Neurodegenerative Disease News and Research

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Researchers identify critical mechanism to improve survival and behavior of new brain cells

A specialized type of brain cell that tamps down stem cell activity ironically, perhaps, encourages the survival of the stem cells' progeny, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

11 Nov 2013

Oligomeric proanthocyanidin has protective effect on retinal ganglion cells, shows study

The death of retinal ganglion cells is a hallmark of many optic neurodegenerative diseases such as glaucoma and retinopathy. Oxidative stress is one of the major reasons to cause the cell death.

4 Nov 2013

Scientists find surprising degree of variation among genomes of individual neurons

It was once thought that each cell in a person's body possesses the same DNA code and that the particular way the genome is read imparts cell function and defines the individual. For many cell types in our bodies, however, that is an oversimplification.

4 Nov 2013

Prana's PBT2 effective in reversing memory, learning losses associated with aging process

Prana Biotechnology, a leading global developer of first-in-class treatments for neurodegenerative disease, has today announced the publication of an article in the peer reviewed Aging Cell showing the effects of PBT2 on neurogenesis and in reversing the memory and learning losses associated with the aging process, in normal (ie non transgenic) old mice.

31 Oct 2013

Cellectricon to demonstrate Cellaxess technology at Neuroscience 2013

Cellectricon, a leading provider of advanced cell-based screening technologies and services, will be presenting new data at Neuroscience 2013, 9-13 November, San Diego (USA).

From Cellectricon 31 Oct 2013

International researchers identify 11 new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease

An international group of researchers has identified 11 new genes that offer important new insights into the disease pathways involved in Alzheimer's disease. The highly collaborative effort involved scanning the DNA of over 74,000 volunteers-the largest genetic analysis yet conducted in Alzheimer's research-to discover new genetic risk factors linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of the disorder.

28 Oct 2013

Scientists find disparities in regulation of transposons between humans and non-human primate cells

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have, for the first time, taken chimpanzee and bonobo skin cells and turned them into induced pluripotent stem cells, a type of cell that has the ability to form any other cell or tissue in the body.

24 Oct 2013

Buck Institute finds link between ApoE4 and anti-aging protein targeted by resveratrol in red wine

he major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), present in about two-thirds of people who develop the disease, is ApoE4, the cholesterol-carrying protein that about a quarter of us are born with. But one of the unsolved mysteries of AD is how ApoE4 causes the risk for the incurable, neurodegenerative disease.

22 Oct 2013

Screening tool shows promise for Parkinson’s sleep disturbance

Researchers have developed a sleep questionnaire for screening the range of sleep disturbances experienced by patients with Parkinson’s disease.

21 Oct 2013

New approach could help identify specific gene mutations linked to increased disease risk

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new way to parse and understand how special proteins called "master regulators" read the genome, and consequently turn genes on and off.

13 Oct 2013

U.S. Research Will "Pay Dearly" For Shutdown, ASCB Warns

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9 Oct 2013

Study points to new pathways, targets for novel therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital-The Neuro, McGill University, have made important discoveries about a cellular process that occurs during normal brain development and may play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases.

9 Oct 2013

Scientists identify new drug for inherited form of cancer with no known cure

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a new drug candidate for an inherited form of cancer with no known cure.

3 Oct 2013

Three UC Irvine scientists receive prestigious 2013 NIH New Innovator Awards

UC Irvine scientists Aaron Esser-Kahn, Sunil Gandhi and Ali Mortazavi have been named recipients of the prestigious 2013 National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Awards.

1 Oct 2013

Biochemists discover promising vitamin D-based treatment that halts or reverse MS

A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a hard lot. Patients typically get the diagnosis around age 30 after experiencing a series of neurological problems such as blurry vision, wobbly gait or a numb foot. From there, this neurodegenerative disease follows an unforgiving course.

1 Oct 2013

Biochemists discover promising vitamin D-based treatment that can halt MS

A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is a hard lot. Patients typically get the diagnosis around age 30 after experiencing a series of neurological problems such as blurry vision, wobbly gait or a numb foot. From there, this neurodegenerative disease follows an unforgiving course.

29 Sep 2013

MGH researchers identify rare gene mutations that appear to cause late-onset AD

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have identified and validated two rare gene mutations that appear to cause the common form of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that strikes after the age of 60.

25 Sep 2013

Blood lipid marker may help predict risk for Parkinson's disease

A genetic mutation, known as GBA, that leads to early onset of Parkinson's disease and severe cognitive impairment (in about 4 to 7 percent of all patients with the disease) also alters how specific lipids, ceramides and glucosylceramides are metabolized. Mayo Clinic researchers have found that Parkinson's patients who do not carry the genetic mutation also have higher levels of these lipids in the blood. Further, those who had Parkinson's and high blood levels were also more likely to have cognitive impairment and dementia.

19 Sep 2013

Levels of certain fats in cerebral spinal fluid can predict patients with HIV, say scientists

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that levels of certain fats found in cerebral spinal fluid can predict which patients with HIV are more likely to become intellectually impaired.

12 Sep 2013

World's leading scientists to explore health benefits of Hydrogen Sulfide at conference

A gas associated with the smell of rotten of eggs is now being proven to have widespread health benefits. Hydrogen Sulfide is widely known as a poisonous and corrosive substance, but now a mounting body of evidence suggests it could be used in a wide range of treatments for some of the biggest health problems of our time. A conference hosted by the University of Exeter will bring together world-leading scientists to explore the emerging possibilities.

5 Sep 2013