Brain Cell News and Research

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Researcher identify specific cell that causes eye cancer, disproving long-held theory

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified the cell that gives rise to the eye cancer retinoblastoma, disproving a long-standing principle of nerve growth and development.

19 Oct 2007

Ability to cope with stress, depression linked to variations in brain structure and function

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in mice that the ability or inability to cope with stress is linked to specific differences in the way brain cells communicate with each other.

19 Oct 2007

Connection between expression of clock genes and sleep

Genes responsible for our 24 hour body clock influence not only the timing of sleep, but also appear to be central to the actual restorative process of sleep, according to research published in the online open access journal BMC Neuroscience.

18 Oct 2007

Existing drugs may be useful in treating brain tumors

Scientists have shown how developing brain tumors can turn an encounter with a signaling molecule from a fatal experience for the tumor cells into a cue for their own growth and multiplication.

17 Oct 2007

Blood modulates how neurons process information

MIT scientists propose that blood may help us think, in addition to its well-known role as the conveyor of fuel and oxygen to brain cells.

17 Oct 2007

Discovery of new area for exploration of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because of a problem in an intermittent on/off switch for a gene involved in making a key chemical messenger in the brain, scientists have found in a study of human brain tissue.

17 Oct 2007

Brain cell growth diminishes long before old age strikes, animal study shows

Even early in adulthood, aging begins to slow the mind's growth -- but it does not have to stop it altogether, suggests a Princeton University study on the brains of adult monkeys.

17 Oct 2007

Optical coherence tomography helps track multiple sclerosis

A five-minute eye exam might prove to be an inexpensive and effective way to gauge and track the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis, potentially complementing costly magnetic resonance imaging to detect brain shrinkage - a characteristic of the disease's progression.

16 Oct 2007

Researchers reveal repressor protein blocks neural stem cell development

A protein known to repress gene transcription at the molecular level in a variety of processes also blocks embryonic neural stem cells from differentiating into neurons, according to a study by University of California, San Diego and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers published online October 10 in Nature.

10 Oct 2007

Potential new treatment for Huntington's disease found

MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegererative Disorders (MIND) researchers have identified a compound that may lead to a treatment that could protect against the effects of Huntington's Disease (HD).

9 Oct 2007

Researchers restore memory process in fragile X syndrome

University of California, Irvine scientists have discovered how to reverse the learning and memory problems inherent in the most common form of mental impairment.

8 Oct 2007

New findings on cholesterol metabolism in the brain and Alzheimer's disease

Although the causes of Alzheimer's disease are not completely understood, amyloid-beta (A-beta) is widely considered a likely culprit - the "sticky" protein clumps into plaques thought to harm brain cells.

4 Oct 2007

Mutation in a single gene can cause epilepsy in infants

New research from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne has shown why mutation in a single gene can cause epilepsy in infants.

4 Oct 2007

Linking two molecular pieces may offer new approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have uncovered a biological link between the protein whose mutation causes early-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a gene variant linked to late-onset AD.

4 Oct 2007

Antibiotic Minocycline shows potential as stroke treatment

People treated with the drug minocycline within six to 24 hours after a stroke had significantly fewer disabilities, according to a study published in the October 2, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Oct 2007

Mini-strokes linked to uric acid levels

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that high-normal uric acid (UA) levels may cause barely detectable mini strokes that potentially contribute to mental decline in aging adults.

2 Oct 2007

Tree bark compound gambogic amide stimulates growth, survival of brain cells

Researchers have identified a compound in tree bark that mimics the chemical reactions of a naturally occurring molecule in the brain responsible for stimulating neuronal cell signaling.

2 Oct 2007

Evaluation of poly(glycerol adipate) nanoparticle uptake in an in vitro 3-D brain tumor co-culture model

A nanoparticle drug delivery system designed for brain tumor therapy has shown promising tumor cell selectivity in a novel cell culture model devised by University of Nottingham scientists.

27 Sep 2007

Discovery of new pathway causing cell death related to frontotemporal dementia and ALS

Scientists have discovered a link between a mutated gene and a protein found in dead brain cells of people who suffer from a form of dementia and other neurological disorders.

27 Sep 2007

Stem-cell therapy opens new avenue of research against Huntington's disease

Paying close attention to how a canary learns a new song has helped scientists open a new avenue of research against Huntington's disease – a fatal disorder for which there is currently no cure or even a treatment to slow the disease.

26 Sep 2007