Neurons News and Research

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Astrocytes help reduce damaging effects of epilepsy

Epileptic fits are like thunderstorms raging in the brain: Nerve cells excite each other in an uncontrolled way so that strong, rhythmic electrical discharges sweep over whole brain regions. In the wake of such a seizure, the nerve cells are severely affected, and permanent damage is possible. The glia, a class of cells that surround the neurons in the brain, was long suspected to contribute to the damaging effects of epilepsy.

7 Aug 2012

Scientists discover biological marker that may help identify patients’ response to antidepressants

Scientists have discovered a biological marker that may help to identify which depressed patients will respond to an experimental, rapid-acting antidepressant. The brain signal, detectable by noninvasive imaging, also holds clues to the agent's underlying mechanism, which are vital for drug development, say National Institutes of Health researchers.

7 Aug 2012

Studies in mice reveal how mood-altering drugs may affect brain stem cells

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have figured out how stem cells found in a part of the brain responsible for learning, memory and mood regulation decide to remain dormant or create new brain cells. Apparently, the stem cells "listen in" on the chemical communication among nearby neurons to get an idea about what is stressing the system and when they need to act.

7 Aug 2012

Similar molecular pathways involved in intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes

Intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes involves similar molecular pathways report researchers in The EMBO Journal. The two disorders share disturbances in the molecular events that regulate the way nerve cells develop dendritic spines, the small extensions found on the surface of nerve cells that are crucial for communication in the brain.

3 Aug 2012

Anacardic acid can rescue some ALS phenotypes in vitro

A research group at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Japan's Kyoto University has successfully recapitulated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-associated abnormalities in motor neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) obtained from patients with familial ALS, a late-onset, fatal disorder which is also known for Lou Gehrig's disease. In a drug screening assay using the disease model, the team further found that the chemical compound anacardic acid can rescue some ALS phenotypes in vitro.

3 Aug 2012

B-cell substances may play a role in MS progression

Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers, working with colleagues in Canada, have found that one or more substances produced by a type of immune cell in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may play a role in the disease's progression. The finding could lead to new targeted therapies for MS treatment.

2 Aug 2012

Parkinson’s disease treatment: an interview with Ted Dawson

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder which usually affects people in their 60’s and older. It is caused by the loss of dopamine neurons in the brain leading to rigidity, slowness of movement, tremor, problems with balance and so forth.

31 Jul 2012

ATP1A3 gene mutations responsible for alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder that usually begins in infancy, with intermittent episodes of paralysis and stiffness, first affecting one side of the body, then the other. Symptoms mysteriously appear and disappear, again and again, and affected children often experience dozens of episodes per week. As they get older, children fall progressively behind their peers in both intellectual abilities and motor skills, and more than half develop epilepsy.

31 Jul 2012

Scientists identify new gene responsible for genetic form of blindness in newborns

One of the mysteries of blindness has been solved. A team of international scientists in collaboration with the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) identified a new gene responsible for Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a devastating genetic form of blindness in newborns.

30 Jul 2012

Study extends scientific understanding of how pheromones activate the vomeronasal organ

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is one of evolution's most direct enforcers. From its niche within the nose in most land-based vertebrates, it detects pheromones and triggers corresponding basic-instinct behaviors, from compulsive mating to male-on-male death matches. A new study from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, published online in Nature Neuroscience on July 29, 2012, extends the scientific understanding of how pheromones activate the VNO, and has implications for sensory transduction experiments in other fields.

30 Jul 2012

Researchers discover gene mutations in patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a very rare disorder that causes paralysis that freezes one side of the body and then the other in devastating bouts that arise at unpredictable intervals. Seizures, learning disabilities and difficulty walking are common among patients with this diagnosis.

30 Jul 2012

Cedars-Sinai to develop stem cell treatments for patients with ALS

Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute today was awarded a $17.8 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to develop stem cell treatments for patients with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, a progressive, fatal and currently incurable neurodegenerative disease.

