Ganglion News and Research

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In anatomy, a ganglion (plural ''ganglia'') is a biological tissue mass, most commonly a mass of nerve cell bodies. Cells found in a ganglion are called ganglion cells, though this term is also sometimes used to refer specifically to retinal ganglion cells.

Interpretation of images starts in the retina

Tübingen researchers have shown that image processing in the eye is more extensive than previously thought. They investigated the channels that transmit information from the eye to the brain.

7 Jan 2016

Researchers link idiopathic congenital nystagmus to a defect in neurocomputation

Botond Roska and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research implicate a clearly defined neuron type and its circuit in the retina in the pathophysiology of idiopathic congenital nystagmus.

6 Jan 2016

Researchers identify dazzling new method for visualizing neurons

Researchers have discovered a dazzling new method of visualizing neurons that promises to benefit neuroscientists and cell biologists alike: by using spectral confocal microscopy to image tissues impregnated with silver or gold.

16 Dec 2015

OphthaliX completes patient enrollment in CF101 Phase II trial for treatment of glaucoma

OphthaliX Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on developing therapeutic products for the treatment of ophthalmic disorders and a subsidiary of Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., announced today that it has completed patient enrollment for its Phase II trial of CF101 in the treatment of glaucoma.

7 Dec 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers develop method to turn stem cells into retinal ganglion cells

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a method to efficiently turn human stem cells into retinal ganglion cells, the type of nerve cells located within the retina that transmit visual signals from the eye to the brain. Death and dysfunction of these cells cause vision loss in conditions like glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

1 Dec 2015

Genetic reduction of AMPK enzyme can prevent or delay hearing loss

A mitochondrial defect is responsible for a type of human hereditary deafness that worsens over time and can lead to profound hearing loss.

6 Nov 2015

NIH-funded researchers test new gene therapy to improve visual function in mice

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a novel mouse model for the vision disorder Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), and found that they can use gene therapy to improve visual function in the mice. LHON is one of many diseases tied to gene mutations that damage the tiny energy factories that power our cells, called mitochondria.

6 Oct 2015

NAMS panel provides recommendations to help women manage menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms

Some three-quarters of North American women have menopausal hot flashes, but many cannot use hormones for medical reasons or choose not to. Numerous products and techniques are promoted for hot flashes, but do they work, and are they safe? To answer these questions, a North American Menopause Society panel of experts weighed the evidence and made recommendations in a position statement, "Nonhormonal management of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms," published online today in the Society's journal, Menopause.

23 Sep 2015

Quethera receives seed investment funding to develop gene therapy for glaucoma

Quethera, a gene therapy company developing a treatment for glaucoma that could prevent blindness, has received seed investment funding led by Midven’s Rainbow Seed Fund alongside co-investor Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialisation arm of the University of Cambridge, to continue pre-clinical development of their therapy.

18 Sep 2015

Scientists elucidate genetic interaction that may prove key to development, progression of glaucoma

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have elucidated a genetic interaction that may prove key to the development and progression of glaucoma, a blinding neurodegenerative disease that affects tens of millions of people worldwide and is a leading cause of irreversible blindness.

11 Sep 2015

Scientists closer to understanding how neurons are wired to form circuits in the eye

When we move our head, the whole visual world moves across our eyes. Yet we can still make out a bee buzzing by or a hawk flying overhead, thanks to unique cells in the eye called object motion sensors.

1 Sep 2015

Brainbow technique reveals surprising data about brain's visual circuitry

Neuroscientists know that some connections in the brain are pruned through neural development. Function gives rise to structure, according to the textbooks. But scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have discovered that the textbooks might be wrong.

28 Aug 2015

Gene therapy provides life-long protection to photoreceptor cells in animal model of retinitis pigmentosa

A collaboration between scientists in the UK and the USA has shown that gene therapy can give life-long protection to the light-sensitive photoreceptor cells responsible for colour vision in a mouse model of the most common inherited eye disorder.

15 Jul 2015

Retina contains microtubule "roadway" that provides energy required for visual processing

Researchers have discovered a thick band of microtubules in certain neurons in the retina that they believe acts as a transport road for mitochondria that help provide energy required for visual processing.

30 Jun 2015

OphthaliX enters into definitive agreement to purchase Improved Vision Systems

OphthaliX Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on developing therapeutic products for the treatment of ophthalmic disorders and a subsidiary of Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Israel-based Improved Vision Systems Ltd. in a stock-for-stock transaction.

19 Jun 2015

Research finding could help develop artificial retinas for people with vision loss

Driving a car at 40 mph, you see a child dart into the street. You hit the brakes. Disaster averted. But how did your eyes detect that movement? It's a question that has confounded scientists. Now, studying mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have an answer: A neural circuit in the retina at the back of the eye carries signals that enable the eye to detect movement.

17 Jun 2015

INS announces winners of inaugural best abstract competition at 12th World Congress

The International Neuromodulation Society (INS) announced winners today of its inaugural best abstract competition at the 12th World Congress in Montreal.

10 Jun 2015

UC Davis funds BRAIN-STIM program to uncover potential treatments for neurodegenerative disorders

In 2013, President Obama announced the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, unveiling plans to make a bold investment to understand the human mind with the intent to uncover ways to prevent, treat and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer's, autism, and epilepsy.

9 Jun 2015

Proteomics helps identify previously unrecognized proteins and pathways in nerve regeneration

Using proteomics techniques to study injured optic nerves, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have identified previously unrecognized proteins and pathways involved in nerve regeneration. Adding back one of these proteins--the oncogene c-myc--they achieved unprecedented optic nerve regeneration in mice when combined with two other known strategies.

5 May 2015

Researchers use virtual reality to develop new method for measuring balance control in glaucoma patients

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death and morbidity in older adults, especially those with a chronic eye disease such as glaucoma. To investigate this problem, a multidisciplinary group of researchers has become the first to use virtual reality technology to develop a new method for measuring balance control in those with glaucoma.

16 Apr 2015