a team of engineers and neuroscientists looking at the brain from a physics viewpoint discovered a link between these and related phenomena.

30 Oct 2014

UCI to receive $8 million from NIH to study brain cell activity in motor neuron disorders

UC Irvine will receive $8 million from the National Institutes of Health to establish one of six national centers dedicated to creating a database of human cellular responses that will accelerate efforts to develop new therapies for many diseases.

9 Oct 2014

U-M scientists launch $11.5 million effort to better understand cause of Parkinson's disease

Deep in the brains of the million Americans with Parkinson's disease, changes to their brain cells put them at high risk of dangerous falls -- a problem that resists even the most modern treatments.

7 Oct 2014

Salk researchers receive BRAIN Initiative funding

Joseph Ecker, a Salk professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and Margarita Behrens, Salk staff scientist, have been named recipients in the 2014 round of grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative for leading-edge work in neuroscience.

1 Oct 2014

UC Irvine study sheds light on cognitive losses

Brain inflammation can rapidly disrupt our ability to retrieve complex memories of similar but distinct experiences, according to UC Irvine neuroscientists Jennifer Czerniawski and John Guzowski.

15 Sep 2014

Study provides neural explanation for why some skills are easier to learn than others

Learning is easier when it only requires nerve cells to rearrange existing patterns of activity than when the nerve cells have to generate new patterns, a study of monkeys has found. The scientists explored the brain's capacity to learn through recordings of electrical activity of brain cell networks.

27 Aug 2014

Investigational drug focuses on slowing Alzheimer's disease progression

Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease currently have no treatment options to slow brain cell deterioration. Researchers at Houston Methodist's Nantz National Alzheimer Center are studying an investigational drug that proposes to do just that.

21 Aug 2014

NIH-funded study explores how thalamic reticular nucleus influences consciousness

Ever wonder why it's hard to focus after a bad night's sleep? Using mice and flashes of light, scientists show that just a few nerve cells in the brain may control the switch between internal thoughts and external distractions.

16 Aug 2014

New model provides insight into neurofunctional mechanisms of autism

An analysis of autism research covering genetics, brain imaging, and cognition led by Laurent Mottron of the University of Montreal has overhauled our understanding of why autism potentially occurs, develops and results in a diversity of symptoms.

13 Aug 2014

Study shows important benefits of applying vacuum pressure after brain injury

Controlled application of vacuum pressure is a promising approach to limiting tissue damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI), suggests an experimental study in the August issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

31 Jul 2014

Study finds microglia increase neuronal firing and enhance brain cell survival after injury

A type of immune cell widely believed to exacerbate chronic adult brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), can actually protect the brain from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, according to Cleveland Clinic research published today in the online journal Nature Communications.

22 Jul 2014

New discovery links two important hypotheses in Alzheimer's disease research

In Alzheimer's disease, accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain is believed to play an important role in many characteristic disease symptoms, including memory loss and other mental state changes.