Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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MJFF announces acquisition of parkin research tools from Imago Pharmaceuticals

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research announces the acquisition of a library of research tools around the parkin protein from Imago Pharmaceuticals. The Foundation believes these tools — cell lines, plasmids, compounds and more — will accelerate biological study and drug development against this promising disease-modification target.

11 May 2015

Gene expression is key to understanding differences between individuals and predisposition to disease

The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project consortia, which includes scientists from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, have now published their results from their first pilot study in three Science papers...

8 May 2015

GTEx findings reveal how genomic variants can affect gene activity and disease susceptibility

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project have created a new and much-anticipated data resource to help establish how differences in an individual's genomic make-up can affect gene activity and contribute to disease.

8 May 2015

Link between dDsk2 protein and neurodegenerative diseases identified

Until today, the proteins known as ubiquitin receptors have been associated mainly with protein degradation, a basic cell cleaning process. A new function now described for the protein dDsk2 by the team headed by Ferran Azorín, group leader at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and CSIC research professor, links ubiquitin receptors for the first time with the regulation of gene expression.

29 Apr 2015

Dr. Mike O. Karl awarded EYEnovative Research Award for retina research

Dr. Mike O. Karl, group leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden - Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden, was awarded the “EYEnovative Förderpreis” of the Novartis Pharma GmbH already for the second time.

25 Apr 2015

Understanding how nerve cells in the brain produce energy required to function

New research published today in the journal Nature Communications represents a potentially fundamental shift in our understanding of how nerve cells in the brain generate the energy needed to function. The study shows neurons are more independent than previously believed and this research has implications for a range of neurological disorders.

25 Apr 2015

BrainStorm presents positive results from NurOwn phase 2a study in ALS at AAN annual meeting

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, is presenting results from its phase 2a study of NurOwn in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at a poster session today at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, taking place in Washington D.C.

21 Apr 2015

SGK1 enzyme protects brain cells in animal models of Parkinson's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found how a widely known but little-studied enzyme protects brain cells in models of Parkinson's disease.

16 Apr 2015

Researchers identify phenomenon that explains effects of oxidative stress on immune cells

You're up in the mountains, the snow is blindingly white, and the sun is blazing down from the sky: ideal skiing conditions - but any skiers carrying the herpes virus might also have to reckon with the onset of cold sores after their day out.

10 Apr 2015

Researchers explore influence of low-frequency magnetic fields on neurodegenerative disorders

Low-frequency alternating magnetic fields such as those generated by overhead power lines are considered a potential health risk because epidemiological studies indicate that they may aggravate, among other things, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

8 Apr 2015

New model can help predict how humans adapt to high- and low-altitude hypoxia

There are few times in life when one should aim for suboptimal performance, but new research at Rice University suggests scientists who study metabolism and its role in evolution should look for signs of just that.

7 Apr 2015

Study reveals how cell's protein quality control mechanism helps combat neurodegenerative diseases

A molecular pathway known to suppress tumors appears to also be a major player in clearing cells of damaged proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and certain types of dementia, new research in roundworms and human cells suggests.

6 Apr 2015

New biodegradable membrane reduces wound healing time by 50%

Treatments to regenerate skin from burns become tedious and long lasting; however, Mexican researchers developed a biodegradable membrane that allows to transfer skin cells (keratinocytes) to burn wounds, when placed on the wound. The method reduces healing time by 50 percent.

3 Apr 2015

Research breakthrough could help develop tools to repair damaged nerve cells

A team of researchers at the IRCM led by Frédéric Charron, PhD, in collaboration with bioengineers at McGill University, uncovered a new kind of synergy in the development of the nervous system, which explains an important mechanism required for neural circuits to form properly.

1 Apr 2015

Compact MRI and multimodality: an interview with Bernard Siow, UCL

CABI is a preclinical imaging laboratory where we have about ten modalities. We started off with MRI and we have a 9.4T high-field system.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 30 Mar 2015

Study finds link between neurodegenerative disorders and inflammation

Researchers from McMaster University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York have discovered that a protein associated with neurodegenerative diseases like ALS also plays an important role in the body's natural antiviral response.

30 Mar 2015

Mitochondrial DNA movement: an interview with Professor Jiri Neuzil, Griffith University

According to our understanding, mitochondria undergo cycles of fusion-fission, i.e. they divide within the constraints of a cell and, upon cell division, each of the two daughter cells gets its ‘share’ of mitochondria.

29 Mar 2015

Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics provides business update, announces financial results for 2014

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014.

26 Mar 2015

Immunotherapy reverses memory problems in animal model of Alzheimer's disease

A new study from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has revealed that a single dose of an immunotherapy reverses memory problems in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease. The article appears in the March 25 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.