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Hiroshima University researchers reveal molecular mechanisms involved in neuropathic pain

A research group from Hiroshima University demonstrated that the downregulation of spinal astrocyte connexin43 (Cx43) expression causes sustained neuropathic pain following peripheral nerve injury. Controlling the Cx43 expression using pharmacological approaches or gene therapy might serve as novel therapeutic strategies ameliorate neurological disorders in general and neuropathic pain in particular.

14 Jul 2015

Mild head injury patients having lower serum S100B levels unlikely to have intracranial hemorrhage

Researchers conducted a prospective observational study in elderly patients and adult patients receiving antiplatelet therapy who presented with mild head injury at two trauma hospitals in Vienna: the Trauma Hospital Meidling and the Donauspital.

7 Jul 2015

Detroit-area patients contribute to national study that redefines diagnosis, treatment of glioma

Sixty-seven patients from the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center at Henry Ford Hospital and their families made important contributions to a national cancer study that proposes a change in how some brain tumors are classified - and ultimately treated.

25 Jun 2015

Researchers develop new implantable drug-delivery system using nanowire

A team of researchers has created a new implantable drug-delivery system using nanowires that can be wirelessly controlled.

24 Jun 2015

Scientists create new model to study latent HIV infection in brain cells

Over 35 million people worldwide are currently infected by HIV. Antiviral therapies can keep the virus from multiplying. However, no drug can cure infection so far, because various cell types continue to carry the virus in a latent, i.e. quiescent, state. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have now established a model for latent HIV infection of brain cells.

18 Jun 2015

Star-shaped brain cells control cerebral blood flow and blood pressure

A star-shaped brain cell called an astrocyte appears to help keep blood pressure and blood flow inside the brain on a healthy, even keel, scientists report.

10 Jun 2015

New study suggests that IDH1 gene may be prognostic marker for anaplastic astrocytoma

New findings suggest that a gene called IDH1 might be prognostic marker for a rare form of brain cancer. Patients in this study who had a mutated IDH gene lived an average of 7.9 years after diagnosis versus 2.8 years for patients with unaltered IDH.

4 Jun 2015

New study sheds light on the disruption of astrocytes in depression

A new study published by the team of Naguib Mechawar, Ph.D., a researcher with the McGill Group for Suicide Studies of the Douglas Institute (CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Ile de Montreal) and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, sheds new light on the disruption of astrocytes in depression.

3 Jun 2015

RI-MUHC researchers receive $1.5 million to develop glutamate biosensor platform for brain diseases

In the human brain and retina, glutamate is an important messenger that carries information from one neuron to another. The level of glutamate transmitted between neurons is crucial to cell communication: too high and neurons die, too low and the information is not communicated properly. In either case this can contribute to neurological diseases including stroke, glaucoma, and Alzheimer's.

29 May 2015

Discovery has clear implications in the quest for new epilepsy treatments

The mission of neural stem cells located in the hippocampus, one of the main regions of the brain, is to generate new neurons during the adult life of mammals, including human beings, of course, and their function is to participate in certain types of learning and responses to anxiety and stress.

18 May 2015

Experimental cancer drug shows promise against incurable paediatric brain cancer

US-Australian drug discovery company, Novogen Limited, in conjunction with Australian paediatric cancer researchers, released key pre-clinical data on experimental cancer drug-candidate, TRXE-009, confirming its potential to become an important new therapy against an incurable paediatric brain cancer called DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma).

8 May 2015

Scientists report that enzyme that alters testosterone to estrogen has big impact in healthy, injured brain

An enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen appears to have significant impact in a healthy and injured brain, scientists report.

5 May 2015

Understanding how nerve cells in the brain produce energy required to function

New research published today in the journal Nature Communications represents a potentially fundamental shift in our understanding of how nerve cells in the brain generate the energy needed to function. The study shows neurons are more independent than previously believed and this research has implications for a range of neurological disorders.

25 Apr 2015

Zinc deficiency can activate Hedgehog signaling pathway

Zinc deficiency - long associated with numerous diseases, e.g. autism, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancers - can lead to activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway, a biomolecular pathway that plays essential roles in developing organisms and in diseases, according to new research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

17 Apr 2015

Patient's own skin cells may hold key to new treatments for neurological diseases

A patient's very own skin cells may hold the key to new treatments and even cures for devastating neurological diseases. A generous $1 million donation from Mr. J. Sebastian van Berkom, and critical partnerships with Brain Canada, Laval University, Marigold Foundation and the FRQS-Réseau Parkinson Quebec are driving an innovative, iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cell) research platform that will transform research into Parkinson's and other neurological diseases.

31 Mar 2015

Experimental drug that attacks brain tumor cells passes early tests

An experimental drug that attacks brain tumor tissue by crippling the cells' energy source called the mitochondria has passed early tests in animal models and human tissue cultures, say Houston Methodist scientists.

25 Mar 2015

Deuterium-containing sigma-1 agonist demonstrates anti-seizure, anti-inflammatory effects in TBI model

Research results published in the Journal of Neurotrauma and conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) as part of a collaboration with Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. showed that a novel deuterium-containing sigma-1 agonist invented at Concert, called C-10068, demonstrated anti-seizure and anti-inflammatory effects in a preclinical model of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

24 Mar 2015

IU researchers reveal how Toxoplasma parasites modify brain cells

Rodents infected with a common parasite lose their fear of cats, resulting in easy meals for the felines. Now IU School of Medicine researchers have identified a new way the parasite may modify brain cells, possibly helping explain changes in the behavior of mice -- and humans.

19 Mar 2015

Researchers discover new cause to explain development of temporal lobe epilepsy

Epilepsy is a very prevalent neurological disorder. Approximately one-third of patients are resistant to currently available therapies. A team of researchers under the guidance of the Institute of Cellular Neurosciences at the University of Bonn has discovered a new cause to explain the development of temporal lobe epilepsy: At an early stage, astrocytes are uncoupled from each other.