Nerve News and Research

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Stem cells, gene therapy and allograft applications show promise for treating orthopaedic conditions

Recent advances in gene therapy, stem cells and other promising applications are offering new hope for patients and helping orthopaedic surgeons provide state-of-the-art treatment for various frame-related conditions.

23 Mar 2006

Yale researchers shed new light on the mechanism of nerve cell growth

Researchers at Yale shed new light on the mechanism of nerve cell growth by identifying novel functions for a molecular "motor" protein, myosin-II, according to an article in Nature Cell Biology.

20 Mar 2006

Atorvastatin could prove an effective therapy for multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University Medical Center are reporting compelling new evidence that the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin could prove an effective therapy for preventing the progression of, and reversing the severity of, multiple sclerosis (MS).

20 Mar 2006

Researcher identifies the cellular receptor for botulinum neurotoxin A

Botulinum neurotoxin A can be either the greatest wrinkle remover or one of the world's most potent biological weapons. To perform either job, however, the toxin must first find a way to enter cells.

20 Mar 2006

Discovery of substance in the brain that is proven to cause memory loss

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center have for the first time identified a substance in the brain that is proven to cause memory loss.

19 Mar 2006

Protein complex in brain may be key to Alzheimer's

Scientists in the U.S. say they have discovered a substance in the brain of mice that causes memory loss; they believe the discovery gives drug developers a target for creating drugs to treat memory loss in people with dementia.

16 Mar 2006

Valproic acid may help slow the progression of dementia

Researchers have found that a common anticonvulsant drug improved cognitive function and appeared to restore nerve cells in the brains of patients with HIV-related dementia. The results of the Phase I clinical trial are published in the March issue of the scientific journal Neurology.

14 Mar 2006

Third U.S. case of mad cow disease

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture routine tests have revealed a third U.S. case of mad cow disease.

13 Mar 2006

Scientists exploit novel route to reverse enlarged hearts in obese mice

Working on genetically engineered obese mice with seriously thickened hearts, a condition call cardiac hypertrophy, scientists at Johns Hopkins have used a nerve protection and growth factor on the heart to mimic the activity of the brain hormone leptin, dramatically reducing the size of the heart muscle.

13 Mar 2006

New approach to preventing recurrent febrile seizures in vulnerable children

It's one of those unavoidable facts of life - kids get sick and have fevers. Usually, those elevated internal temperatures cause only temporary discomfort, but in some small children they spark convulsions called "febrile seizures."

13 Mar 2006

New AF267B drug reverses key cognitive deficits, pathology in Alzheimer's

A new drug that enhances the activity of a key brain cell receptor involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) reverses learning and memory deficits in mice engineered to have pathological hallmarks of the disease.

13 Mar 2006

Positive effects of tight blood glucose control can be seen more than a decade later in diabetics

People with diabetes who keep their blood sugar in check today will probably have a far lower chance of developing foot pain or other nerve damage tomorrow, according to new research results from a national study.

9 Mar 2006

Thalidomide, Lenalidomide show promise against Lou Gehrig's disease

New animal research suggests that two well-studied drugs, thalidomide and its derivative, lenalidomide, might extend the survival of patients with the neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

9 Mar 2006

Rheumatoid arthritis does not increase risk of hearing loss

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that people with rheumatoid arthritis are no more likely to have hearing loss than other members of the general population.

9 Mar 2006

Penn researchers study link between potassium and sodium channels aiming at new treatments for neurological diseases

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered the mechanism that facilitates how two ion channels collaborate in the control of electrical signals in the brain.

9 Mar 2006

Important milestone in understanding the neural circuitry that coordinates walking movements

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an important circuit in the spinal cord that controls the speed with which our leg muscles contract and relax.

9 Mar 2006

G protein-coupled receptors cool passion of 'kiss and run' nerve cells

A new subtlety in the process of how the body's nervous system relays information may hinge on how "wet" the "kiss" is when one neuron fires a packet of neurotransmitter across a synapse to a receptive nerve cell.

9 Mar 2006

Cornell develops technique for making living, functional cells glow

The development gives researchers insights into how hearts develop in living mouse embryos and could improve our understanding of irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias, as well as open doors to observing cellular processes to better understand basic physiology and disease.

9 Mar 2006

MS sufferers lobby for return of Tysabri

Despite the deaths of two people among the thousands treated with a promising multiple sclerosis drug, MS patients are trying to persuade the U.S. government to allow the drug back onto the market.

8 Mar 2006

Will the FDA rise to the occasion and admit their natalizumab mistake?

When Anita Louise Smith enrolled in an experimental drug trial in 2002 in Colorado, she had a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis but no symptoms and was looking to reduce the chances of being ravaged by the disease.

7 Mar 2006