Nerve News and Research

RSS

Smoking keeps weight off: Study finds out how

The researchers have found that nicotine activates a pathway in the brain that suppresses appetite. The study was published in the journal Science. The authors believe this discovery should lead to better diet drugs.

9 Jun 2011

Lund researchers create nerve cells from human skin

A research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from human skin directly into brain cells, without passing through the stem cell stage. The unexpectedly simple technique involves activating three genes in the skin cells; genes which are already known to be active in the formation of brain cells at the foetal stage.

9 Jun 2011

Synaptophysin controls replacement of vesicles

A University of Wisconsin-Madison research team has solved a 25-year mystery that may lead to better treatments for people with learning deficits and mental retardation.

9 Jun 2011

Repligen total revenue increases 30% to $27,291,000 for fiscal year 2011

Repligen Corporation today reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011, ended March 31, 2011.

9 Jun 2011

Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy to launch first ever national PN research registry

What starts as burning, numbness, pain, and/or tingling in the feet, or hands in some can turn into a debilitating condition. Peripheral Neuropathy (PN), one of the largest and most common neurodegenerative disorders, affects more than 20 million Americans of all races and ethnic backgrounds.

9 Jun 2011

Adults with herpes zoster may face higher risk of multiple sclerosis

Taiwanese investigators have found that there can be a significantly higher risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) occurring in the year following a shingles, or herpes zoster, attack.

9 Jun 2011

Skin cell-derived CGRP-beta may cause chronic pain

A new study may explain why only 50% of patients experiencing chronic nerve pain achieve even partial relief from existing therapeutics. The study, published in the June 6 online version of the international research journal PAIN, reveals that certain types of chronic pain may be caused by signals from the skin itself, rather than damage to nerves within the skin, as previously thought.

9 Jun 2011

Key molecule of vascular system directs axons during neural circuit formation

Dr. Fr-d-ric Charron, researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM), and his team have shown for the first time that a key molecule of the vascular system directs axons during the formation of neural circuits.

9 Jun 2011

High-fat diet may cause brain nerve cell injury

Obesity among people who eat a high-fat diet may involve injury to neurons, or nerve cells, in a key part of the brain that controls body weight, according to the authors of a new animal study. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

9 Jun 2011

Autism caused by hundreds of different genetic mutations: Study

New research shows that autism is not caused by one or two gene defects but probably by hundreds of different mutations, many of which arise spontaneously. This comes from the study that has examined the genes of more than 1,000 families.

9 Jun 2011

New research on spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the leading genetic cause of death in children under 2, with no treatment other than supportive care. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston show how loss or mutation of the SMA gene causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness, and suggest a promising approach to treating the condition, sometimes referred to as a "Lou Gehrig's disease of babies."

8 Jun 2011

Apple peel reduces muscle atrophy and promotes muscle growth in mice

For Popeye, spinach was the key to extra muscle. For the mice in a new University of Iowa study, it was apples, or more precisely a waxy substance called ursolic acid that's found in apple peel.

8 Jun 2011

MicroDose completes atropine inhaler Phase I study on nerve agent poisoning

MicroDose Therapeutx Inc. today announced that its collaborators at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) have completed a Phase I study at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with atropine sulfate delivered from the MicroDose proprietary dry powder inhaler (DPI).

8 Jun 2011

Consumption of high-fat food causes more insulin to be released by the pancreas and leads to obesity

Fat-rich food makes you fat. Behind this simple equation lie complex signalling pathways, through which the neurotransmitters in the brain control the body's energy balance.

7 Jun 2011

Light exposure can enhance brain's visual circuits

Any parent knows that newborns still have a lot of neurological work to do to attain fully acute vision. In a wide variety of nascent animals, genes provide them with only a rough wiring plan and then leave it to the developing nervous system to do its own finish work.

6 Jun 2011

Weight loss following bariatric surgery may reduce risk of Alzheimer's

Obesity is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, but weight loss due to bariatric surgery may reduce the risk of this common dementia, a new study suggests. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

6 Jun 2011

Brown University researchers develop 2-D maps of neural circuitry in human brain

Medical imaging systems allow neurologists to summon 3-D color renditions of the brain at a moment's notice, yielding valuable insights. But sometimes there can be too much detail; important elements can go unnoticed.

4 Jun 2011

UCLA pediatric investigators earn top accolades at TTCF Faculty Presentation Awards

A new therapy for type 1 diabetes? A promising treatment for deadly viruses? Does a common treatment for children with severe infection actually cause more harm than good? These are important questions being investigated by pediatric researchers at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA.

4 Jun 2011

AxoGen, LecTec sign merger agreement

LecTec Corporation announced today that on May 31, 2011 it entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger ("Merger Agreement") with AxoGen Corporation, d/b/a AxoGen Inc., a privately held company focused on developing and commercializing medical products for the repair of peripheral nerve injuries.

3 Jun 2011

'Switching off' critical disease causing gene can reestablish Rett syndrome in adult animals

An IRSF funded study published today in the journal Science has shown that the childhood disorder Rett syndrome, can be reestablished in adult animals by "switching off" a critical disease causing gene in healthy adult animals.

3 Jun 2011