Neurodegenerative Disease News and Research

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Human gene expression mechanism opens new therapeutic strategies against neurological disease

In a study that could change the way scientists view the process of protein production in humans, University of Chicago researchers have found a single gene that encodes two separate proteins from the same sequence of messenger RNA.

4 Jul 2013

Gene therapy developed by UAB cures pediatric Sanfilippo Syndrome A in animal models

A single session of a gene therapy developed by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) cures Sanfilippo Syndrome A in animal models. This syndrome is a neurodegenerative disease that affects between 1 and 9 out of every 100,000 children, and causes the death of the child on reaching adolescence.

3 Jul 2013

Penn researchers find ALS disease progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern

The motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern which can be classified into four distinct stages, report pathologists with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the Annals of Neurology.

20 Jun 2013

MGH researchers discover CNVs in members of 10 families with early-onset Alzheimer's

Although a family history of Alzheimer's disease is a primary risk factor for the devastating neurological disorder, mutations in only three genes - the amyloid precursor protein and presenilins 1 and 2 - have been established as causative for inherited, early-onset Alzheimer's, accounting for about half of such cases.

18 Jun 2013

New technology could improve communication and daily life of paralyzed person

Small electrodes placed on or inside the brain allow patients to interact with computers or control robotic limbs simply by thinking about how to execute those actions. This technology could improve communication and daily life for a person who is paralyzed or has lost the ability to speak from a stroke or neurodegenerative disease.

12 Jun 2013

Researchers mobilize brain's native stem cells to replenish neuron lost in Huntington's disease

Researchers have been able to mobilize the brain's native stem cells to replenish a type of neuron lost in Huntington's disease.

7 Jun 2013

New approach in treating multiple sclerosis

In his article, "Pathoetiology of multiple sclerosis: are we barking up the wrong tree?", Peter K. Stys of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, argues that while the majority of the medical research community currently approaches MS as an autoimmune disease (much like Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis), for which the trigger is the immune system attacking a particular part of the nervous system, the features of the disease are equally well explained by approaching MS as a neurodegenerative disease (such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's), which is followed by an immune reaction to damage.

5 Jun 2013

Researchers reveal how disease mutations affect the stability and function of Parkin protein

Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the United Kingdom have determined the crystal structure of Parkin, a protein found in cells that when mutated can lead to a hereditary form of Parkinson's disease.

3 Jun 2013

Protein presenilin plays critical role in controlling neuronal traffic on microtubule highways

Imagine if you could open up your brain and look inside. What you would see is a network of nerve cells called neurons, each with its own internal highway system for transporting essential materials between different parts of the cell.

29 May 2013

Researchers identify mutations in new genes that might be associated with ALS disease

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified mutations in several new genes that might be associated with the development of spontaneously occurring cases of the neurodegenerative disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

27 May 2013

Research: Anti-cancer drug tested as possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease proved ineffective

An anti-cancer drug about to be tested in a clinical trial by a biomedical company in Ohio as a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease has failed to work with the same type of brain plaques that plague Alzheimer's patients, according to results of a study by University of Florida researchers.

24 May 2013

Cinnamon compounds show some promise in the effort to fight Alzheimer's disease

Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of -- or warding off -- the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

24 May 2013

Alzheimer's disease: Researchers find new drug to prevent, treat the disease

Researchers at USC have found that a class of pharmaceuticals can both prevent and treat Alzheimer's Disease in mice.

22 May 2013

Northwestern University scientists identify gene important to morning wake-up call

Northwestern University scientists have shown a gene involved in neurodegenerative disease also plays a critical role in the proper function of the circadian clock.

17 May 2013

Disease-in-a-dish models show promise for treating ataxia telangiectasia

Led by Dr. Peiyee Lee and Dr. Richard Gatti, researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have used induced pluripotent stem cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, ataxia telangiectasia.

13 May 2013

IDIBELL signs patent licensing agreement with Minoryx

The Bellvittge Biomedical Research Institute has signed a licensing agreement with the Spanish biotechnology company Minoryx of a patent for the treatment of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare serious neurodegenerative disease which has no effective treatment.

8 May 2013

Research discovery may lead to effective new treatments for neurodegenerative disease

UCLA researchers led by Drs. Peiyee Lee and Richard Gatti at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have used induced pluripotent stem cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, Ataxia Telangiectasia.

8 May 2013

NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals raises $6.4 million in private equity financing round

NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company developing breakthrough therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that it raised $6.4 million in a private equity financing round.

6 May 2013

High levels of blood cholesterol increase risk of AD and heart disease

Researchers at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that a single mechanism may underlie the damaging effect of cholesterol on the brain and on blood vessels.

16 Apr 2013

Weill Cornell Medical College sets up new Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute

Weill Cornell Medical College has established the new Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, a unique, multidisciplinary translational neuroscience research hub. Named in honor of long-time benefactors Gertrude and Louis Feil, the institute was created with a generous $28 million gift from the Feil Family.

9 Apr 2013