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Big differences in depressed brains

Depressed people may have far fewer of the receptors for some of the brain's "feel good" stress-response chemicals than non-depressed people, new University of Michigan Depression Center research shows.

8 May 2008

Males and females have essentially unisex brains - at least in flies!

Research by Yale scientists shows that males and females have essentially unisex brains - at least in flies - according to a recent report in Cell designed to identify factors that are responsible for sex differences in behavior.

30 Apr 2008

Cell-based therapy shows promise in patients with Parkinson's disease

Rush University Medical Center neurosurgeon Dr. Roy A. E. Bakay and colleagues from Emory University, Atlanta found the therapy Spheramine was well-tolerated and patients experienced improvement in Parkinsonian symptoms (tremor, rigidity, slowness of movements, and impaired balance and coordination.)

28 Apr 2008

Scientists find distinct kind of stem cells in the pituitary gland

A team of researchers led by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have for the first time identified stem cells that allow the pituitary glands of mice to grow even after birth.

28 Apr 2008

Study looks at anesthetic desflurane and Alzheimer's

In studies of human brain cells, the widely-used anesthetic desflurane does not contribute to increased production of amyloid-beta protein; however, when combined with low oxygen conditions, it can produce more of this Alzheimer's associated protein.

27 Apr 2008

Pin1 is beneficial in Alzheimer's disease, detrimental to some forms of dementia

The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and a relatively rare hereditary form of dementia, frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17, share a common pathology: Both are the result of an overaccumulation of tau proteins, which form tangled lesions in the brain's neurons and eventually lead to the collapse of the brain cells responsible for memory.

22 Apr 2008

Discovery of molecular link between Alzheimer's disease and amyloid plaques

According to estimates there are 85,000 Alzheimer patients in our country and approximately 20,000 new cases every year. This spectacular increase is due to the increasing ageing population. Unfortunately it is still unclear precisely which ageing process forms the basis of this spectacular rise in the occurrence of the disease.

22 Apr 2008

Constraint induced therapy causes increase in gray matter

A rehabilitation therapy developed by a UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) neuroscientist produces changes in the structure of the brain, the first evidence of actual brain remodeling resulting from a rehabilitation therapy.

17 Apr 2008

Study suggests that antidepressants could also be used for the treatment of amblyopia

In the April 18 issue of Science, scientists from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy and the Neuroscience Centre at the University of Helsinki, Finland, provide new information about the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs.

17 Apr 2008

Wild Mediterranean plant provides potential anticancer medicines

A group of scientists from the Department of Organic Chemistry and the Biotechnology Institute of the University of Granada have found out that the plant “Dittirichia viscose”, known as elecampe, can be used to obtain inhibitors of neurogenic vasodilatation, a significant progress in migraine and cancer treatments.

17 Apr 2008

2nd Alzheimer's vaccine by AFFiRiS

The Viennese biotech company Affiris is today taking stock of the progress achieved to date in its clinical Alzheimer's vaccination programme. All the Alzheimer's patients treated so far as part of the toxicological trials have tolerated the treatment extremely well. As a result, Affiris is among the leading international centres in the race to develop the first causal immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease.

17 Apr 2008

Elevated levels of antioxidant urate may slow Parkinson's progression

Naturally elevated levels of the antioxidant urate may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease in men. Researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) examined data from an earlier study and found that, among recently diagnosed Parkinson's patients, those with the highest urate levels had a significantly slower rate of disease progression during the two-year study period.

15 Apr 2008

Blood urate levels associated with the progression of Parkinson's disease

Higher blood levels of the compound urate, a salt derived from uric acid that is associated with gout, may be associated with a slower progression of Parkinson's disease, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the June 2008 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

15 Apr 2008

Phytochemical-rich foods effective at reversing age-related deficits in memory

If you are getting forgetful as you get older, then a research team from the University of Reading and the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England may have good news for you.

11 Apr 2008

Researchers close in on origins of main ingredient of Alzheimer's plaques

The ability of brain cells to take in substances from their surface is essential to the production of a key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

10 Apr 2008

How protein sludge accumulates in Alzheimer's

Researchers have identified a key mechanism by which the protein sludge that kills brain cells accumulates in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

10 Apr 2008

Depressives at an increase risk for Alzheimer's

According to researchers in Holland people who are depressed are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

9 Apr 2008

Identification of dopamine 'mother cells' could lead to future Parkinson's treatments

'Mother cells' which produce the neurons affected by Parkinson's disease have been identified by scientists, according to new research published in the journal Glia.

8 Apr 2008

Satoris enters collaboration to validate early Alzheimer's test

Satoris, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company focused on developing blood-based tests for Alzheimer ' s disease, will shortly begin a collaborative study with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (Mayo Clinic) to validate the utility of plasma biomarkers for early detection of mild to moderate Alzheimer ' s disease.

2 Apr 2008

Eli Lilly starts trial of treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease

Eli Lilly and Company has announced the start of a Phase III clinical trial studying LY450139, an investigational gamma secretase inhibitor for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

1 Apr 2008