Neurodegeneration News and Research

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

DNage's observational study assesses natural progression of CS in children

Biotech company Pharming Group NV ("Pharming" or "the Company") announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary DNage has initiated an observational study in children suffering from Cockayne Syndrome (CS).

17 Sep 2009

New book on human genetics helps to unravel complex human diseases

Many human diseases-including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, cancer, and cardiovascular disease-are caused by multiple genetic variants and the interaction of those variants with the environment. Because such diseases lack a clear-cut inheritance pattern, sophisticated technological approaches and statistical analyses are required to determine their underlying cause.

15 Sep 2009

Calcium stones and cell death is linked to prolonged stressful conditions

Study shows prolonged stress sparks ER to release calcium stores and induce cell death in aging-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and neurodegeneration

15 Sep 2009

Conserved protein modulates and protects heart function against aging

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have found that the conserved protein d4eBP modulates cardiac aging in Drosophila (fruit flies). The team also found that d4eBP, which binds to the protein dEif4e, protects heart function against aging.

15 Sep 2009

Major advance in understanding Friedreich's ataxia

University of Sydney researchers have made a significant advance in understanding the debilitating hereditary disease Friedreich's ataxia, offering hope that new forms of treatment will be developed.

8 Sep 2009

New target for cancer cure identified

Researchers Dr. Marc Therrien at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Universit- de Montr-al, and Dr. Frank Sicheri, at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, have discovered a new target that may be instrumental in the development of new, more effective cancer therapies.

3 Sep 2009

Enzymes could be targeted to kill dangerous pathogens

Researchers at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and University of Maryland have demonstrated that an enzyme that is essential to many bacteria can be targeted to kill dangerous pathogens.

28 Aug 2009

Mid-career scientists receive the 2009 Julie Martin Mid-Career Awards in Aging Research

Charleen T. Chu, MD, PhD, associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh and David M. Sabatini, MD, PhD, associate professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the 2009 Julie Martin Mid-Career Awards in Aging Research. Sponsored by The Ellison Medical Foundation, the grants provide funding of $550,000 to mid-career scientists whose research has great potential in advancing understanding of basic aging and its impact on age-related diseases.

26 Aug 2009

New understanding of role hyaluronic acid in skeletal growth

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the University of Connecticut Health Center (U.C.H.C.) have gained new understanding of the role hyaluronic acid (HA) plays in skeletal growth, chondrocyte maturation and joint formation in developing limbs.

12 Aug 2009

Burnham as a comprehensive center in a new National Cancer Institute (NCI) Chemical Biology Consortium

The consortium will establish a new paradigm in the use of public-private partnerships to translate knowledge from leading academic institutions into new drug treatments for patients with cancer. Both the La Jolla, Calif. campus of Burnham and its new Lake Nona campus in Orlando, Fla. will participate in the consortium.

10 Aug 2009

Research looks at cellular stress response to low oxygen

Gary Chiang, Ph.D., and colleagues at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have elucidated how the stability of the REDD1 protein is regulated. The REDD1 protein is a critical inhibitor of the mTOR signaling pathway, which controls cell growth and proliferation.

5 Aug 2009

Set-shifting and the on-line processing of relative clauses in Parkinson's Disease

The study of the neural basis of language has largely focused on regions in the cortex - the outer brain layers thought by many researchers to have expanded during human evolution.

4 Aug 2009

Eye movements of Parkinson’s disease patients during sentence comprehension support subcortical role in processing syntax

The study of the neural basis of language has largely focused on regions in the cortex – the outer brain layers thought by many researchers to have expanded during human evolution.

4 Aug 2009

Discovery of novel receptor in the brain, potential target for Alzheimer's

Barrow Neurological Institute researchers have identified a novel receptor in the brain that is extremely sensitive to beta-amyloid peptide (AB) and may play a key role in early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

17 Jul 2009

Controlling the fate of cells

A protein found in cells has been shown to play a pivotal role in determining whether a cell lives or dies.

13 Jul 2009

Flavonoids offer dementia, Alzheimer's hope

A group of chemicals found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, cocoa and red wine, could protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease, a dementia expert told scientists at a conference last Friday.

12 Jul 2009

Newborn brain cells improve our ability to navigate our environment

Although the fact that we generate new brain cells throughout life is no longer disputed, their purpose has been the topic of much debate. Now, an international collaboration of researchers made a big leap forward in understanding what all these newborn neurons might actually do. Their study, published in the July 10, 2009, issue of the journal Science, illustrates how these young cells improve our ability to navigate our environment.

9 Jul 2009

Mouse model of Parkinson's reproduces non-motor symptoms

The classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease involve tremor, stiffness and slow movements. Over the last decade, neurologists have been paying greater attention to non-motor symptoms, such as digestive and sleep problems, loss of sense of smell and depression.

23 Jun 2009

New discovery on Huntington's disease

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered how the mutated huntingtin gene acts on the nervous system to create the devastation of Huntington's disease. The report of their findings is available in Nature Neuroscience online.

15 Jun 2009

Researchers discover how prion protein damages brain cells

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have gained a major insight into how the rogue protein responsible for mad cow disease and related neurological illnesses destroys healthy brain tissue.

11 Jun 2009