Neuron News and Research

RSS

Carnegie Mellon researchers to develop new stem cell-based drug delivery therapy

Carnegie Mellon University's Stefan F. Zappe is using adult neural stem cells to develop a new stem cell-based drug delivery therapy that may ultimately help treat a variety of inherited genetic disorders like Hunter syndrome.

5 Nov 2007

Harvard 'Brainbow' helps chart neural circuits

By activating multiple fluorescent proteins in neurons, neuroscientists at Harvard University are imaging the brain and nervous system as never before, rendering their cells in a riotous spray of colors dubbed a "Brainbow."

1 Nov 2007

Neural stem cells may help to restore memory after brain damage

In the study, mice with brain injuries experienced enhanced memory -- similar to the level found in healthy mice -- up to three months after receiving a stem cell treatment. Scientists believe the stem cells secreted proteins called neurotrophins that protected vulnerable cells from death and rescued memory.

31 Oct 2007

New brain cells listen before they talk

Newly created neurons in adults rely on signals from distant brain regions to regulate their maturation and survival before they can communicate with existing neighboring cells - a finding that has important implications for the use of adult neural stem cells to replace brain cells lost by trauma or neurodegeneration, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in The Journal of Neuroscience.

31 Oct 2007

Neurons in primate cortex associate numerical meaning with visual signs

Humans share with animals a language-independent system for representing numerical quantity, but number symbols have to be acquired throughout childhood.

31 Oct 2007

Light beams used as tweezers to manipulate cells

In a feat that seems like something out of a microscopic version of Star Trek, MIT researchers have found a way to use a "tractor beam" of light to pick up, hold, and move around individual cells and other objects on the surface of a microchip.

31 Oct 2007

Fibromyalgia pain caused by neuron mismatch

The unexplained pain experienced by patients with fibromyalgia is the result of a mismatch between sensory and motor systems, new research suggests.

31 Oct 2007

Lithium commonly used to treat bi-polar disorder increases lifespan in Nematode worms

Nematode worms treated with lithium show a 46 percent increase in lifespan, raising the tantalizing question of whether humans taking the mood affecting drug are also taking an anti-aging medication.

31 Oct 2007

Risk factors that may contribute to the onset of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Researchers in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Social and Behavioral Research Lab (SBRL) are leading a study to investigate potential environmental, lifestyle, and medical variables that may contribute to the onset of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

29 Oct 2007

New insights into how the brain takes in and assembles stimuli from the outside world

The area of the brain that processes sounds entering the ears also appears to process stimulus entering the eyes, providing a novel explanation for why many viewers believe that ventriloquists have thrown their voices to the mouths of their dummies.

29 Oct 2007

Odd protein interaction guides development of olfactory system

Scientists have discovered a strange mechanism for the development of the fruit fly antennal lobe, an intricate structure that converts the chaotic stew of odors in the environment into discrete signals in the brain.

29 Oct 2007

Scientists discover new causes for neurodegeneration

Diseases that cause neurons to break-down, such as Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (Mad Cow Disease), continue to be elusive to scientists and resistant to treatments.

25 Oct 2007

Diffusion tensor imaging shows structural changes in mild traumatic brain injury

Researchers report that diffusion tensor imaging can identify structural changes in the white matter of the brain that correlates to cognitive deficits even in patients with mild traumatic brain injury.

25 Oct 2007

Valsartan might help prevent Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disease that is the most common form of dementia, is characterized by the formation in the brain of plaques containing misfolded beta-amyloid protein.

25 Oct 2007

Synthetic form of THC is an effective anti-depressant at low doses

A new neurobiological study has found that a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is an effective anti-depressant at low doses.

24 Oct 2007

Potent inhibitor of Kinesin CENP-E demonstrates tumor cell inhibition

A first-in-class, targeted investigational therapy specifically designed to inhibit a single protein that functions only during cell division shows potent activity in a broad range of cancer cell lines, say researchers from GlaxoSmithKline.

24 Oct 2007

Orexigen presents findings on obesity drug candidates

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders including obesity, has presented the results of a preclinical study that further supports the Company's understanding of an aspect of the mechanism of action of Contrave, one of its two late-stage obesity drug candidates.

24 Oct 2007