Microglia News and Research

RSS

Scientists anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection

The regulating protein Srebp2 drives cholesterol formation, which prions need for their propagation, in prion-infected neuronal cells. With these findings, published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection.

20 Nov 2009

Molecular imaging pinpoints inflammation in the brains of schizophrenics and migraine sufferers

Inflammatory response of brain cells-as indicated by a molecular imaging technique-could tell researchers more about why certain neurologic disorders, such as migraine headaches and psychosis in schizophrenic patients, occur and provide insight into how to best treat them, according to two studies published in the November issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

31 Oct 2009

APC enzyme may be effective for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A chemical cousin of a drug currently used to treat sepsis dramatically slows the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, in mice. The results offer a bit of good news in efforts to develop a therapy to stop or slow the progression of a disease that generally kills its victims within just a few years.

26 Oct 2009

University researchers inject 'nanowires' in rat brains

The biological safety of nanotechnology, in other words, how the body reacts to nanoparticles, is a hot topic. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have managed for the first time to carry out successful experiments involving the injection of so-called 'nanowires.'

23 Oct 2009

Brain inflammation not linked to Alzheimer's disease

In a surprising reversal of long-standing scientific belief, researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have discovered that inflammation in the brain is not the trigger that leads to buildup of amyloid deposits and development of Alzheimer's disease.

23 Oct 2009

Breakthrough discovery by scientists may lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

A breakthrough discovery by scientists from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, may lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer's Disease that actually removes amyloid plaques-considered a hallmark of the disease-from patients' brains.

19 Oct 2009

MRF announces winners of six 2009 research grants

The Migraine Research Foundation (MRF), the only nonprofit organization devoted solely to funding migraine research, today announced the winners of the 2009 research grants. This year's grantees will explore such important areas as pediatric migraine, the genetic association between migraine and cardiovascular events, and why opioids enhance migraine pain.

5 Sep 2009

Biogen Idec's MS franchise to present at the 25th Congress of ECTRIMS

Biogen Idec today announced more than 70 platform and poster presentations from the company’s multiple sclerosis (MS) franchise being presented during the 25th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Düsseldorf, Germany.

3 Sep 2009

Cytrx’s study offers a better perception of arimoclomol's mechanism of action in induced animal stroke

CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, today announced that study results demonstrated that arimoclomol exhibited both statistically significant neuroprotective and neuroregenerative effects in brain cells of animals induced with stroke, offering important insights into this drug candidate’s mechanism of action.

25 Aug 2009

Compound from coral offers hope fpr neuropathic pain

A compound initially isolated from a soft coral (Capnella imbricata) collected at Green Island off Taiwan, could lead scientists to develop a new set of treatments for neuropathic pain - chronic pain that sometimes follows damage to the nervous system.

4 Aug 2009

Direct link found between smoking and brain damage

New research which suggests a direct link between smoking and brain damage will be published in the July issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry. Researchers, led by Debapriya Ghosh and Dr Anirban Basu from the Indian National Brain Research Center (NBRC), have found that a compound in tobacco provokes white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, leading to severe neurological damage.

23 Jun 2009

Inflammation of microglia may not be associated with dementia in Alzheimer's disease

The idea that anti-inflammatory drugs might protect people struggling with dementia from Alzheimer's disease has received a blow with the online release of a study of human brain tissue in Acta Neuropathologica.

15 Jun 2009

oct3 protein key to Parkinson's, drug addiction

Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs.

4 May 2009

New applications for proton pump inhibitors

In a new study, published in the May issue of Elsevier's Experimental Neurology (www.elsevier.com/locate/yexnr), scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat ulcers have significant neuroprotective properties, which appear to be enhanced when used in combination with ibuprofen, a widely used anti-inflammatory drug.

22 Apr 2009