Brain Cell News and Research

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fEITER imaging method reveals real time loss of consciousness in distinct brain regions

For the first time researchers have been able to watch what happens to the brain as it loses consciousness. Using sophisticated imaging equipment they have constructed a 3-D movie of the brain as it changes while an anaesthetic drug takes effect.

13 Jun 2011

Protein missing in fragile X syndrome acts as a molecular toggle switch in brain cells

New research shows how the protein missing in fragile X syndrome - the most common inherited form of intellectual disability - acts as a molecular toggle switch in brain cells.

10 Jun 2011

Platelet-derived growth factor-BB restores function in rats with Parkinson's disease

Few treatments for Parkinson's disease (PD) restore function for extended periods. In a new study published today in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, an international group of researchers report that platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) restored function in rodents and shows promise as a clinical candidate drug for treatment of PD.

10 Jun 2011

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

Scientists find neuronal cells die in Alzheimer's disease

In what they are calling a new direction in the study of Alzheimer's disease, UC Santa Barbara scientists have made an important finding about what happens to brain cells that are destroyed in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

8 Jun 2011

Scientists find way to protect kidney from cancer drug toxicity

Scientists may have a way to make the powerful cancer drug cisplatin less toxic to the kidneys and more effective against some cancers.

4 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

RegeneRx Thymosin beta 4 stimulates maturation of central nervous system progenitor cells

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that researchers have found that Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4), in a dose dependent manner, stimulates oligodendrogenesis, the process by which central nervous system progenitor cells become oligodendrocytes that secrete myelin, the covering of nerve fibers.

2 Jun 2011

Small noncoding RNA spurs Alzheimer's development

Researchers pinpoint a small RNA that spurs cells to manufacture a particular splice variant of a key neuronal protein, potentially promoting Alzheimer's disease or other types of neurodegeneration.

31 May 2011

Lactate shuttle also exists in human tumors

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have shed new light on the longstanding conundrum about what makes a tumor grow-and how to make it stop. Interestingly, cancer cells accelerate the aging of nearby connective tissue cells to cause inflammation, which ultimately provides "fuel" for the tumor to grow and even metastasize.

27 May 2011

Research provides new understanding of how heroin affects the brain

New research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health suggests that our understanding of how heroin affects the brain should be changed. A new report shows that heroin is metabolised to 6-MAM which then crosses the blood-brain barrier to cause the intoxicating effects that arise shortly after heroin administration.

27 May 2011

Naturally occurring plant alkaloids could help prevent, delay memory loss linked with Alzheimer's

A family of naturally occurring plant compounds could help prevent or delay memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

27 May 2011

'Survival protein' protects brain against effects of stroke

Johns Hopkins scientists say that a newly discovered "survival protein" protects the brain against the effects of stroke in rodent brain tissue by interfering with a particular kind of cell death that's also implicated in complications from diabetes and heart attack.

24 May 2011

Discovery of possible new strategy for treating neurologic disorders

23 May 2011

Multiple toxic mechanisms link elevated iron, copper levels in the brain and extensive DNA damage

No one knows the cause of most cases of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. But researchers have found that certain factors are consistently associated with these debilitating conditions.

21 May 2011

Electrical disturbances in injured brain lead to poor recovery

Electrical disturbances that spread through an injured brain like tsunamis have a direct link to poor recovery and can last far longer than previously realized, researchers at the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute have found.

20 May 2011

Novel gene associated with heart development and aging process

Researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) have identified a novel gene in the nucleus of muscle and brain cells that affects heart development and the aging process. Their investigation brings the promise of new treatments for an old, failing heart.

18 May 2011

Neurochemical basis for sleep deprivation's effects on memory

From high-school students to surgeons, anyone who has pulled an all-nighter knows there is a price to be paid the next day: trouble focusing, a fuzzy memory and other cognitive impairments. Now, researchers at Penn have found the part of the brain and the neurochemical basis for sleep deprivation's effects on memory.

18 May 2011

Evidence of damaged baby brains & inadequate anesthetic induced sleep: Conference updates

According to new studies commonly used anesthetics may be causing brain damage in people, especially babies who receive them while their brains are still developing.

15 May 2011

Brain Cell News and Research

fEITER imaging method reveals real time loss of consciousness in distinct brain regions

Protein missing in fragile X syndrome acts as a molecular toggle switch in brain cells

Platelet-derived growth factor-BB restores function in rats with Parkinson's disease

Smoking keeps weight off: Study finds out how

Lund researchers create nerve cells from human skin

Scientists find neuronal cells die in Alzheimer's disease

Scientists find way to protect kidney from cancer drug toxicity

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

RegeneRx Thymosin beta 4 stimulates maturation of central nervous system progenitor cells

Small noncoding RNA spurs Alzheimer's development

Lactate shuttle also exists in human tumors

Research provides new understanding of how heroin affects the brain

Naturally occurring plant alkaloids could help prevent, delay memory loss linked with Alzheimer's

'Survival protein' protects brain against effects of stroke

Discovery of possible new strategy for treating neurologic disorders

Multiple toxic mechanisms link elevated iron, copper levels in the brain and extensive DNA damage

Electrical disturbances in injured brain lead to poor recovery

Novel gene associated with heart development and aging process

Neurochemical basis for sleep deprivation's effects on memory

Evidence of damaged baby brains & inadequate anesthetic induced sleep: Conference updates

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