Scientists identify most lethal known species of prion protein
Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal death similar to that seen in "mad cow" disease, but is at least 10...
View ArticleThe Japanese traditional therapy, honokiol, blocks key protein in...
Microglia are the first line defence of the brain and are constantly looking for infections to fight off. Overactive microglia can cause uncontrolled inflammation within the brain, which can in turn...
View ArticleGetting down to the heart of the (gray) matter to treat Parkinson's disease
An agent under consideration for use in PET imaging combats neuronal death to relieve Parkinsonian symptoms in animal models, according to a study published on April 2nd in the Journal of Experimental...
View ArticleResearchers have identified a gene with a key role in neuronal survival
Spanish researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) identified the fundamental role played by the Nurr1 gene in neuron survival associated with synaptic...
View ArticleHow human cells 'hold hands'
University of Iowa biologists have advanced the knowledge of human neurodevelopmental disorders by finding that a lack of a particular group of cell adhesion molecules in the cerebral cortex -- the...
View ArticleScientists measure communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and...
In an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure the...
View ArticleNew research yields insights into Parkinson's disease
Researchers at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) used an innovative technique to examine chemical interactions that are implicated in Parkinson's Disease.
View ArticleExcitotoxicity and nerve cell death
Neural excitotoxicity can be involved in spinal cord injury, traumatic hearing loss and Alzheimer's. The Stressprotect project has gathered data on this often devastating phenomenon at biochemical,...
View ArticleHunting neuron killers in Alzheimer's and traumatic brain injury
Levels of the protein appoptosin in the brain skyrocket in Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. Appoptosin is known for helping the body make heme, the molecule that carries iron in the...
View ArticleScientists uncover potential drug target to block cell death in Parkinson's...
Oxidative stress is a primary villain in a host of diseases that range from cancer and heart failure to Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Now, scientists from...
View ArticleNormal prion protein regulates iron metabolism
An iron imbalance caused by prion proteins collecting in the brain is a likely cause of cell death in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine...
View ArticleMild blast injury causes molecular changes in brain akin to Alzheimer, team says
A multicenter study led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that mild traumatic brain injury after blast exposure produces inflammation, oxidative stress and gene...
View ArticleInterferon-beta aids balance and movement in mice with spinocerebellar ataxia 7
The group of genetic conditions known as spinocerebellar ataxias currently have no treatment or cure and are always fatal, in the case of affected children at an early age. Symptoms include a...
View ArticleStudy identifies protein that contributes to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have demonstrated that a protein called caspase-2 is a key regulator of a signaling pathway that leads to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's...
View ArticleA new wrinkle in Parkinson's disease research
The active ingredient in an over-the-counter skin cream might do more than prevent wrinkles. Scientists have discovered that the drug, called kinetin, also slows or stops the effects of Parkinson's...
View ArticleStudy suggests fish oil could help protect alcohol abusers from dementia
A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study suggests that omega-3 fish oil might help protect against alcohol-related dementia.
View ArticleFluorescent compounds allow clinicians to visualize Alzheimer's disease as it...
What if doctors could visualize all of the processes that take place in the brain during the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease? Such a window would provide a powerful aid for...
View ArticleUnique protein interaction may drive most common genetic cause of Parkinson's...
The most devastating aspect of Parkinson's disease may not be its debilitating symptoms, which rob its victims of their ability to control their own movement. It may not be the millions around the...
View ArticleImpaired recovery from inflammation linked to Alzheimer's disease
(Medical Xpress)—New research from Karolinska Institutet shows that the final stage of the normal inflammatory process may be disrupted in patients with Alzheimer's disease. A study published in the...
View ArticleIs Parkinson's an autoimmune disease?
The cause of neuronal death in Parkinson's disease is still unknown, but a new study proposes that neurons may be mistaken for foreign invaders and killed by the person's own immune system, similar to...
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