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HIV protein alters activity of networked neurons

Nearly half of HIV infected patients suffer from impaired neurocognitive function. The HIV protein transactivator of transcription (Tat) is an important contributor to HIV neuropathogenesis because it is a potent neurotoxin that continues to be produced despite treatment with antiretroviral therapy.

31 Jan 2016

New partnership aims to study underlying neurobiology and genetics of PTSD, TBI

Cohen Veterans Bioscience today announced two new collaborative partnership efforts that will provide critical research tools for understanding the underlying neurobiology and genetics of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) with the goal of accelerating the development of first generation diagnostics and treatments.

31 Jan 2016

Graphene-based electrodes could be safely implanted in the brain

Researchers have successfully demonstrated how it is possible to interface graphene - a two-dimensional form of carbon - with neurons, or nerve cells, while maintaining the integrity of these vital cells. The work may be used to build graphene-based electrodes that can safely be implanted in the brain, offering promise for the restoration of sensory functions for amputee or paralysed patients, or for individuals with motor disorders such as epilepsy or Parkinson's disease.

31 Jan 2016

Human brain uses several frequency channels for communication

In the brain, the visual cortex processes visual information and passes it from lower to higher areas of the brain. However, information also flows in the opposite direction, e.g. to direct attention to particular stimuli. But how does the brain know which path the information should take? Researchers at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Frankfurt in Cooperation with Max Planck Society have now demonstrated that the visual cortex of human subjects uses different frequency channels depending on the direction in which information is being transported.

31 Jan 2016

Applying ultrasound therapies for recovery of cardiac stem cells

A joint project of researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Julius Wolff Institute and led by Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research shows that when cardiac stem cells undergo low-intensity pulsed ultrasound treatment, these cells can perform continuing modifications, tissue remodeling and regeneration of damaged cardiac tissue after a heart attack.

31 Jan 2016

Research points to potential use of radiotherapy in treating systemic cancer

An international team of researchers lead by the University of Granada has proven that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) may be used as enhancer agents of local and systemic effects of radiotherapy, that is to say, those which affect the irradiated tumour and tumour cells located at a certain distance of the irradiated ones.

30 Jan 2016

Mild reduction in food intake slows development of autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease

A small reduction in food intake—less than required to cause weight loss—dramatically slowed the development of a common genetic disorder called autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) in mice, a new study in American Journal of Physiology—Renal Physiology reports.

30 Jan 2016

FDA-approved blood pressure drug reduces cell damage linked to Alzheimer's disease

In laboratory neuronal cultures, an FDA-approved drug used to treat high blood pressure reduced cell damage often linked to Alzheimer's disease, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health.

30 Jan 2016

MGH study may lead to first nonsurgical treatment for seborrheic keratoses

An investigation into the molecular mechanisms responsible for the most common type of benign skin lesion may lead to the first nonsurgical treatment for the growths called seborrheic keratoses (SKs), which in addition to being cosmetically unattractive are often worrisome to patients.

30 Jan 2016

Negative attitudes towards ageing seem to affect health in later years

Negative attitudes to ageing affect both physical and cognitive health in later years, new research reveals. The study from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, at Trinity College Dublin, further reveals that participants with positive attitudes towards ageing had improved cognitive ability.

30 Jan 2016

Sphingosine kinase inhibitor slows castration-resistant prostate cancer cell growth

A first-in-class sphingosine kinase 2 inhibitor slowed the growth of castration-resistant prostate cancer cells, in part by inhibiting the enzyme dihydroceramide desaturase (DEGS), but did not kill them, according to the results of preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies published in the December 2015 issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics by researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina and others.

30 Jan 2016

Certain viral infections during pregnancy could cause behavioral changes in offspring

A study published in the journal Science found that activation in pregnant mice of a particular immune response, similar to what may occur with certain viral infections during pregnancy, alters the brain structure of the mouse offspring and causes behavioral changes, reminiscent of those observed in humans with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

30 Jan 2016

TSRI scientists reveal workings of key 'relief-valve' in cells

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has solved a long-standing mystery in cell biology by showing essentially how a key "relief-valve" in cells does its job.

30 Jan 2016

Men with ASD have differences in brain connections

Research at King's College London has revealed subtle brain differences in adult males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which may go some way towards explaining why symptoms persist into adulthood in some people with the disorder.

30 Jan 2016

Researchers discover previously unknown mechanism that regulates neurogenesis

Bassem Hassan's team at VIB/KU Leuven has discovered a previously unknown mechanism that is highly conserved between species and which regulates neurogenesis through precise temporal control of the activity of a family of proteins essential for brain development: the proneural proteins.

30 Jan 2016

UCL-led researchers find way to assess viability of induced pluripotent stem cells

A research team led by scientists from UCL have found a way to assess the viability of 'manufactured' stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Published today in Nature Communications, the team's discovery offers a new way to fast-track screening methods used in stem cell research.

30 Jan 2016

Two studies shed new light on nature of tandem DNA repeat arrays

A pair of studies by a team of scientists has shed new light on the nature of a particular type of DNA sequences—tandem DNA repeat arrays—that play important roles in transcription control, genome organization, and development.

29 Jan 2016

Multinational study suggests new way to classify gliomas

A comprehensive analysis of the molecular characteristics of gliomas—the most common malignant brain tumor—explains why some patients diagnosed with slow-growing (low-grade) tumors quickly succumb to the disease while others with more aggressive (high-grade) tumors survive for many years.

29 Jan 2016

Brain's natural plasticity could compensate for inner ear damage

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have described, for the first time, the adult brain's ability to compensate for a near-complete loss of auditory nerve fibers that link the ear to the brain. The findings, published in the current issue of Neuron, suggest that the brain's natural plasticity can compensate for inner ear damage to bring sound detection abilities back within normal limits; however, it does not recover speech intelligibility.

29 Jan 2016

Weight loss programs that provide healthy fats have similar impacts on pound-shedding

A University of California, San Diego School of Medicine study finds that weight loss programs that provide healthy fats, such as olive oil in the Mediterranean diet, or a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet have similar impacts on pound-shedding.

29 Jan 2016