Central Nervous System News and Research

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University of Wisconsin-Madison professor receives 2020 John Dystel Prize for MS research

This year's John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research goes to Ian D. Duncan, a neuroscientist and Professor of Neurology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for groundbreaking research on how myelin (the protective nerve coating in the brain and spinal cord) is damaged, particularly in multiple sclerosis (MS), and how it may be repaired.

11 May 2020

Foxg1 gene works like a molecular knob to control neocortical activity

It works like a very fine "molecular knob" able to modulate the electrical activity of the neurons of our cerebral cortex, crucial to the functioning of our brain.

8 May 2020

Researchers discover molecular mechanism that helps HSV1 infect the brain

Herpes simplex virus (HSV1) infections are initiated at mucosal surfaces where the virus infects epithelial cells.

8 May 2020

New technique could revolutionize treatment for Alzheimer's, epilepsy, brain tumors

University of Virginia researchers are pioneering the use of focused ultrasound to defy the brain's protective barrier so that doctors could, at last, deliver many treatments directly into the brain to battle neurological diseases.

7 May 2020

Loss of smell may be related to neuroinvasive propensity of SARS-CoV-2

The novel coronavirus has rapidly infected millions over the world in over 187 countries and territories, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. One of the often-neglected and under-reported symptoms of the virus is the loss of the sense of smell or anosmia. Now, a new study out of Germany published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 provides a quantified estimate of the magnitude of anosmia as a symptom of the coronavirus.

4 May 2020

Study finds Lin28 as promising therapeutic target for central nervous system injuries

Like power lines in an electrical grid, long wiry projections that grow outward from neurons - structures known as axons - form interconnected communication networks that run from the brain to all parts of the body.

2 May 2020

Researchers receive ERC grant to speed up the diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis

Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is a disease that affects 2-3 people out of 100,000, in which our immune system attacks our own brain causing neurological and psychiatric symptoms.

28 Apr 2020

Seniors with COVID-19 show unusual symptoms, doctors say

Older adults with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have several "atypical" symptoms, complicating efforts to ensure they get timely and appropriate treatment, according to physicians.

24 Apr 2020

Combination therapy boosts the immune system's appetite for cancer

A combination of immunotherapy agents that encourages some immune cells to eat cancer cells and alert others to attack tumors put mice with a deadly type of brain cancer called glioblastoma into long-term remission, a new study led by UT Southwestern scientists suggests.

24 Apr 2020

New nanobiosensor can help diagnose early-stage multiple sclerosis

Researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos in Sorocaba have developed a technique to diagnose early-stage multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system, and distinguish it from neuromyelitis optica, a rare yet severe autoimmune inflammatory process also affecting the central nervous system.

23 Apr 2020

Specialized nerve cells promote the consumption of high-fat food

High-calorie, energy-dense foods are constantly available in our modern society. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne have discovered that a group of nerve cells in the brains of mice promotes the consumption of high-fat food.

22 Apr 2020

Study reveals potential therapeutic target for treating cocaine addiction

A new study explains how cocaine modifies functions in the brain revealing a potential target for therapies aimed at treating cocaine addiction.

22 Apr 2020

Antibodies against Imood could be potential treatment for OCD

Mental health conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder could be treated in a new way using drugs that target the immune system, research suggests.

21 Apr 2020

Study reveals new therapeutic options for multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is known as "the disease with a thousand faces" because symptoms and progression can vary dramatically from patient to patient.

20 Apr 2020

Potential new therapies for multiple sclerosis

In every MS patient cells of their body's own immune system migrate to the brain, where they destroy the myelin sheath.

20 Apr 2020

FAU scientists win $1.7 million NIH grant for research on neuroinflammation

Anxiety, depression and cognitive decline are prominent psychopathologies that together affect more than 40 million people in the United States.

20 Apr 2020

MIT researchers devise new way to remotely control hormone release

Abnormal levels of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are linked to a variety of mental health disorders, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

18 Apr 2020

New cyclic peptide enhances blood-brain barrier penetration

A Japanese research team has developed a cyclic peptide (a chain of amino acids bonded circularly) that enhances blood-brain barrier penetration.

17 Apr 2020

Review: The effect of probiotics in ameliorating altered CNS functions in neurological disorders

As per the WHO report, one in every four people are affected by a mental or neurological disorder at some point in their lives making mental disorders among the leading cause of ill-health and disability worldwide.

15 Apr 2020

Toxic cell atlas can guide discovery of new drugs for neurodegeneration

A common thread in many inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), is damage caused by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs when cells produce toxic substances known as reactive oxygen species, which are damaging nerve cells and other cells in the body.

13 Apr 2020