Brain Disease News and Research

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SLU scientists provide promising approach in designing new drugs for DMD

In a paper published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, Saint Louis University researchers report that a new drug reduces fibrosis (scarring) and prevents loss of muscle function in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), providing a promising approach in designing new medications for those suffering from DMD.

8 Dec 2017

Research suggests possibility of preventing and treating Parkinson's disease using licorice extract

DGIST's research team led by Dr. Yun-Il Lee in Well-Aging Research Center has identified a new mechanism of inhibition of dopaminergic neuronal apoptosis and suggested the possibility of preventing and treating Parkinson's disease.

8 Nov 2017

SLU researcher reports success in identifying new drug targets for muscular dystrophy

In a recent paper published in the journal Skeletal Muscle, a Saint Louis University researcher reports success in identifying new drug targets that potentially could slow or halt the progression of a form muscular dystrophy, an illness characterized by progressive muscle degeneration.

7 Nov 2017

Expert report provides new insight into nature of mental illness

A week after the government announced its review of mental health legislation, an expert report published by the British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology on Friday 13 October challenges received wisdom about the nature of mental illness.

11 Oct 2017

Moms of children with rare genetic illness push for wider newborn screening

Kerri De Nies received the news this spring from her son's pediatrician: Her chubby-cheeked toddler had a rare brain disorder.

5 Oct 2017

Researchers reveal reason for olfactory dysfunction in initial stage of Alzheimer's disease

A research team led by DGIST Professor Moon Cheil at the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences has identified the reason why the patients with the early stage of Alzheimer's fail to smell.

27 Sep 2017

Researchers develop new model to better simulate blood brain barrier for study of diseases

Scientists have helped provide a way to better understand how to enable drugs to enter the brain and how cancer cells make it past the blood brain barrier. The brain is protected by the near-impermeable blood brain barrier, a fortress which protects the brain but which also prevents the treatment of brain diseases, including brain tumors.

19 Sep 2017

Research provides insight into how imbalance in neural precursor cells may contribute to brain diseases

Salk Institute scientists have discovered that an interaction between two key proteins helps regulate and maintain the cells that produce neurons.

15 Sep 2017

Retina scans could help identify Alzheimer’s

Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai and NeuroVision Imaging LLC have made it possible to identify the pathological markers of Alzheimer’s using retinal scans. These scans are non- invasive and could be performed routinely in future to detect this dreaded form of degenerative brain disease. The paper was published online in the JCI Insight on 17th of August.

22 Aug 2017

Dendritic-specific Golgi plays key role in early neuropathy of degenerative brain disease

A joint research team of DGIST have identified the early neuropathic mechanism of polyglutamine brain disease, one of the representative degenerative brain diseases, and suggested a way to restore.

10 Aug 2017

Researchers reveal promising results of new noninvasive method of ICP monitoring

Researchers from Klinikum Stuttgart and the University of Erlangen, Germany, report preliminary findings that show a noninvasive method of monitoring intracranial pressure (ICP) that could rival the gold standards of invasive intraventricular and intraparenchymal monitoring.

8 Aug 2017

UAlberta researchers find strong clues to underlying cause of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders

UAlberta researchers believe they now have a clearer picture of why people living with HIV so commonly suffer from dementia and other neurocognitive disorders.

20 Jul 2017

A ‘safe’ space to shoot up: Worth a try in California?

Tawny Biggs' seemingly happy childhood in the northern Los Angeles County suburb of Santa Clarita, Calif., showed no outward sign that she would one day struggle with drug addiction.

19 Jun 2017

SLU scientists discover nuclear receptor that appears to play key role in muscle regeneration

Saint Louis University researchers report in Molecular Metabolism new findings that the nuclear receptor REV-ERB appears to play a key role in muscle regeneration, suggesting the receptor may be a good target for new drugs to treat a variety of muscle disorders and injuries.

14 Jun 2017

SLU scientist discovers cause and potential solution for cancer-related bone pain

In a paper published in the journal Pain, Saint Louis University researcher Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D., reports discovering a key molecular pathway that drives cancer-related bone pain while providing a potential solution with a drug that already is on the market.

8 Jun 2017

Gut microbiome may play key role in pathology of common cerebrovascular disease

Bacteria in the gut microbiome drive the formation of cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs), clusters of dilated, thin-walled blood vessels in the brain that can cause stroke and seizures, according to new research published this week in Nature by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 May 2017

Scientists unravel how the body manages to keep blood flow in the brain so tightly controlled

The puzzle of how the brain regulates blood flow to prevent it from being flooded and then starved every time the heart beats has been solved with the help of engineering.

2 May 2017

MRI-based method for predicting brain age could help identify people at risk of early death

A method for predicting someone's 'brain age' based on MRI scans could help to spot who might be at increased risk of poor health and even dying at a younger age.

25 Apr 2017

SLU researchers make advances in understanding plaque-causing protein in neurological disorders

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry Yuna Ayala, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University, and her research team made advances in understanding how a protein causes damaging plaques to build up in neurodegenerative illnesses like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a form of dementia called frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

19 Apr 2017

Academic-industry collaboration aims to build personalized 3-D maps to improve neurosurgeries

Removing a brain tumor requires walking a fine line: Remove too little, and the disease remains; remove too much, and sight, speech or movement may be impaired.

7 Apr 2017