Brain Cell News and Research

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Study offers hints to why Parkinson's so selectively harms dopamine-producing cells

New data offer hints to why Parkinson's disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

13 May 2011

New method for mapping myelin sheaths of nerve cells

Researchers including members from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new method for making detailed X-ray images of brain cells.

13 May 2011

16-year-old uses supercomputing network to invent new drug cocktail for cystic fibrosis

While many 16-year-olds are content with PlayStation, Toronto-area student Marshall Zhang used the Canadian SCINET supercomputing network to invent a new drug cocktail which could one day help treat cystic fibrosis.

11 May 2011

MGH, Duke University and Angion Biomedica partner to develop novel therapeutics for ischemic stroke

Angion Biomedica Corp. announced today the establishment of an alliance with Duke University and Massachusetts General Hospital to pursue advanced development and clinical studies of its lead therapeutics for treatment of ischemic stroke.

10 May 2011

Survey: Only 12% of black stroke patients call 9-1-1 after experiencing symptoms

Most African-Americans say they'd call 9-1-1 if stroke symptoms occurred — but few do, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

6 May 2011

Scientists use new technologies to identify genetic cause of Kufs disease

Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and the University of Melbourne have used innovative new technologies to identify the gene responsible for a rare but fatal hereditary brain disorder. The discovery will make it possible to diagnose the disease through a blood test rather than a brain biopsy.

6 May 2011

Busy brain cells can both contribute to and prevent Alzheimer's

Higher levels of cell chatter boost amyloid beta in the brain regions that Alzheimer's hits first, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. Amyloid beta is the main ingredient of the plaque lesions that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's.

3 May 2011

New non-invasive device can measure brain's precise temperature

Doctors have long sought a way to directly measure the brain's temperature without inserting a probe through the skull. Now researchers have developed a way to get the brain's precise temperature with a device the diameter of a poker-chip that rests on a patient's head, according to findings presented May 1 at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Denver.

3 May 2011

New control point for suppressing cancer cell growth

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have discovered new details of how cancer cells escape from tumor suppression mechanisms that normally prevent these damaged cells from multiplying. They also demonstrated a potential link between this cell proliferation control mechanism and the cognitive deficits caused by Down syndrome.

28 Apr 2011

Biologists determine molecular structure of GluN2D receptor subunit

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in collaboration with colleagues at Emory University have determined the molecular structure of a key portion, or subunit, of a receptor type commonly expressed in brain cells.

27 Apr 2011

New discoveries in stem-cell technology

A scientist at the Gladstone Institutes has made two significant stem-cell discoveries that advance medicine and human health by creating powerful new approaches for using stem cells and stem-cell-like technology.

26 Apr 2011

Simple, obvious and obscure ways to keep minds sharp and brains healthy

From a glance at the magazine stands, Americans appear obsessed with losing weight, cutting their cardiac risks and seeking to improve their odds against cancer. But where's the focus on brain health?

25 Apr 2011

Mindfulness meditation may enhance mental abilities

The positive effects of mindfulness meditation on pain and working memory may result from an improved ability to regulate a crucial brain wave called the alpha rhythm.

22 Apr 2011

EPO doping drug can reduce cerebral malaria related deaths

Almost 3.3 billion people, half of the world's population, risk being infected with malaria. Despite having effective means against malaria, the WHO reports 250 million cases of malaria each year and more than 700,000 related deaths. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have now discovered that EPO, the doping drug known from professional cycling, can significantly reduce cerebral malaria related deaths.

22 Apr 2011

Scientists discover 'small molecule' substance that blocks cholesterol formation in the brain

A needle-in-the-haystack search through nearly 390,000 chemical compounds had led scientists to a substance that can sneak through the protective barrier surrounding the brain with effects promising for new drugs for Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. They report on the substance, which blocks formation of cholesterol in the brain, in the journal, ACS Chemical Biology.

21 Apr 2011

RCSI conducts study to examine psychiatric disorders in people with epilepsy

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, have conducted the first study of its kind to examine in detail, the basis of psychiatric disorders which occur in people with epilepsy.

20 Apr 2011

Scientists detect several biomarkers to screen active drugs for Batten disease

Goethe University and Harvard Medical School start screening for active ingredients for the treatment of Batten disease

20 Apr 2011

Anti-depressants spur creation and survival of new brain cells after brain injury

Anti-depressants may help spur the creation and survival of new brain cells after brain injury, according to a study by neurosurgeons at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

19 Apr 2011

Novel lifestyle program may slow loss of brain cells due to aging and also grow new cells

In March, more than 80 residents at Emeritus at Ocoee, an assisted living and memory care community in Central Florida, began a new and highly promising research-based Brain Health Lifestyle Program which was designed to not only slow the loss of brain cells due to aging, but also grow new cells.

18 Apr 2011

Intellectual disability may have genetic origin, but is not hereditary

Mutations in a group of genes associated with brain activity frequently cause intellectual disability, according to a study led by scientists affiliated with the University of Montreal and the research centre at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine. Intellectual disability is a severe handicap that affects between one and two percent of children worldwide. It can often be attributed to genetic causes, but the specific genes involved were mostly unknown.