Prion News and Research

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The best COVID warning system? Poop and pooled spit, says one Colorado school

Carol Wilusz's mornings now often start at 4 a.m., scanning the contents of undergraduates' feces. Specifically, scanning the data on how much coronavirus they flushed into the shadows, destined to be extracted from 17 manholes connected to dorm buildings on Colorado State University's Fort Collins campus.

3 Nov 2020

Researchers use new approach to study the mechanisms of cellular uptake of amyloid beta

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the formation of amyloid plaques--sticky clumps of a protein called amyloid beta--that collect between neurons in the brain.

3 Nov 2020

Research program aims to thwart prion-like spread of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease

Tangles of misfolded tau proteins in the brain are closely associated with memory loss in patients with Alzheimer's disease. In order for this tau pathology to spread, the protein must interact with heparan sulfate, a sugar molecule found on the surface of neurons.

28 Oct 2020

New technique can detect TDP-43 protein in patients with ALS and frontotemporal dementia

A test to diagnose two very serious diseases such as ALS and FTD when the pathologies have not yet appeared, thereby providing doctors and patients with essential information tools to tackle them early and develop new treatments.

27 Oct 2020

Trend analysis in Japan reveals Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease may not be so rare anymore

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a debilitating disorder that causes rapid degeneration of the brain as well as progressing dementia.

19 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 N protein forms biomolecular condensates with viral RNA

Now, a study by researchers from the University of California has shown that the N protein forms biomolecular condensates with the viral RNA in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The research titled, ‘SARS CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein forms condensates with viral genomic RNA’, was published on the preprint server bioRxiv on September 14th, 2020.

15 Sep 2020

Journal Of Parkinson's Disease announces recipients of first Parkinson Prize

The Journal of Parkinson's Disease and its publisher IOS Press are proud to announce the two articles that have won the first Parkinson Prize, recognizing these outstanding contributions to the advancement to Parkinson's disease research.

23 Jul 2020

Researchers design new model to predict life expectancy of patients with Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a serious minority neurodegenerative disease, with an annual rate of 1.5 cases per million inhabitants, which represents approximately 11 cases each year in Catalonia. CJD is a very rapid and fatal disease, in fact, the mean life expectancy is six months after diagnosis.

15 Jul 2020

Using nanotheranostics approach to treat cancer

The concept of theranostics revolves around the stratification of patients into specific groups based on their response to different treatments and their disease risks.

10 Jun 2020

New breakthrough may help cure prion disease

A molecular biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has for decades studied the nightmarish group of fatal diseases caused by prions - chronic wasting disease in deer, mad cow in cattle and its human analog - credits a middle-of-the-night dream for a crucial insight, a breakthrough she hopes could lead to a cure.

6 May 2020

Testing the Structural Studies Of Biopolymers with the CPMAS Cryoprobe

In this interview, Program Manager, Alia Hassan and Application Scientist Barbara Perrone, discuss the game-changing sensitivity enhancements achieved with the CPMAS CryoProbe – all the benefits of the CryoProbe, now available for solids.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 28 Apr 2020

New insight on mechanism of prions brings hope for treating neurodegenerative diseases

Prions are a class of misfolded proteins that form aggregates called "amyloid fibrils." These aggregates are the main culprit behind severe mammalian neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

7 Apr 2020

Tracking tau protein yields insight into possible treatments for neurodegenerative diseases

In the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the tau protein is a major culprit.

1 Apr 2020

DNA-modulated liquid droplets may explain how prion proteins clump

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, have identified that the interaction between prion proteins and DNA may be behind the formation of protein amyloid aggregates and of the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other spongiform encephalopathies.

22 Nov 2019

Game-changing diagnostic test for prion diseases

Researchers have developed an effective way of testing for prion diseases, a group of fatal neurodegenerative illnesses caused by abnormally folded proteins.

8 Nov 2019

Top organizations announce awards for emerging leaders in brain health and dementia

To address the growing worldwide public health crisis due to dementia, the prevalence of which is expected to triple worldwide to 152 million by 2050, three leading organizations announced this year's Pilot Awards for Global Brain Health Leaders.

8 Nov 2019

Household bleach decontaminates stainless steel wires coated with CWD prions

A 5-minute soak in a 40% solution of household bleach decontaminated stainless steel wires coated with chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions, according to a new study by National Institutes of Health scientists.

5 Oct 2019

New NIH grant to support innovative skin testing approach for diagnosing Parkinson's disease

Wenquan Zou, MD, PhD, an expert in degenerative neurological diseases, along with his collaborators Shu G. Chen, PhD also from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Jiyan Ma, MD, PhD, from Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Thomas Beach, MD, PhD, from Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, Arizona, have received a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for diagnosing Parkinson's disease (PD) via an innovative skin testing approach.

4 Oct 2019

Scientist wins two-year grant for diagnosis of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's via innovative skin test

Wenquan Zou, MD, PhD, an expert in prion and degenerative neurological diseases, has received a two-year grant for developing diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other related brain-based degenerative disorders via an innovative skin test that uses ultrasensitive technology.

2 Aug 2019

Prion disease in mice treated successfully with antisense oligonucleotides

Prion proteins are known to cause scrapie – a neurodegenerative condition. It is capable of debilitating damage to the nervous system. Researchers have successfully devised a treatment for this condition which prolonged the lives of the lab mice infected with the prions.

1 Aug 2019