Neurodegenerative Disease News and Research

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Rochester receives $1M FDA, BDRSA grant to begin first controlled clinical trial in Juvenile Batten disease

After years of building hope for a treatment, Rochester researchers and clinicians will begin the first controlled clinical trial for Juvenile Batten disease this summer, thanks to $1 million in grants from the Food and Drug Administration and the Batten Disease Support and Research Association.

1 Jun 2011

ENS, SSIF announce prestigious award to recognize excellence in medical education

Serono Symposia International Foundation (SSIF) has announced today a public competition for an Award to recognise an expert in the field of neurology who has made a significant contribution to medical education activities through research and dedication.

30 May 2011

Elan, Proteostasis create innovative drug discovery initiative for neurodegenerative disorders

Proteostasis Therapeutics and Elan Corporation today announced a strategic business relationship to advance Proteostasis' platform for the discovery and development of disease-modifying, small molecule drugs and diagnostics for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's, Huntington's, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and a broad array of dementia-related diseases including Alzheimer's.

25 May 2011

Multiple toxic mechanisms link elevated iron, copper levels in the brain and extensive DNA damage

No one knows the cause of most cases of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. But researchers have found that certain factors are consistently associated with these debilitating conditions.

21 May 2011

Repligen receives approval from FDA to commence RG3039 Phase 1 trial in Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Repligen Corporation announced today that it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of RG3039, a potential treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

19 May 2011

UCSD scientists discover steroid hormone that inhibits brain inflammation

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a steroid hormone that inhibits inflammation in the brain. The findings, to be published in the May 13 issue of the journal Cell, have implications for understanding the exaggerated inflammatory responses that are characteristic features of numerous neurodegenerative diseases.

13 May 2011

Conference to discuss process of synaptic plasticity in Alzheimer's disease

Optimal functioning of neural networks is critical to the complex cognitive processes of memory, language, emotion and reasoning that deteriorate in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

12 May 2011

Being mildly overweight benefits ALS patients

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, may be an exception to the rule that being overweight is a health hazard. In a retrospective study of over 400 ALS patients, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers found that those who were mildly obese survived longer than patients who were normal weight, underweight or even overweight.

12 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

Proteostasis acquires Harvard University's two novel protein target licenses

Proteostasis Therapeutics announced today that it has acquired two exclusive licenses from Harvard University to technologies for enhancing the activity of a key cellular protein clearance mechanism, the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.

27 Apr 2011

Repligen anticipates 30% increase in total revenues for 2011

Repligen Corporation today announced preliminary financial results for fiscal year 2011 which ended March 31, 2011. Total revenue for the year is expected to be $27.3 million compared to $21.0 million in the prior fiscal year, an increase of 30%.

21 Apr 2011

Person's inability to understand sarcasm and lies can be a warning sign of dementia

By asking a group of older adults to analyze videos of other people conversing -- some talking truthfully, some insincerely -- a group of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has determined which areas of the brain govern a person's ability to detect sarcasm and lies.

16 Apr 2011

New insights into dynamics of amyloid fibrils

A research study, published yesterday in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, demonstrates that the aggregation of amyloid-beta proteins into amyloid fibrils characteristic of Alzheimer's disease is not irreversible, as previously thought.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists discover unknown function of dopamine in brain

A study of the salamander brain has led researchers at Karolinska Institutet to discover a hitherto unknown function of the neurotransmitter dopamine. In an article published in the scientific journal Cell Stem Cell they show how in acting as a kind of switch for stem cells, dopamine controls the formation of new neurons in the adult brain. Their findings may one day contribute to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's.

8 Apr 2011

Researchers study role of acetylation in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined that a well-known chemical process called acetylation has a previously unrecognized association with one of the biological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The findings were published in the latest issue of Nature Communications.

1 Apr 2011

Early symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be revealed in dream sleep

During a large-scale study of the socioeconomic costs of this neurodegenerative disease, Danish researchers, some from the University of Copenhagen, discovered that very early symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be revealed in dream or REM sleep.

28 Mar 2011

Protein folding may aid in developing new therapies for brain diseases

Misfold an origami swan and the worst that happens is you wind up with an ugly paper duckling. Misfold one of the vital proteins in your body - each of which must be folded in a particular way to perform its function - and the result can be a debilitating neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's or Huntington's.

16 Mar 2011

Scientists develop new model for neurodegenerative disease

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has developed a new model for how inherited genes contribute to a common but untreatable and incurable neurodegenerative disease.

10 Mar 2011

hUCBs and MenSCs transplant may offer future therapeutic benefit for AD, stroke, ALS

Transplanting stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood cells and menstrual blood cells may offer future therapeutic benefit for those suffering from stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, says a team of neuroscience researchers from the University of South Florida's Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and collaborators from three private-sector research groups, Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., Tampa, FL, Cryo-Cell International, Inc., Oldsmar, FL, and Cryopraxis, Cell Praxis, BioRio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

8 Mar 2011

Novel gene therapy can promote removal of amyloid plaques and prevent Alzheimer's disease

Gene therapy that boosts the ability of brain cells to gobble up toxic proteins prevents development of Alzheimer's disease in mice that are predestined to develop it, report researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the treatment - which is given just once - could potentially do the same in people at the beginning stages of the disease.

5 Mar 2011