Astrocyte News and Research

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Research suggests a possible new approach to treating neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have shown for the first time that when one optic nerve in the eye is damaged, as in glaucoma, the opposite optic nerve comes to the rescue by sharing its metabolic energy.

21 Jul 2020

Parkinson's disease breakthrough seen in mouse model

Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found a way to create new neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. The severely debilitating and progressive neurodegenerative disease, as of now, has no cure, and this breakthrough could help hundreds of thousands of patients with the condition feel experts.

25 Jun 2020

Neuroscientists shed new light on mechanisms responsible for familial migraine

Neuroscientists of the University of Zurich shed a new light on the mechanisms responsible for familial migraine: They show that a genetic dysfunction in specific brain cells of the cingulate cortex area strongly influences head pain occurrence.

24 Jun 2020

Researchers discover key protein that can reduce damage caused by heart attack

In a heart attack, a series of biochemical processes leave the heart damaged, much like a car after an accident.

23 Jun 2020

The role of brain cells in spreading HIV

Dr. Lena Al-Harthi speaks to News-Medical about her research into HIV treatment and the role of brain cells in spreading the HIV virus.

22 Jun 2020

Stem cell model sheds new light on the devastating process of neurodegeneration

A new study published today in Neuron led by The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute's Valentina Fossati, Ph.D., creates astrocytes - an integral support cell in the brain - from stem cells and shows that in disease-like environments, these normally helpful cells can turn into neuron-killers.

1 Jun 2020

Study: Astrocytes regulate neuronal circuits involved in learning and memory

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reveal that astrocytes, the most abundant cells in the brain, play a direct role in the regulation of neuronal circuits involved in learning and memory. The findings appear in the journal Neuron.

24 Apr 2020

Research shows how stress changes structure of the brain

Research led by Si-Qiong June Liu, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, has shown how stress changes the structure of the brain and reveals a potential therapeutic target to the prevent or reverse it

14 Apr 2020

Large-scale proteomic analysis links glucose metabolism proteins and AD biology

In the largest study to date of proteins related to Alzheimer's disease, a team of researchers has identified disease-specific proteins and biological processes that could be developed into both new treatment targets and fluid biomarkers.

13 Apr 2020

Research shows how stress restructures the brain

Stress restructures the brain by halting the production of crucial ion channel proteins, according to research in mice recently published in JNeurosci.

25 Mar 2020

Gene therapy regenerates functional new neurons in mouse models of HD

Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare disease characterized by abnormal chorea movement and caused by Huntingtin (Htt) gene mutation and neurodegeneration in a brain area called striatum.

28 Feb 2020

Researchers discover glial cells that control stress response, extend lifespan in worms

While many of us worry about proteins aggregating in our brains as we age and potentially causing Alzheimer's disease or other types of neurodegeneration, we may not realize that some of the same proteins are aggregating in our muscles, setting us up for muscle atrophy in old age.

23 Feb 2020

New study describes inflammatory reaction in lab-developed human astrocytes

Astrocytes are neural cells with many important functions in the nervous system. The inflammation of these cells occurs in brain infections and neurodegenerative disorders, a process called astrogliosis.

14 Feb 2020

Surprising discovery about childhood brain tumor may unlock new cancer treatments

A surprising discovery about a rare form of childhood brain cancer suggests a new treatment approach for that cancer and, potentially, many others.

13 Feb 2020

Researchers culture human blood-brain barrier on a chip

A scrupulous gatekeeper stands between the brain and its circulatory system to let in the good and keep out the bad, but this porter, called the blood-brain barrier, also blocks trial drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer's or cancer from getting into the brain.

10 Feb 2020

Reduced scar formation in the central nervous system

Neural stem and progenitor cells, from the so-called subventricular zone, can help to repair a brain damaged by central nervous system disorders.

3 Feb 2020

Buck study uncovers how astrocyte senescence promotes neurodegeneration

Although a link has been established between chronic inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases, there have been many open questions regarding how cellular senescence, a process whereby cells that stop dividing under stress spew out a mix of inflammatory proteins, affects these pathologies.

29 Jan 2020

Scientists reveal the damaging effect of Zika virus on a type of brain cell

The Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Brazil in 2015 sparked for many health agencies and scientists to study the pathogen, which has been linked to microcephaly and other fetal neurological disorders collectively known as Congenital Zika Syndrome.

27 Jan 2020

Research unravels consequences of Zika virus attack on neural cells

Previous studies regarding the damage of the Zika virus on the brain had already pointed out the virus's predilection for a certain neural cell: the astrocyte. However, few studies have proposed to identify the infection effects on these cells, as well as their association with developmental alterations, including brain malformations and microcephaly.

27 Jan 2020

Finding opens door to early identification of individuals at risk for delirium complications

Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified blood-based biomarkers associated with both delirium duration and severity in critically ill patients. This finding opens the door to easy, early identification of individuals at risk for longer delirium duration and higher delirium severity and could potentially lead to new treatments of this brain failure for which drugs have been shown to be largely ineffective.

22 Jan 2020