Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Researchers use powerful X-rays to analyze brain tissues of schizophrenia patients

Schizophrenia, a chronic, neurological brain disorder, affects millions of people around the world. It causes a fracture between a person's thoughts, feelings and behavior.

24 Feb 2021

New platform can help treat neurodegenerative diseases through regenerative medicine

Imagine if surgeons could transplant healthy neurons into patients living with neurodegenerative diseases or brain and spinal cord injuries.

24 Feb 2021

Study reveals new routes to potential treatments for chronic inflammatory conditions

Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma, COPD and, most recently, COVID-19, have proven difficult to treat.

23 Feb 2021

Study maps SARS-CoV-2 infected brains

Researchers in the United States and Canada have mapped the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the brains of people who died from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Feb 2021

Whole-genome study of IBD in African Americans reveals a different genetic risk landscape

In African Americans, the genetic risk landscape for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is very different from that of people with European ancestry, according to results of the first whole-genome study of IBD in African Americans.

20 Feb 2021

Molecular modeling helps identify the binding site of antidepressantss

The effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other conventional antidepressants are believed to be based on their increasing the levels of serotonin and noradrenalin in synapses, while ketamine, a new rapid-acting antidepressant, is thought to function by inhibiting receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate.

19 Feb 2021

UC San Diego researchers launch clinical trial to test gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have launched a first-in-human Phase I clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of a gene therapy to deliver a key protein into the brains of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a condition that often precedes full-blown dementia.

18 Feb 2021

Study provides new insight into the effects of antidepressant drugs

18 Feb 2021

Cone snail venom could potentially treat severe forms of malaria

Severe forms of malaria such as Plasmodium falciparum may be deadly even after treatment with current parasite-killing drugs.

18 Feb 2021

Blood-clotting protein linked with tumor pathogenesis of CNS B-cell lymphoma

In people with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, cancerous B cells--a type of white blood cell--accumulate to form tumors in the brain or spinal cord, often in close proximity to blood vessels.

17 Feb 2021

Lewy body dementia may share similar genetic profiles with Alzheimer's disease

In a study led by National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers, scientists found that five genes may play a critical role in determining whether a person will suffer from Lewy body dementia, a devastating disorder that riddles the brain with clumps of abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies.

17 Feb 2021

Simulating an overactive autoimmune response leads to changes in the brain region

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba in Japan show that simulating an overactive autoimmune response in mice leads to changes in the hippocampal region of the brain.

17 Feb 2021

Study reveals the therapeutic applications of medicinal plants

Both Asia and Africa are home to many plants that can be used for the treatment of many diseases and their medicinal properties are gaining interest in western societies.

17 Feb 2021

Mice study suggests novel approach to treat a type of common glioma

Gliomas are common brain tumors that comprise about one third of all cancers of the nervous system. In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers tested a novel combination treatment approach on mice with tumors with characteristics similar to human astrocytomas--a type of slow-growing glioma--and found tumor regression in 60 percent of the mice treated.

16 Feb 2021

Daily caffeine consumption can change the gray matter of the brain

Coffee, cola or an energy drink: caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance. Researchers from the University of Basel have now shown in a study that regular caffeine intake can change the gray matter of the brain. However, the effect appears to be temporary.

16 Feb 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 enters the central nervous system

The central nervous system (CNS) is highly protected in the human body. Yet, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) invades the CNS, causing profound clinical complications. How is the CNS involved in a respiratory virus infection?

15 Feb 2021

Existing heart failure drug may be effective in treating postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

In a new study out of University of California San Diego School of Medicine, researchers found a drug used for heart failure improves symptoms associated with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, otherwise known as POTS.

15 Feb 2021

Disrupting cancer cell cycle with two commercially available inhibitors causes tumor cell death

With two commercially available inhibitors, the cell cycle of the cancer cells in the childhood tumor neuroblastoma can be disrupted at a key point causing tumor cell death.

12 Feb 2021

Brain pericytes serve as a potential hub for SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of scientists from the United States has recently conducted a study using pericyte-like cell-containing brain cortical organoids as an experimental model to investigate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the central nervous system.

11 Feb 2021

Study offers a new way to treat children with bow hunter syndrome

Fusing the neck's top two vertebrae can prevent repeat strokes in children with bow hunter syndrome, a rare condition that affects a handful of U.S. pediatric patients each year, UT Southwestern researchers suggest in a recent study.

11 Feb 2021