Neurodegeneration News and Research

RSS

Neurodegeneration is the umbrella term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons.

Scientists uncover small set of genes critical in aging and neurodegenerative disease

Aging is the most significant and universal risk factor for developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. This risk increases disproportionately with age, but no one really knows why.

4 Nov 2014

Tau proteins spur neuron death in Alzheimer's disease

New research points to tau, not amyloid-beta (Abeta) plaque, as the seminal event that spurs neuron death in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The finding, which dramatically alters the prevailing theory of Alzheimer's development, also explains why some people with plaque build-up in their brains don't have dementia.

3 Nov 2014

TSRI scientists discover signaling pathway that contribute to Huntington's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a major contributor to Huntington's disease, a devastating progressive neurological condition that produces involuntary movements, emotional disturbance and cognitive impairment.

29 Oct 2014

Digoxin drug may be adaptable for ALS treatment, study suggests

Digoxin, a medication used in the treatment of heart failure, may be adaptable for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive, paralyzing disease, suggests new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

27 Oct 2014

Nonmotor predictors of Parkinson’s dementia revealed

Researchers have identified nonmotor and nondopaminergic motor features that predict incident dementia in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

22 Oct 2014

Researchers uncover surprising way to reduce brain damage caused by head injuries

Scientists have uncovered a surprising way to reduce the brain damage caused by head injuries - stopping the body's immune system from killing brain cells. The study, published in the open access journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications, showed that in experiments on mice, an immune-based treatment reduced the size of brain lesions.

20 Oct 2014

Researchers propose new milestones to augment National Alzheimer's Plan

The U.S. Government has initiated a major effort to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's disease by 2025. However, a workgroup of nearly 40 Alzheimer's researchers and scientists says the research milestones in the U.S. Government's National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease must be broadened in scope, increased in scale, and adequately funded in order to successfully achieve this goal.

20 Oct 2014

Scientists identify two microRNA molecules that control chronic inflammation

University of Utah scientists have identified two microRNA molecules that control chronic inflammation, a discovery that one day may help researchers prevent certain fatal or debilitating conditions before they start.

17 Oct 2014

Researchers identify two microRNA molecules that control chronic inflammation

16 Oct 2014

Researchers define the process of Parkinson's disease using genetic mouse model

Parkinson's Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. In Germany alone, almost half a million people are affected. The focus of the disease is the progressive degeneration of dopamine-producing nerve cells in a certain region of the midbrain, the substantia nigra. Misfolded proteins are the cause. Until recently, it was unclear why damage is confined to specific nerve cells.

16 Oct 2014

New class of compounds protect brain cells from traumatic brain injury

A new class of compounds has now been shown to protect brain cells from the type of damage caused by blast-mediated traumatic brain injury (TBI).

12 Sep 2014

Pollution in many cities threatens brain development in children

Pollution in many cities threatens the brain development in children. Findings by University of Montana Professor Dr. Lilian Calder-n-Garcidue-as, MA, MD, Ph.D., and her team of researchers reveal that children living in megacities are at increased risk for brain inflammation and neurodegenerative changes, including Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

11 Sep 2014

Sanofi contributes $2.5 million to CCNA for dementia research

Sanofi announced today its $2.5 million contribution to co-fund the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, a partnership officially launched in Montreal today in the presence of The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health.

10 Sep 2014

Researchers develop novel technique to promote tissue repair in damaged muscles

Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have developed a novel technique to promote tissue repair in damaged muscles.

8 Sep 2014

Findings may help develop biomarkers to identify HIV patients at risk of dementia

Since the introduction of the combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) in the mid-90s, the life expectancy of HIV patients has significantly improved. As a result, long-term complications are becoming more relevant: almost every second HIV patient is affected by neurocognitive disorders, which can lead to dementia.

4 Sep 2014

BioLegend acquires shares of Covance Antibody Services

BioLegend, Inc. (BioLegend) acquired the shares of Covance Antibody Services Inc., a business unit of Covance, located in Dedham, Massachusetts, on August 29, 2014.

From BioLegend 2 Sep 2014

Finding suggests that retina acts as type of window to the brain

Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes and University of California, San Francisco have shown that a loss of cells in the retina is one of the earliest signs of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in people with a genetic risk for the disorder-even before any changes appear in their behavior.

25 Aug 2014

Understanding neuron development: an interview with Dr. Brock Grill, The Scripps Research Institute

There’s a big difference between understanding coordination and actually building connectivity. In terms of building connectivity, several molecules have been identified that control this process and a lot has been learned from both genetic and biochemical research in a variety of different systems, particularly studies in the nematode C. elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila and mice.

22 Aug 2014

Researchers uncover role of epigenetic changes in Alzheimer's disease

A team led by researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and King's College London has uncovered some of the strongest evidence yet that epigenetic changes in the brain play a role in Alzheimer's disease.

19 Aug 2014

New therapeutic strategy to combat common genetic risk factor for ALS, FTD

A team of researchers at Mayo Clinic and The Scripps Research Institute in Florida have developed a new therapeutic strategy to combat the most common genetic risk factor for the neurodegenerative disorders amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

15 Aug 2014