Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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Study finds link between upper GI infections and protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease

Acute and chronic infections in a person's upper gastrointestinal tract appear to be linked to Parkinson's disease, say scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center and their collaborators at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

28 Jun 2017

UA researchers explain exercise-brain connection from evolutionary perspective

Mounting scientific evidence shows that exercise is good not only for our bodies but for our brains. Yet, exactly why physical activity benefits the brain is not well understood.

27 Jun 2017

Western University neuroscientist launches world's largest sleep-and-cognition study

Renowned Western University neuroscientist Adrian Owen has launched the world's largest sleep-and-cognition study to help researchers learn the effects on our brains of sleep and sleep deprivation.

27 Jun 2017

New approaches to early detection of Parkinson's disease on the horizon

Detecting Parkinson's disease before non-reversible symptoms occur: New approaches to early detection are meant to ensure just that. They are based on detection of alpha-synuclein in the skin or intestines.

24 Jun 2017

Researchers create new camera that can register fast processes in transparent specimens

Researchers from ITMO University have built a setup for recording holograms of tiny objects like living cells with a femtosecond speed. The new method allows one to reconstruct phase topography of a studied sample according to deformations that emerge in a laser pulse when it passes through the specimen.

22 Jun 2017

Promoting innate detoxification mechanisms could be efficient strategy to reduce cellular oxidative stress

Promoting innate detoxification mechanisms in the body and discovering which supplements increase the efficacy of those biochemical pathways could be an efficient strategy to reduce the cellular oxidative stress and protect our health, according to an article published in the journal Food Chemistry, by the researchers Rafael Franco, from the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona, and Eva Martínez Pinilla, from the Institute of Neurosciences of Asturias and the University of Oviedo.

21 Jun 2017

African plant extract could pave way for new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease

A plant extract used for centuries in traditional medicine in Nigeria could form the basis of a new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease, researchers at The University of Nottingham have found.

20 Jun 2017

SDSU neuroscientist explores how the brain works to retrieve correct word from memory

When you look at a picture of a mug, the neurons that store your memory of what a mug is begin firing. But it's not a pinpoint process; a host of neurons that code for related ideas and items--bowl, coffee, spoon, plate, breakfast--are activated as well.

20 Jun 2017

Viral vectors for gene transfer can travel to distant areas in the brain, study shows

Gene transfer is seen as a hopeful therapy for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients. The approach involves using harmless laboratory-produced viruses to introduce important genes into the brain cells.

16 Jun 2017

Pyk2 deficits contribute to memory problems in Huntington’s disease mouse model

Researchers from the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB and from IDIBAPS together with a team from the University Pierre and Marie Curie and the Institute du Fer à Moulin, published a study in Nature Communications, which demonstrates that the regulation in Pyk2, a protein-tyrosine kinase, causes alterations of the synaptic plasticity involved in memory tasks, associated with the hippocampus in mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington's.

13 Jun 2017

Study provides new insight into cells that rejuvenate the brain

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease manifested by various neuronal pathological processes and a significant decline in brain function.

9 Jun 2017

Studies offer hope for developing new biomarker and drug for neurodegenerative diseases

Two new studies of progressive, neurodegenerative diseases linked to defects in cells' mitochondria offer hope for developing a new biomarker for research and diagnostics, and a drug for treating such diseases, report researchers at the University of California, Davis.

6 Jun 2017

Study underlines significance of microglia for homeostasis in the brain

The role of microglial cells in neurodegenerative disease is not fully understood. But new results from researchers in Munich and Basel suggest that stimulation of this arm of the immune system might well delay the onset of such disorders.

2 Jun 2017

Brain's immune cells may play roles in neurodegenerative, psychiatric illnesses

Scientists have, for the first time, characterized the molecular markers that make the brain's front lines of immune defense--cells called microglia--unique.

31 May 2017

EU funds ‘Keep Control’ project that focuses on balance and gait deficits in older adults

Balance problems when standing and walking are ubiquitous in the older population, and can lead to a significant burden for the individual and society.

31 May 2017

Troubles with normal dreaming may be early warning sign for neurological conditions

Dr. John Peever at the University of Toronto has been working to answer one of humanity's greatest questions: how do we dream? He has found a certain area of the brain is responsible for this phenomenon and that troubles with normal dreaming may be an early warning sign for ailments such as Parkinson's Disease.

30 May 2017

Study unravels mystery of how nerve cells are damaged in neurodegenerative diseases

A new study has uncovered a molecular mechanism in the prion protein, a protein responsible for neurodegenerative diseases, which may explain why nerve cells degenerate in these disorders.

25 May 2017

Study: Abnormal proteins in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases share similar feature

A Loyola University Chicago study has found that abnormal proteins found in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease all share a similar ability to cause damage when they invade brain cells.

23 May 2017

Researchers discover how tau disrupts functioning of nerve cells even before forming tangles

Tau proteins are involved in more than twenty neurodegenerative diseases, including various forms of dementia.

19 May 2017

New understanding about brain proteins could lead to effective therapies for dementia

A research team from the University of Plymouth, University of Southampton and the Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Center, Vari, Greece, have studied two structurally-similar proteins in the adult brain and have found that they play distinct roles in the development of dementia.