Neurons News and Research

RSS

New improved enzyme could help facilitate spinal cord injuries

Researchers have developed an improved version of an enzyme that degrades the dense scar tissue that forms when the central nervous system is damaged. By digesting the tissue that blocks re-growth of damaged nerves, the improved enzyme - and new system for delivering it - could facilitate recovery from serious central nervous system injuries.

4 Nov 2009

Laser-scanning microscope records brain activity in freely moving animals

The majority of our life is spent moving around a static world and we generate our impression of the world using visual and other senses simultaneously. It is the ability to freely explore our environment that is essential for the view we form of our local surroundings.

4 Nov 2009

Individuals who had experienced trauma exposure in both childhood and adulthood likely to develop PTSD

Individuals who experience both childhood adversity and traumatic events in adulthood appear more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than those exposed to only one of these types of incidents, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, the risk was further increased in individuals with a certain genetic mutation.

3 Nov 2009

Lipid may be vital to learning

Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma's recipe for cinnamon buns, as well as recall how, decades ago, she served them up steaming from the oven.

31 Oct 2009

Johns Hopkins researchers find life in blood-starved retinas; shed light on vision loss

Like all tissues in the body, the eye needs a healthy blood supply to function properly. Poorly developed blood vessels can lead to visual impairment or even blindness. While many of the molecules involved in guiding the development of the intricate blood vessel architecture are known, only now are we learning how these molecules work and how they might affect sight.

31 Oct 2009

Researchers show Simvastatin prevents Parkinson's disease from progressing further

Simvastatin, a commonly used, cholesterol-lowering drug, may prevent Parkinson's disease from progressing further. Neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center conducted a study examining the use of the FDA-approved medication in mice with Parkinson's disease and found that the drug successfully reverses the biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes caused by the disease.

30 Oct 2009

Long-term effects of statin therapy could lead to transient or permanent cognitive impairment

Besides their tremendous value in treating high cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease, statins have also been reported to potentially lower the risks of other diseases, such as dementia. However, a study in the October Journal of Lipid Research finds that similar statin drugs can have profoundly different effects on brain cells -both beneficial and detrimental.

29 Oct 2009

CIRM awards Salk Institute $10.8M grant to develop stem-cell based therapy for Lou Gehrig's Disease

The Salk Institute has been awarded a $10.8 million grant by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for translational research focusing on developing a novel stem-cell based therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

29 Oct 2009

Regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved: Study

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment delayed is more than a year after the original spinal cord injury.

29 Oct 2009

Brain cell transplants help replace degenerated neurons, finds Swiss research team

A Swiss research team has found that using an animal's own brain cells (autologous transplant) to replace degenerated neurons in select brain areas of donor primates with simulated but asymptomatic Parkinson's disease and previously in a motor cortex lesion model, provides a degree of brain protection and may be useful in repairing brain lesions and restoring function.

29 Oct 2009

Moores UCSD Cancer Center awarded $20 million for cancer research

Researchers led by Moores UCSD Cancer Center Director Dennis A. Carson, MD, professor of medicine, and Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and director of the Cancer Stem Cell Research Program at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have been awarded $20 million over four years to develop novel drugs against leukemia stem cells.

28 Oct 2009

Scientists test rapamycin's effectiveness at rescuing impaired nerve cells

Johns Hopkins scientists report having used a commercially available drug to successfully "rescue" animal brain cells that they had intentionally damaged by manipulating a newly discovered gene that links susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and autism.

28 Oct 2009

Rutgers scientist receives 2009 Gruber International Research Award

For the first time, it now is possible for researchers to peer into those internal processes in a rodent brain. Eva Pastalkova, a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University, Newark and her advisor, Professor Gy-rgy Buzsaki, have developed a method for studying internally generated brain activity in rats.

28 Oct 2009

Susceptibility to schizophrenia and autism may have common genetic fingerprints, says researchers

28 Oct 2009

Mosquitoes are attracted by naturally produced, dominant odor in humans

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified the dominant odor naturally produced in humans and birds that attracts the blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus and other life-threatening diseases.

27 Oct 2009

Discovery of molecular pathway in brain may reverse cognitive impact of sleep deprivation

A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation.

27 Oct 2009

Enzyme Mst3b is essential for regenerating damaged axons in live animal model, say researchers

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report that an enzyme known as Mst3b, previously identified in their lab, is essential for regenerating damaged axons (nerve fibers) in a live animal model, in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.

26 Oct 2009

Supplemental oxygen during stroke is effective to combat brain tissue damage

Scientists have countered findings of previous clinical trials by showing that giving supplemental oxygen to animals during a stroke can reduce damage to brain tissue surrounding the clot.

26 Oct 2009

APC enzyme may be effective for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A chemical cousin of a drug currently used to treat sepsis dramatically slows the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, in mice. The results offer a bit of good news in efforts to develop a therapy to stop or slow the progression of a disease that generally kills its victims within just a few years.

26 Oct 2009

Antidepressants are not effective for many people

More than half the people who take antidepressants for depression never get relief.

24 Oct 2009

Neurons News and Research

New improved enzyme could help facilitate spinal cord injuries

Laser-scanning microscope records brain activity in freely moving animals

Individuals who had experienced trauma exposure in both childhood and adulthood likely to develop PTSD

Lipid may be vital to learning

Johns Hopkins researchers find life in blood-starved retinas; shed light on vision loss

Researchers show Simvastatin prevents Parkinson's disease from progressing further

Long-term effects of statin therapy could lead to transient or permanent cognitive impairment

CIRM awards Salk Institute $10.8M grant to develop stem-cell based therapy for Lou Gehrig's Disease

Regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved: Study

Brain cell transplants help replace degenerated neurons, finds Swiss research team

Moores UCSD Cancer Center awarded $20 million for cancer research

Scientists test rapamycin's effectiveness at rescuing impaired nerve cells

Rutgers scientist receives 2009 Gruber International Research Award

Susceptibility to schizophrenia and autism may have common genetic fingerprints, says researchers

Mosquitoes are attracted by naturally produced, dominant odor in humans

Discovery of molecular pathway in brain may reverse cognitive impact of sleep deprivation

Enzyme Mst3b is essential for regenerating damaged axons in live animal model, say researchers

Supplemental oxygen during stroke is effective to combat brain tissue damage

APC enzyme may be effective for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Antidepressants are not effective for many people

Neuroscience - Second Edition eBook

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

Latest News