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Transgenic mouse model study confirms passage of maternal thyroid hormones to fetus

Until now there were only indirect evidence of the transfer of thyroid hormones from mother to fetus through the placenta during pregnancy. That event is very important because the maternal thyroid hormones appear to play a key role in the development of the nervous system and other organs of the fetus; so it's true that in case of maternal thyroid disease, such hypothyroidism, have a direct bearing on the unborn child with reduction, also significant, to its Q.I..

12 Apr 2010

MIF molecule plays crucial role in neurogenesis

There has been little progress in the way we treat depression and anxiety for over thirty years, but a recent study at EPFL Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) may open the door to new strategies. In an article published online February 23, 2010, in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers from two laboratories at the Brain Mind Institute at EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) explain how understanding the functioning of a molecule called MIF, or macrophage migration inhibitory factor, may change the way we treat depression.

12 Apr 2010

Researchers commence Phase 2 research study to test CERE-110 for AD

Researchers at Banner Sun Health Research Institute are about to start the first Phase 2 research study to test a gene transfer agent for Alzheimer's disease. AD is a degenerative and ultimately fatal disorder affecting as many as five million Americans and that number is expected to soar to more than 11 million by 2040.

7 Apr 2010

Opexa Therapeutics to discuss on personalized medicine for treatment of MS

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing a novel T-cell therapy for multiple sclerosis, announced today that the company will participate in a panel discussion on Personalized Medicine for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis on April 7, 2010.

5 Apr 2010

Recipients of Pfizer Canada's third Neuropathic Pain Research Awards Competition announced

Pfizer Canada is pleased to announce the recipients of its third Neuropathic Pain Research Awards Competition, which aims to fund and support Canadian innovation within independent neuropathic pain research in the areas of basic biomedical, clinical and health sciences.

31 Mar 2010

AAN awards Cedars-Sinai researcher 2010 Sheila Essey Award for ALS research

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is awarding the 2010 Sheila Essey Award-An Award for ALS Research to Clive Svendsen, PhD, with the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute in Los Angeles, CA. Svendsen will receive the award during the AAN's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, held April 10 through April 17, 2010.

31 Mar 2010

UCSF approach may one day be used to create new periods of plasticity in human brain

UCSF scientists report that they were able to prompt a new period of "plasticity," or capacity for change, in the neural circuitry of the visual cortex of juvenile mice. The approach, they say, might some day be used to create new periods of plasticity in the human brain that would allow for the repair of neural circuits following injury or disease.

27 Mar 2010

Modified protein plays a key role in memory processes

How do we process thoughts and store memories? A team of researchers headed by Dr. Nahum Sonenberg of McGill's Department of Biochemistry and Goodman Cancer Centre has discovered that brains in mammals modify a particular protein in a unique way, which alters the protein's normal function.

26 Mar 2010

SMA Foundation completes biomarker study for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

The Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the development of a treatment for SMA, is pleased to announce the completion of a pilot study to identify Biomarkers for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (BforSMA) and the discovery of over 400 candidate biomarkers.

26 Mar 2010

Study offers new insight on how human brain makes moral judgments

A new study from MIT neuroscientists suggests that our ability to respond appropriately to intended harms - that is, with outrage toward the perpetrator - is seated in a brain region associated with regulating emotions.

25 Mar 2010

New research at Tel Aviv University may lay groundwork for retinal implants in people

Television's Six Million Dollar Man foresaw a future when man and machine would become one. New research at Tel Aviv University is making this futuristic "vision" of bionics a reality.

23 Mar 2010

Microglia contribute to loss of neurons linked with Alzheimer's disease

Microglia are the cells responsible for immune surveillance in the brain, and they initiate protective inflammatory reactions in response to tissue damage and infection. An international team under the leadership of LMU neuroscientist Professor Jochen Herms has now shown that these cells may actually make a significant contribution to the loss of neurons associated with Alzheimer's disease.

22 Mar 2010

Research shows phenomenon of brain replay is much more complex

The hippocampus, a part of the brain essential for memory, has long been known to "replay" recently experienced events. Previously, replay was believed to be a simple process of reviewing recent experiences in order to help consolidate them into long-term memory.

18 Mar 2010

Blocking RhoA enzyme increases survival in SMA mouse model

Scientists from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa have identified a promising new approach for developing drugs to treat Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading inherited cause of death in infants and toddlers. Dr. Rashmi Kothary and his doctoral student Melissa Bowerman have found that an enzyme called RhoA is overly active in a mouse model of the disease and blocking this enzyme can greatly increase survival. The study is published in Human Molecular Genetics.

16 Mar 2010

Decision making: Replays in hippocampus part of complex process

Replaying recent events in the area of the brain called the hippocampus may have less to do with creating long-term memories, as scientists have suspected, than with an active decision-making process, suggests a new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Minnesota Medical School.

12 Mar 2010

Auditory cortex development becomes vulnerable if it does not receive appropriate stimulation at right time

Hearing scientist Daniel Polley, Ph.D., an investigator at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary's Eaton-Peabody Laboratories of Auditory Physiology, has gained new insight into why a relatively short-term hearing deprivation during childhood may lead to persistent hearing deficits, long after hearing is restored to normal.

11 Mar 2010

Study uncovers mechanism facilitating motivation for alcohol after extended abstinence

New research provides exciting insight into the molecular mechanisms associated with addiction and relapse. The study, published by Cell Press in the March 11 issue of the journal Neuron, uncovers a crucial mechanism that facilitates motivation for alcohol after extended abstinence and opens new avenues for potential therapeutic intervention.