Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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Registration now open for Disease Models & Mechanisms' one-day symposium

Registration is now open for Disease Models & Mechanisms' one-day symposium entitled Protein-Folding Diseases: Models & Mechanisms.

11 Jul 2012

Conference highlights utility of zebrafish for human disorder studies

Zebrafish, popular as aquarium fish, now have an important place in research labs as a model organism for studying human diseases.

8 Jul 2012

Non-invasive absolute intracranial pressure value meter shown to be accurate in clinical settings

The results of independent clinical assessment – prospective study of innovative non-invasive absolute intracranial pressure (ICP) value (mmHg) meter were recently published in the journal Neurology (The official journal of the American Academy of Neurology). This is the first prospective comparative clinical study of a non-invasive ICP measurement method that shows accuracy and precision which is acceptable for clinical practice.

5 Jul 2012

Nottingham scientists to develop world's first atlas of the Asian brain

Scientists at The University of Nottingham are leading research that will develop the world's first 'atlas' of the Asian brain.

4 Jul 2012

Potential link between mutant huntingtin, cell loss and cell death in Huntington's disease

Using an in vitro cell model of Huntington's disease (HD), researchers at Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine have discovered a novel mechanism and potential link between mutant huntingtin, cell loss and cell death or apoptosis in the brain, which is responsible for the devastating effects of this disease. Apoptosis has been proposed as one of the mechanisms leading to neuronal death in HD.

2 Jul 2012

Enlightening risk factor findings for REM sleep behavior disorder

Cigarette smoking, head injury, farming, pesticide exposure, and a lower level of education may be risk factors for idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, researchers report.

29 Jun 2012

Scientists use patient cells to generate human model of Huntington's

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and an international team of researchers have generated a human model of Huntington's disease-directly from the skin cells of patients with the disease.

29 Jun 2012

Researchers create 'Huntington's disease in a dish' to enable search for treatment

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington's disease (HD), and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

Potential risk factors for disorder that causes people to kick or punch during sleep

Smoking, head injury, pesticide exposure, farming and less education may be risk factors for a rare sleep disorder that causes people to kick or punch during sleep, according to a study published in the June 27, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Jun 2012

Study shows how brain insulin resistance contributes to neurodegeneration in AD

Rhode Island Hospital researcher Suzanne de la Monte, M.D., has found a link between brain insulin resistance (diabetes) and two other key mediators of neuronal injury that help Alzheimer's disease (AD) to propagate.

27 Jun 2012

Emory scientists identify new type of anti-inflammatory compound

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a new type of anti-inflammatory compound that may be useful in treating a wide range of conditions, including neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. These compounds inhibit the enzyme Nox2, part of a family of enzymes responsible for producing reactive oxygen species (ROS).

22 Jun 2012

Researchers can silence mutated gene responsible for Huntington's with single drug treatment

With a single drug treatment, researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine can silence the mutated gene responsible for Huntington's disease, slowing and partially reversing progression of the fatal neurodegenerative disorder in animal models.

21 Jun 2012

Researchers determine structure of MRN complex

Double-stranded breaks in cellular DNA can trigger tumorigenesis. Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have now determined the structure of a protein involved in the repair and signaling of DNA double-strand breaks. The work throws new light on the origins of neurodegenerative diseases and certain tumor types.

20 Jun 2012

Mutation responsible for rare, hereditary motor neuron disease disrupts vital links

Studying how nerve cells send and receive messages, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered new ways that genetic mutations can disrupt functions in neurons and lead to neurodegenerative disease, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

11 Jun 2012

eHealth offers Europe solutions that can help avoid healthcare crisis

Healthcare systems face enormous challenges over the coming years. The increasing demands of an aging population, the rising cost of treatments and medications, and budget shortfalls are all issues that will need to be addressed if Europeans are to continue to enjoy high standards of care. eHealth, enabled by information and communication technologies, offers Europe solutions that can help avoid healthcare crisis.

8 Jun 2012

dSarm/Sarm1 gene promotes axon destruction after injury

Degeneration of the axon and synapse, the slender projection through which neurons transmit electrical impulses to neighboring cells, is a hallmark of some of the most crippling neurodegenerative and brain diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington's disease and peripheral neuropathy.

8 Jun 2012

Scientists discover new function for thrombospondin protein

Scientists have discovered a new function for a protein that protects cells during injury and could eventually translate into treatment for conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease to Alzheimer's.

8 Jun 2012

Sapio announces availability of Exemplar Biomarker Discovery LIMS

Sapio Sciences is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Exemplar Biomarker Discovery LIMS.

5 Jun 2012

Inhibiting IRE1α-XBP1 pathway impacts survival of myeloma cells

Results published in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology, confirm that inhibition of the IRE1α-XBP1 pathway impacts the survival of myeloma cells, suggesting a promising therapeutic option in multiple myeloma.

2 Jun 2012

CHOC Children's research project receives $5.5M CIRM grant

A CHOC Children's research project, under the direction of Philip H. Schwartz, Ph.D., senior scientist at the CHOC Children's Research Institute and managing director of the facility's National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource, has been awarded a $5.5 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

30 May 2012