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UVA research shows true nature of immune cells blamed in Alzheimer's

Immune cells commonly blamed in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases are actually precision cleaning machines protecting the central nervous system, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine shows.

26 Jun 2018

CRISPR technique reduces repetitive behavior in fragile X syndrome mouse models

Scientists have used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to lessen some autism symptoms in mice with a form of fragile X syndrome, the most common known single-gene cause of autism spectrum disorder.

25 Jun 2018

Scientists identify immune cells that remove degenerating neurons after brain injury

Researchers have identified the immune cells that are responsible for clearing dead and dying nerve cells following a brain injury.

25 Jun 2018

Microglia play protective role in response to retinal detachment, shows study

A research team at Massachusetts Eye and Ear has shown that microglia, the primary immune cells of the brain and retina, play a protective role in response to retinal detachment.

19 Jun 2018

Mice study shows beneficial effect of MANF treatment on reversal of stroke-induced behavioral deficits

Stroke is the most common cause of adult disability. This is due not only to the high incidence of stroke, but also because spontaneous recovery is often incomplete and no drugs are available that hasten recovery.

11 Jun 2018

New study shows how alcohol contributes to development of Alzheimer's disease

Research from the University of Illinois at Chicago has found that some of the genes affected by alcohol and inflammation are also implicated in processes that clear amyloid beta -- the protein that forms globs of plaques in the brain and which contributes to neuronal damage and the cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease.

5 Jun 2018

Scientists uncover the role of the ApoE gene in Alzheimer's Disease

A study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has identified why the ApoE4 gene increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and why the ApoE3 gene reduces the risk.

31 May 2018

Single spinal injection reverses chemotherapy-induced pain for months in mice

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found a new way to block a root cause of pain. The key is a naturally occurring protein called apolipoprotein A-I binding protein (AIBP). AIBP binds to toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a protein that sits on the surface of cells like an antenna, searching for signs of infection or tissue damage.

29 May 2018

Novel drug prevents memory impairment in mice exposed to simulated deep space radiation

Planning a trip to Mars? You'll want to remember your anti-radiation pills. NASA and private space companies like SpaceX plan to send humans to the red planet within the next 15 years--but among the major challenges facing future crewed space missions is how to protect astronauts from the dangerous cosmic radiation of deep space.

22 May 2018

Microglia may play key role in slowing progression of prion diseases, research suggests

Prion diseases are slow degenerative brain diseases that occur in people and various other mammals. No vaccines or treatments are available, and these diseases are almost always fatal. Scientists have found little evidence of a protective immune response to prion infections.

17 May 2018

Study uncovers mechanism underlying brain malformation linked to severe epilepsy

One of the most frequent causes of drug-resistant epilepsy, considered a difficult disease to control, is a brain malformation known as focal cortical dysplasia.

16 May 2018

Novel disease model for ALS and MS can be used to develop new immunotherapies

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a new disease model for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and MS that can be used to develop new immunotherapies. The model is described in a publication in the scientific journal Nature Immunology.

16 Apr 2018

Biomarker panel can guide future therapeutic decisions for glioma patients

In an article published April 10th in the journal Cell Reports, researchers at the University of São Paulo describe a biomarker panel that could tell physicians which patients diagnosed with glioma, a type of brain cancer, will tend to progress to a more aggressive form of the disease in the event of relapse.

10 Apr 2018

Immune cells can repopulate in the retina after elimination, mice study shows

Immune cells called microglia can completely repopulate themselves in the retina after being nearly eliminated, according to a new study in mice from scientists at the National Eye Institute.

21 Mar 2018

Research offers new understanding about cause of Parkinson's disease

Until very recently, Parkinson's had been thought a disease that starts in the brain, destroying motion centers and resulting in tremors and loss of movement.

21 Mar 2018

Boosting the brain's immune cells may prevent or reduce severity of Alzheimer's disease

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Research Institute researchers have published two new studies in Neuron that describe how TREM2, a receptor found on immune cells in the brain, interacts with toxic amyloid beta proteins to restore neurological function.

8 Mar 2018

New discovery may allow doctors to treat inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases

A new discovery about the immune system may allow doctors to treat harmful inflammation that damages the brain in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. It might also let doctors save patients from the potentially deadly inflammation of sepsis, a full-body infection that kills a quarter-million Americans every year.

26 Feb 2018

Mice study raises hope to successfully treat Alzheimer's disease

A team of researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute have found that gradually depleting an enzyme called BACE1 completely reverses the formation of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease, thereby improving the animals' cognitive function.

14 Feb 2018

GlycoNet researchers to study correlation between sugars and Alzheimer's disease

Two GlycoNet Investigators are using technology to better understand how sugars in the human body are connected to Alzheimer's disease.

12 Feb 2018

Neuroscientist wins NIH grant to find whether pear- or apple-shape physique is best for our brains

With the new year still ringing, many of us have fat on our minds, but Dr. Alexis M. Stranahan is more interested in what fat does to our minds.

29 Jan 2018