Microglia News and Research

RSS

Research shows how brain’s immune defenses respond to strokes in babies

New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine is shedding light on the development of the brain's immune defenses - and how those defenses respond to strokes that strike one in 4,000 babies in the first month of life.

31 Aug 2020

Potential link to brain inflammation may explain the connection between MS and fatigue

Up to 60 percent of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) report that fatigue is the disease's most debilitating symptom.

27 Aug 2020

Study examines potential therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease

Research looking at a possible new therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease was recently published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

25 Aug 2020

New techniques help replace malfunctioning microglia associated with neurological disorders

Researchers at Fudan University in Shanghai, China have developed three different techniques that successfully replace almost all malfunctioning microglia - each technique with its own advantage in application

12 Aug 2020

Scientists identify new treatment targets for blinding retinal disease

When the eye isn't getting enough oxygen in the face of common conditions like premature birth or diabetes, it sets in motion a state of frenzied energy production that can ultimately result in blindness, and now scientists have identified new points where they may be able to calm the frenzy and instead enable recovery

10 Aug 2020

Research unlocks key mechanism in the communication between brain cells during stroke

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Ludmila Belayev, MD, LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Neuroscience, Neurology and Neurosurgery, has unlocked a key fundamental mechanism in the communication between brain cells when confronted with stroke.

6 Aug 2020

Discovery could have important implications for brain infections, neurodegenerative diseases

More than 30 million Americans are infected with a brain parasite spread by cats and contaminated meat, but most will never show symptoms.

31 Jul 2020

Amyloid plaques may act as trigger for Alzheimer's disease

The brains of people living with Alzheimer's are riddled with plaques: protein aggregates consisting mainly of amyloid-beta.

23 Jul 2020

Study points to an important role for white blood cells in brain development

Whether white blood cells can be found in the brain has been controversial, and what they might be doing used to be complete mystery.

22 Jul 2020

Study shows how radiotherapy alters the behavior of immune cells in glioblastoma tumors

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has dissected how radiotherapy alters the behavior of immune cells known as macrophages found in glioblastoma (GBM) tumors and shown how these cells might be reprogrammed with an existing drug to suppress the invariable recurrence of the aggressive brain cancer.

16 Jul 2020

CU researchers discover key role of specific brain cells during development

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have identified how specific brain cells interacting during development could be related to neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including some that occur later in life.

9 Jul 2020

Study may lead to novel therapeutic targets in certain memory disorders

To make new memories, our brain cells first must find one another. Small protrusions that bud out from the ends of neurons' long, branching tentacles dock neurons together so they can talk.

7 Jul 2020

Intranasal delivery of MSC-EVs shows promise for treating Alzheimer's disease

In the search for a cure for Alzheimer's disease, mesenchymal stem cells and their derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) offer much promise, thanks to their protective and anti-inflammatory properties.

4 Jun 2020

Nicotine promotes spread of lung cancer cells into the brain, study finds

Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have discovered that nicotine promotes the spread of lung cancer cells into the brain, where they can form deadly metastatic tumors.

4 Jun 2020

Effects of chronic stress associated with increased inflammatory signaling within brain circuits

Anxiety and depression are significantly heightened during times of great stress such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

4 Jun 2020

Study shows Sofosbuvir alleviates COVID-19-related neurological symptoms

A group of researchers has studied the effects of an antiviral drug Sofosbuvir on human brain organoids infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 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

Reducing inflammation improves stroke recovery, may extend window for therapy

Reperfusion therapy, the gold standard for stroke treatment, helps restore blood flow after a stroke caused by a clot, preventing loss of brain tissue. However, only about 10% of stroke patients qualify, in part because of reperfusion therapy's narrow treatment window.

1 Jun 2020

Ludwig Cancer Research study profiles immune landscape of brain tumors

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has profiled, in a sweeping comparative analysis, the distinct immune landscapes of tumors that arise in the brain, or gliomas, and those that metastasize to the organ from the lungs, breast and skin.

28 May 2020

Gene mutation linked to MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome

A collaboration between scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina and clinicians at the Greenwood Genetic Center has yielded new findings about how a particular gene might regulate brain development.

19 May 2020