Brain Cell News and Research

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Kavli Foundation applauds launch of new brain research initiative

The Kavli Foundation applauds today's launch by President Obama of his Administration's ambitious research effort to understand the brain by deciphering the brain's activity that gives rise to our perceptions, our experiences and our consciousness.

3 Apr 2013

New research shows surgical menopause increases cognitive decline and dementia

Women who abruptly and prematurely lose estrogen from surgical menopause have a two-fold increase in cognitive decline and dementia.

30 Mar 2013

Environmental enrichment increases endogenous cell migration, facilitates functional repair

A team of Korean researchers investigated whether "environmental enrichment" can improve the neurobehavioral function of six week-old mice after transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells to treat hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, and found that brain repair (neurogenesis) was aided in some animals through exercise-induced fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), a strong pro-angiogenic factor.

28 Mar 2013

Study provides important insight into how BMT treatment works in patients with MS

A new study by Multiple Sclerosis researchers at three leading Canadian centres addresses why bone marrow transplantation has positive results in patients with particularly aggressive forms of MS.

27 Mar 2013

Molecular biologist hopes to learn why degenerative disorder affects specific brain cells

Dr. Santosh D'Mello, professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of Texas at Dallas, has received a federal grant for research that may shed light on why and how specific brain cells are affected by Huntington's disease, a devastating, degenerative brain disorder.

27 Mar 2013

Study challenges role of serotonin in depression, opens possibilities for new therapies

A new study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine suggests that depression results from a disturbance in the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other.

19 Mar 2013

Iron imbalance caused by prion proteins leads to cell death in CJD, researchers find

An iron imbalance caused by prion proteins collecting in the brain is a likely cause of cell death in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found.

14 Mar 2013

New computer-based process helps diagnose conditions that lead to concussion-related injuries

Concussions can occur in sports and in combat, but health experts do not know precisely which jolts, collisions and awkward head movements during these activities pose the greatest risks to the brain. To find out, Johns Hopkins engineers have developed a powerful new computer-based process that helps identify the dangerous conditions that lead to concussion-related brain injuries.

13 Mar 2013

Researchers develop new approach to screening potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease

According to a 2012 World Health Organization report, over 35 million people worldwide currently have dementia, a number that is expected to double by 2030 (66 million) and triple by 2050 (115 million).

11 Mar 2013

Cleveland Clinic receives $1.97M NIMH grant for innovative autism research

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded $1.97 million for innovative autism research to Bruce Trapp, Ph.D., Chairman of Neurosciences at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute.

26 Feb 2013

Targeting p38alpha MAPK isoform can help treat CNS inflammatory diseases

A study by a leading Alzheimer's researcher at the University of Kentucky provides new evidence that will help researchers home in on the molecular mechanisms involved in inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) and aid drug-development strategies for treating inflammatory neurological diseases.

20 Feb 2013

Erbin protein critical to brain excitement

Scientists have found an early step in how the brain's inhibitory cells get excited. A natural balance of excitement and inhibition keeps the brain from firing electrical impulses randomly and excessively, resulting in problems such as schizophrenia and seizures. However excitement is required to put on the brakes.

31 Jan 2013

Study illuminates the response of dopaminergic neurons to changes in temperature

While the wooly musk ox may like it cold, fruit flies definitely do not. They like it hot, or at least warm. In fact, their preferred optimum temperature is very similar to that of humans-76 degrees F.

31 Jan 2013

Fifteen established scientists to receive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) announced the latest recipients of its highly competitive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants.

16 Jan 2013

Parkinson’s: an interview with Steve Ford, CEO of Parkinson’s UK

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that is caused when brain cells, that produce the chemical messenger dopamine, start to die.

24 Dec 2012

Dragonfly capable of higher-level thought processes when hunting its prey

In a discovery that may prove important for cognitive science, our understanding of nature and applications for robot vision, researchers at the University of Adelaide have found evidence that the dragonfly is capable of higher-level thought processes when hunting its prey.

20 Dec 2012

AC253 drug appears to restore memory in Alzheimer's brain cells

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a drug intended for diabetes appears to restore memory in Alzheimer's brain cells.

11 Dec 2012

Scientists identify key molecular pathway that leads to depression

Scientists have identified the key molecular pathway leading to depression, revealing potential new targets for drug discovery, according to research led by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry. The study, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, reveals for the first time that the 'Hedgehog pathway' regulates how stress hormones, usually elevated during depression, reduce the number of brain cells.

6 Dec 2012

Study describes 68 cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in athletes, military veterans

A study done by investigators at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, in collaboration with the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), describes 68 cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among deceased athletes and military veterans whose brain and spinal cords were donated to the VA CSTE Brain Bank.

4 Dec 2012

Specific combination of two pharmaceutical substances show promise against multiple sclerosis

A new substance class for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases now promises increased efficacy paired with fewer side effects. To achieve this, a team of scientists under the leadership of Prof. Gunter Fischer and Dr. Frank Striggow have combined two already approved pharmaceutical substances with each other using a chemical linker structure.

27 Nov 2012