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Martek's DHA algal oil reduces brain lesions in Alzheimer's animal model

Martek's proprietary DHA algal oil may slow the development of two brain lesions that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study featured in the April 18 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

18 Apr 2007

Omega-3 fatty acid may help prevent brain lesions

A type of omega-3 fatty acid may slow the growth of two brain lesions that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, UC Irvine scientists have discovered.

18 Apr 2007

Sensory-deprived brain compensates - increases its plasticity

Whiskers provide a mouse with essential information to negotiate a burrow or detect movement that could signal a predator's presence.

18 Apr 2007

New hope for spinal cord injury sufferers

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most significant forms of neurotrauma with major economic and social impact.

17 Apr 2007

Embryonic stem cells provide new tool for studying disease and identifying ALS drugs

Results of two studies funded by Project A.L.S. and appearing in the advance online publication of Nature Neuroscience demonstrate that embryonic stem cells may provide a new tool for studying disease mechanisms and for identifying drugs to slow ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

17 Apr 2007

Astrocytes may contribute to Lou Gehrig's disease

Two papers by Columbia and Harvard researchers report for the first time that astrocytes (the most abundant non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system), which carry a mutated gene known to cause some cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease), induce motor neuron death.

16 Apr 2007

Mapping rhesus macaque genome helps illuminate what makes us human

Researchers have sequenced the genome of the relatively ancient rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ), providing perspective into how humans are genetically different from our primate relatives.

15 Apr 2007

Men and women show different patterns of brain activity when viewing sexual stimuli

A study funded by the Atlanta-based Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) analyzed the viewing patterns of men and women looking at sexual photographs, and the result was not what one typically might expect.

15 Apr 2007

Understanding of primate evolution advanced

The completed DNA sequence of the rhesus macaque ,an Old World monkey, has advanced understanding of primate evolution and will enhance medical research in neuroscience, behavioral biology, reproductive physiology, endocrinology, heart and blood vessel disease and immunodeficiency, said scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Human Genome Sequencing Center who led the effort.

15 Apr 2007

Study reveals how illusions are produced in the brain's visual cortex

In a study that could help reveal how illusions are produced in the brain's visual cortex, researchers at the UCSD School of Medicine have found new evidence of rapid integration of auditory and visual sensations in the brain.

12 Apr 2007

Richard Mayeux wins AAN Potamkin prize for Alzheimer's research

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding the 2007 Potamkin Prize to Richard Mayeux, MD, MSc, Fellow of the AAN and co-director of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center in New York, for his research related to Alzheimer's disease.

12 Apr 2007

Analysis of Rhesus monkey genome provides new clues to primate biology

An international consortium of researchers has published the genome sequence of the rhesus macaque monkey and aligned it with the chimpanzee and human genomes.

12 Apr 2007

Gene finding could lead to new pathways for development of Alzheimer's therapeutics

Scientists have known for more than a decade that individuals with a certain gene are at higher risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

11 Apr 2007

Fragile X and Down syndrome appear to share common genetic cause

The two most prevalent forms of genetic mental retardation, Fragile X and Down syndromes, may share a common cause, according to researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine.

11 Apr 2007

Protecting brains of premature infants - new approach needed

A study of how the brain of a premature infant responds to injury has found vulnerabilities similar to those in the mature brain but also identified at least one significant difference, according to neuroscientists and neonatologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

11 Apr 2007

MIT model helps see how folds develop and decay in the cerebral cortex

Large mammals--humans, monkeys, and even cats--have brains with a somewhat mysterious feature: The outermost layer has a folded surface. Understanding the functional significance of these folds is one of the big open questions in neuroscience.

10 Apr 2007

UCLA research project targeting teens who leave home and their families

When emotions swell between teenager and parent, both sides sometimes say and do things they later wish they could take back.

7 Apr 2007

Stem cells offer new ways of treating hearing loss

Have you ever walked by someone listening to their i-Pod loud enough for you recognize the song? Studies have shown noise-induced hearing loss is going to become the next big epidemic affecting our younger generation though the effects won't show until it is too late to treat.

7 Apr 2007

Stanford technique directly controls brain cell activity with light

Every thought, feeling and action originates from the electrical signals emitted by diverse brain cells enmeshed in a tangle of circuits.

5 Apr 2007

New therapeutic target for Alzheimer's could lead to drugs without side effects

It's been 100 years since Alzheimer's disease was first described, and yet our best treatments in development for the disease are still highly toxic drugs.

5 Apr 2007