30 Jul 2012

Ephrin-A5 blocks formation of new connections between neurons after stroke

Researchers at UCLA have identified a novel molecule in the brain that, after stroke, blocks the formation of new connections between neurons. As a result, it limits the brain's recovery. In a mouse model, the researchers showed that blocking this molecule-called ephrin-A5--induces axonal sprouting, that is, the growth of new connections between the brain's neurons, or cells, and as a result promotes functional recovery.

29 Jul 2012

Study shows how neurons in the brain select information needed to keep us in balance

If you have ever looked over the edge of a cliff and felt dizzy, you understand the challenges faced by people who suffer from symptoms of vestibular dysfunction such as vertigo and dizziness. There are over 70 million of them in North America. For people with vestibular loss, performing basic daily living activities that we take for granted (e.g. dressing, eating, getting in and out of bed, getting around inside as well as outside the home) becomes difficult since even small head movements are accompanied by dizziness and the risk of falling.

28 Jul 2012

Insomnia: an interview with Dr Darryle Schoepp

Insomnia is a very common disorder. In medical terms it can affect a third of people. It affects elderly as well as non-elderly people, and is more common in women.

26 Jul 2012

AAQ chemical temporarily restores vision in blind mice

A team of University of California, Berkeley, scientists in collaboration with researchers at the University of Munich and University of Washington in Seattle has discovered a chemical that temporarily restores some vision to blind mice, and is working on an improved compound that may someday allow people with degenerative blindness to see again.

26 Jul 2012

Mice have different neural subsystem associated with instinctually important smells

A new study finds that mice have a distinct neural subsystem that links the nose to the brain and is associated with instinctually important smells such as those emitted by predators. That insight, published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, prompts the question whether mice and other mammals have specially hardwired neural circuitry to trigger instinctive behavior in response to certain smells.

25 Jul 2012

Vanderbilt researchers receives new $2.1M grant to develop microbrain bioreactor

Take a millionth of a human brain and squeeze it into a special chamber the size of a mustard seed. Link it to a second chamber filled with cerebral spinal fluid and thread both of them with artificial blood vessels in order to create a microenvironment that makes the neurons and other brain cells behave as if they were in a living brain. Then surround the chambers with a battery of sensors that monitor how the cells respond when exposed to minute quantities of dietary toxins, disease organisms or new drugs under development.

25 Jul 2012

Synthetic triterpenoids block development of Parkinson's disease

A new and powerful class of antioxidants could one day be a potent treatment for Parkinson's disease, researchers report.

23 Jul 2012

Study on relationship between pain and higher brain functions

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston professor Volker Neugebauer has been awarded a four-year, $1.36 million grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to conduct an innovative study of the relationship between pain and parts of the brain associated with cognitive thought and emotional response.

20 Jul 2012

Neurons News and Research

Astrocytes help reduce damaging effects of epilepsy

Scientists discover biological marker that may help identify patients’ response to antidepressants

Studies in mice reveal how mood-altering drugs may affect brain stem cells

Similar molecular pathways involved in intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes

Anacardic acid can rescue some ALS phenotypes in vitro

B-cell substances may play a role in MS progression

Parkinson’s disease treatment: an interview with Ted Dawson

ATP1A3 gene mutations responsible for alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Scientists identify new gene responsible for genetic form of blindness in newborns

Study extends scientific understanding of how pheromones activate the vomeronasal organ

Researchers discover gene mutations in patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Cedars-Sinai to develop stem cell treatments for patients with ALS

Ephrin-A5 blocks formation of new connections between neurons after stroke

Study shows how neurons in the brain select information needed to keep us in balance

Insomnia: an interview with Dr Darryle Schoepp

AAQ chemical temporarily restores vision in blind mice

Mice have different neural subsystem associated with instinctually important smells

Vanderbilt researchers receives new $2.1M grant to develop microbrain bioreactor

Synthetic triterpenoids block development of Parkinson's disease

Study on relationship between pain and higher brain functions

Human iPSCs: A Full Guide to Advanced in Vitro Models and Applications eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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