Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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Researchers develop new method to capture how brain cells interact

Interactions between brain cells hold the key to healthy brain function and cognition, but many of those interactions are notoriously difficult to study.

21 Sep 2015

USF study shows spleen may be a new target for treating stroke-induced chronic inflammation

Stroke injures the brain, but a new University of South Florida study indicates an abdominal organ that plays a vital role in immune function, the spleen, may be a target for treating stroke-induced chronic inflammation leading to further brain cell death.

16 Sep 2015

UGA microbiology researchers identify potential mechanism for neurodegenerative diseases

Microbiology researchers at the University of Georgia studying a soil bacterium have identified a potential mechanism for neurodegenerative diseases.

15 Sep 2015

Signs of Alzheimer’s found in growth hormone patients

People may be able to contract Alzheimer’s disease during certain medical procedures in the same way that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is transmitted, suggest researchers from University College London.

10 Sep 2015

Researchers create method to watch activity of motor neurons in real time

When you're taking a walk around the block, your body is mostly on autopilot--you don't have to consciously think about alternating which leg you step with or which muscles it takes to lift a foot and put it back down. That's thanks to a set of cells in your spinal cord that help translate messages between your brain and your motor neurons, which control muscles.

3 Sep 2015

Huntington’s disease prevention breakthrough? An interview with Professor Lesley Jones

Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease which, whilst quite rare, is one of the more common inherited neurodegenerative diseases. About 1 in 6,000 people in the UK are at risk and what’s horrible about this disease is that if one of your parents has it, then you have a fifty-fifty chance of inheriting it.

2 Sep 2015

Dementia brain imaging is helpful but not definitive, shows new research

MRI scans and other tools to detect and diagnose dementia are helpful but not definitive - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

2 Sep 2015

Breakthrough discovery provides better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease is associated with the appearance of characteristic neurotoxic protein aggregates in various regions in the brain.

1 Sep 2015

Newly discovered prion causes Multiple System Atrophy

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a neurodegenerative disorder with similarities to Parkinson's disease, is caused by a newly discovered type of prion, akin to the misfolded proteins involved in incurable progressive brain diseases such Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), according to two new research papers led by scientists at UC San Francisco.

1 Sep 2015

Brain cells in Parkinson's disease die prematurely, burning out like an overheating motor

The death of brain cells in Parkinson's disease may be caused by a form of cellular energy crisis in neurons that require unusually high quantities of energy to carry out their job of regulating movement, researchers at the University of Montreal reported today.

28 Aug 2015

Scientists generate pluripotent stem cells with more stable genomes

Damaged tissue, such as pancreas, heart, and neuronal tissue, which is regenerated to treat cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or neurodegenerative diseases. This is one of the ambitious scenarios to which regenerative medicine aspires and that is being announced as one of the great promises of twenty-first century biomedicine for the treatment of a long list of diseases affecting people today.

28 Aug 2015

Scientists reveal how a common gene mutation in ALS and FTD disrupts normal cell function

Researchers have determined how the most common gene mutation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) disrupts normal cell function, providing insight likely to advance efforts to develop targeted therapies for these brain diseases.

27 Aug 2015

Elite CBD Remedy Tincture now available through Mary's Nutritionals

Elite Botanicals, the leading cultivator of CBD-rich hemp in Colorado, today announced that it's Elite CBD Remedy Tincture is now available through medical and recreational dispensaries in Colorado, as well as online through Mary's Nutritionals.

26 Aug 2015

Two proteins that help cells eliminate trash may contribute to development of Parkinson's disease

Two proteins that share the ability to help cells deal with their trash appear to need each other to do their jobs and when they don't connect, it appears to contribute to development of Parkinson's disease, scientists report.

21 Aug 2015

Determining the dynein-dynactin complex structure: an interview with Dr Gabriel C. Lander

This is a macromolecular assembly is made up of two components, dynein and dynactin, that works to move molecular cargo (organelles, RNA, vesicles, proteins, viruses) along microtubule highways within our cells.

16 Aug 2015

3D protein structure reveals new drug targets for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases

Protein Kinase C (PKC) is a family of enzymes that controls the activity of other proteins in a cell by attaching chemical tags. That simple act helps determine cell survival or death.

14 Aug 2015

FAU neuroscientist develops Quick Dementia Rating System comparable to gold standard clinical tests

Determining whether or not an individual has dementia and to what degree is a long and laborious process that can take an experienced professional such as a clinician about four to five hours to administer, interpret and score the test results. A leading neuroscientist at Florida Atlantic University has developed a way for a layperson to do this in three to five minutes with results that are comparable to the "gold standard" dementia tests used by clinicians today.

13 Aug 2015

Netrin1 protein acts as cellular "marriage broker"

Scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre, have made a breakthrough in understanding an important protein that appears to act as a kind of cellular "marriage broker."

13 Aug 2015

Researchers report role of two gene-regulating molecules in Parkinson's disease

As Parkinson's disease progresses in patients, a puzzling dichotomy plays out in their brains. One set of neurons degenerates, while a similar population nearby is spared the same degree of damage. Why the difference? An answer to this question could clear the way for preventions and treatments for this disease, which impairs movement.

11 Aug 2015

New fly model developed to study motor neuron degeneration

Researchers at the Babraham Institute and University of Massachusetts Medical School in the United States have developed a new model to study motor neuron degeneration and have used this to identify three genes involved in the neurodegeneration process. These findings could have relevance for understanding the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other forms of motor neuron disease (MND).

7 Aug 2015