Neurodegenerative Disease News and Research

RSS

People with rare dementia may employ intact brain areas for help with language

People with a rare dementia that initially attacks the language center of the brain recruit other areas of the brain to decipher sentences, according to new research led by a University of Arizona cognitive scientist.

12 Apr 2018

Aberrant protein prevents self-cleaning of nerve cells in ALS

Scientists have discovered that TDP-43 interferes with lysosomal pathways responsible for its clearance and induces autophagy in ALS.

12 Apr 2018

Scientists find link between over-accumulation of mitochondrial iron and Huntington's disease

Scientists at the University of Wyoming have found that mice engineered to have Huntington's disease (HD) have an over-accumulation of iron in their mitochondria.

11 Apr 2018

The brain fights neurodegenerative diseases by shifting resources

The brain continues to put up a fight even as neurodegenerative diseases like dementia damage certain areas and functions. In fact, recent findings in a Baycrest-University of Arizona study suggest that one method the brain uses to counter these diseases is the reassigning of tasks to different regions.

11 Apr 2018

NEOMED professor awarded $2.5 million NIH grant for atherosclerosis research

Northeast Ohio Medical University researcher and professor of integrative medical sciences, Yanqiao Zhang, M.D., has received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, to study the role of hepatic transcription factors in lipid regulation, lipoprotein metabolism, and atherosclerosis, the most common form of cardiovascular disease.

4 Apr 2018

Researcher finds that shape of misfolded proteins may contribute to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease may have more in common than their effects on the functions of the brain and spinal cord. And finding that common thread could lead to a treatment that could work for all three.

2 Apr 2018

Simple bedside test may help doctors diagnose certain degenerative brain diseases

A simple bedside test that matches a change in heart rate with a drop in blood pressure after a patient stands may help doctors diagnose certain degenerative brain diseases.

28 Mar 2018

Stigma associated with Alzheimer's may prevent people from getting early diagnosis, treatment

Stigma associated with Alzheimer's disease may be an obstacle for individuals to seek information about their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and to participate in clinical studies that discover potential therapies.

27 Mar 2018

Researchers uncover cause of rare childhood neurodegenerative disease

Neurology researchers investigating a rare but devastating neurological regression in infants have discovered the cause: gene mutations that severely disrupt crucial functions in mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells.

23 Mar 2018

Researchers explain link between 2 key Alzheimer's proteins

It's a paradox of Alzheimer's disease: Plaques of the sticky protein amyloid beta are the most characteristic sign in the brain of the deadly neurodegenerative disease. However, many older people have such plaques in their brains but do not have dementia.

21 Mar 2018

Discovery of new ALS gene points to cytoskeleton as potential target for drug development

An international team of researchers led by John Landers, PhD, at UMass Medical School, and Bryan Traynor, MD, PhD, at the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health, has identified KIF5A as a new gene associated with the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

21 Mar 2018

International research consortium identifies 22 new genetic risk factors for stroke

An international research consortium studying 520,000 individuals from around the world has identified 22 new genetic risk factors for stroke, thus tripling the number of gene regions known to affect stroke risk.

13 Mar 2018

Study reveals key function of ALS-linked protein

The protein FUS, whose mutation or disruption causes many cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), works as a central component of one of the most important regulatory systems in cells, according to a new study in Molecular Cell from scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

8 Mar 2018

Individual damaged nerve cells cause neurodegenerative diseases

If the sense of smell disappears, this can indicate a disease such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. However, unlike previously assumed, general degenerations in the nervous system do not play a leading role in the loss of the sense of smell with increasing age, but individual nerve cells or classes of nerves are decisive.

7 Mar 2018

Research identifies new biomarkers for future dementia risk

Sudha Seshadri, M.D., founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, is co-leader and senior author on research announced March 6 that identifies novel biomarkers of risk for future dementia.

6 Mar 2018

The Neuro and Thermo Fisher Scientific team up to accelerate understanding of neurological disease

The Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University, a world-leading institution focused on brain research and advanced patient care, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, today announce an agreement designed to accelerate the understanding of neurological disease by focusing on about 30 proteins associated with Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), hereditary spastic paraplegias, epileptic encephalopathies and ataxias, which are all devastating brain diseases.

5 Mar 2018

UAB scientists explore gene therapy for frontotemporal dementia

Gene therapy has shown promise for treating a neurodegenerative disease known as frontotemporal dementia and a related condition called neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, according to new findings presented in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

1 Mar 2018

Father's age can affect offspring lifespan, mice study shows

How does the father's age at conception affect his children? Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease and fellow scientists have studied this question in mice.

20 Feb 2018

Therapeutic target for glaucoma could have treatment ramifications for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

A therapeutic target to preserve vision in glaucoma patients could have treatment ramifications for age-related neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, according to findings released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.