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Suppressing brain immune cells might prevent or delay the onset of dementia

Messy tangles of a protein called tau can be found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease and some other neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimer's, the tangles coalesce just before tissue damage becomes visible in brain scans and people start to become forgetful and confused.

10 Oct 2019

Rapid progress in brain organoid research prompts ethical debate

A new paper has tried to address the ethical debate surrounding human organoids by evaluating the potential risks of creating “humanized” animals

4 Oct 2019

Study explores how macrophage specialization gets disrupted by liver disease

Every tissue in the human body has an immune cell in it called a macrophage. Macrophages play important roles in the immune system's initial response to bacteria, viruses and wounds.

4 Oct 2019

Penn researchers propose ethical framework that defines brain organoid transplantation

As research involving the transplantation of human "mini-brains"--known as brain organoids--into animals to study disease continues to expand, so do the ethical debates around the practice.

4 Oct 2019

Lifelong choline supplementation holds potential to prevent Alzheimer's disease

In a new study, Biodesign researchers reveal that a lifelong dietary regimen of choline holds the potential to prevent Alzheimer's disease.

27 Sep 2019

Multiple sclerosis genomic map implicates immune cells in disease susceptibility

The International Multiple Sclerosis Genetic Consortium reports the results of its latest study, "Multiple sclerosis genomic map implicates peripheral immune cells and microglia in susceptibility", in the journal Science today: the highly productive collaborative group presents a new milestone in its efforts to understand the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis.

26 Sep 2019

Dormant HIV reservoirs could be killed with RNA switch

Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found cellular triggers within the immune cells that could be controlled in order to kill dormant HIV-1 reservoirs in individuals with HIV-1.

25 Sep 2019

Researchers identify key switch that eliminates dormant HIV reservoirs

Using genetic sequencing, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have identified a principal cellular player controlling HIV reproduction in immune cells which, when turned off or deleted, eliminates dormant HIV reservoirs.

24 Sep 2019

Delivery of drugs within the brain can be improved by utilizing LAT1

According to a new study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland, the distribution of drug molecules within the brain can be improved by utilizing LAT1, which is expressed highly in the brain.

24 Sep 2019

New peptides improve memory in mice with Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects over 44 million people the world over. But now, neurologist Jack Jhamandas and his team have found two short peptides which, on daily injection into mice with symptoms of AD for just five weeks, led to a significant improvement.

18 Sep 2019

Strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease impairs function of human microglia

A study carried out with a new human stem cell-derived model reveals that the most prevalent genetic risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), impairs the function of human brain immune cells, microglia. These findings pave the way for new, effective treatment approaches for AD. The results were published in Stem Cell Reports.

17 Sep 2019

Foods rich in LH dipeptide may help maintain good mental health

A research group led by Professor Tomoyuki Furuyashiki and Associate Professor Shiho Kitaoka (Graduate School of Medicine) in collaboration with researcher Yasuhisa Ano of Kirin Holdings have made discoveries regarding the effect of the dipeptide Leucine-Histidine in suppressing microglial activation and depression-associated emotional disturbances.

13 Sep 2019

Scientists discover major regulator of schizophrenia that is active during early development

Researchers have discovered a gene that acts as a master regulator of schizophrenia during the early stages of human brain development.

12 Sep 2019

A gene that acts as master regulator of schizophrenia identified

Using computational tools to investigate gene transcription networks in large collections of brain tissues, a scientific team has identified a gene that acts as a master regulator of schizophrenia during early human brain development.

11 Sep 2019

Fatty food changes the brain to affect homeostasis and metabolism

While we all know that eating fatty food pushes up our body weight, a new study now shows it also affects the way the brain keeps track of and corrects all metabolic irregularities in the body. Soon after tucking into a high-fat, high-carb meal – as soon as three days later – the hypothalamus shows inflammation.

10 Sep 2019

High-fat diets contribute to irregularities in hypothalamus region of the brain

Much research has pointed to how an unhealthy diet correlates to obesity, but has not explored how diet can bring about neurological changes in the brain.

9 Sep 2019

Fat-filled immune cells found in victims of vaping illness

The frightening outbreak of mysterious respiratory illness linked to the use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, have shaken the medical community.

9 Sep 2019

Zika virus damages the adult human brain and impairs memory in mouse model

Zika virus attracted worldwide attention in recent years due to the devastating consequences of infection for pregnant women and their fetuses, many of which were born with microcephaly and other severe neurological malformations.

5 Sep 2019

Neurogenesis plays an underappreciated role in the progression of Alzheimer's

Much of the research on the underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease focuses on amyloid beta (Aß), a protein that accumulates in the brain as the disease progresses.

30 Aug 2019

Researchers find protective factor against Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research at the University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich have found that a protein called TREM2 could positively influence the course of Alzheimer's disease.

29 Aug 2019