Neural Stem Cells News and Research

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Study reveals new therapeutic target for pediatric tumor-associated intractable epilepsy

Pediatric brain tumors are characterized by frequent complications due to intractable epilepsy compared to adult brain tumors. However, the genetic cause of refractory epilepsy in pediatric brain tumors has not been elucidated yet, and it is difficult to treat patients because the tumors do not respond to existing antiepileptic drugs and debilitate children's development.

19 Sep 2018

Zika virus vaccine shows promise for treatment of fatal glioblastoma

An international team of researchers has successfully deployed a Zika virus vaccine to target and kill human glioblastoma brain cancer stem cells, which had been transplanted into mice.

18 Sep 2018

Researchers unravel how Zika virus manipulates the human immune system

Macrophages are immune cells that are supposed to protect the body from infection by viruses and bacteria. Yet Zika virus preferentially infects these cells. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have now unraveled how the virus shuts down the genes that make macrophages function as immune cells.

11 Sep 2018

Study identifies intrinsic cell properties that influence fate of neural stem cells

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have identified intrinsic cell properties that influence the fate of neural stem cells, affecting what type of brain cell they will form: neurons, astrocytes, or oligodendrocytes.

7 Sep 2018

Researchers discover how a protein complex safeguards against certain brain tumors

Researchers have discovered how a molecule can help prevent certain types of brain tumors by recognizing and 'disarming' harmful proteins that cause them.

5 Sep 2018

Research reveals noise-canceling mechanisms in developmental biology

Noise is usually considered a nuisance, for example when preventing us from clearly hearing what someone is saying. The general concept of noise applies more broadly. In biology, the physical differences between organisms of the same type, for example two humans, originate from so-called developmental noise -- ultimately stemming from probabilistic collisions between reacting molecules and environmental conditions in cells during the early stages of the organism's growth.

4 Sep 2018

Single neuron in fruit fly triggers new behavior and also suppresses antagonistic behavior

In the fruit fly, a single pair of brain neurons command backward locomotion in both larvae and adults, researchers report.

23 Aug 2018

Neural stem cells are the key to tail regeneration

Cut off a salamander's tail and, in a few weeks, a near-perfect replacement grows. Do the same to a lizard and a new tail will regrow, but it won't be the same as the original. By comparing tail regeneration between the two animals, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that stem cells in the spinal cord are the ultimate limiting factor.

14 Aug 2018

Alzheimer’s-in-a-dish model made better with microfluidic system

Researchers from Massachusetts have used a microfluidic device to incorporate neuroinflammation into the Alzheimer's-in-a-dish model for drug discovery.

31 Jul 2018

Targeting mossy cells may offer new strategy for treating brain disorders

A small population of brain cells deep in a memory-making region of the brain controls the production of new neurons and may have a role in common brain disorders, according to a study from scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

27 Jul 2018

Promising approach to stem cell therapy for treating Parkinson's disease

A major factor underlying Parkinson's Disease pathology is the loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, and thus current therapies often aim to restore dopamine signaling. However, these treatments are not curative.

24 Jul 2018

Novel, stem cell-based model mimics mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists in Dresden, Germany, have been successful in mimicking mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease in a novel, stem cell-based model system that reproduces features of human brain tissue.

3 Jul 2018

Discovery may be key to directly reprogram non-neuronal cells into neurons

It was already in 2012 that a team of scientists headed by Professor Benedikt Berninger first succeeded in reprogramming connective tissue cells present in the brain into neurons.

2 Jul 2018

City of Hope receives $3.7 million from CIRM to develop phase 1 glioblastoma trial

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine board has awarded City of Hope $3.7 million to develop a phase 1 clinical trial for glioblastoma patients that will genetically engineer their stem cells to better tolerate chemotherapy's side effects, allowing them to receive higher doses of the therapy.

30 Jun 2018

Study provides insight into development of autism in the human brain

In a study published in Stem Cell Reports, a McGill team of scientists led by Dr. Carl Ernst, researcher at the Douglas Hospital Research Centre, revealed a molecular mechanism that may play a role in the development of autism.

27 Jun 2018

Researchers invent medical device for proliferation, differentiation of neural stem cells

The research team of Hong Kong Baptist University invented a medical device with a specific nanotechnology layer for the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in vitro.

20 Jun 2018

New research provides clues into development of mammalian cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex-;the brain's epicenter of high-level cognitive functions, such as memory formation, attention, thought, language and consciousness-;has fascinated neuroscientists for centuries.

8 Jun 2018

Researchers reveal stimulatory effects of myelin on young neural cells

Recovery after severe spinal cord injury is notoriously fraught, with permanent paralysis often the result. In recent years, researchers have increasingly turned to stem cell-based therapies as a potential method for repairing and replacing damaged nerve cells.

24 May 2018

Flow of cerebrospinal fluid found to be key signal for neural stem cell renewal

Stem cells in the brain can divide and mature into neurons participating in various brain functions, including memory.

21 May 2018

Scientists successfully graft neural precursor cells into spinal cords of syngeneic pigs with no immunosuppression

A major hurdle to using neural stem cells derived from genetically different donors to replace damaged or destroyed tissues, such as in a spinal cord injury, has been the persistent rejection of the introduced material, necessitating the use of complex drugs and techniques to suppress the host's immune response.

10 May 2018