Whitehead Institute researchers have discovered that the protein product of the gene MECP2, which is mutated in about 95% of Rett syndrome patients, is a global activator of neuronal gene expression. Mutations in the protein can cause decreased gene transcription, reduced protein synthesis, and severe defects in the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.
People who are depressed may have triple the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study published in the October 2, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Patients with mild cognitive impairment had significantly more cortical thinning and subcortical atrophy over time compared with patients without MCI, suggesting that early MCI in parkinson disease patients may indicate faster neurodegeneration
Johns Hopkins researchers, working with mice, say they have identified a chemical compound that reduces the risk of dangerous, potentially stroke-causing blood vessel spasms that often occur after the rupture of a bulging vessel in the brain.
A review of dozens of studies on the use of statin medications to prevent heart attacks shows that the commonly prescribed drugs pose no threat to short-term memory, and that they may even protect against dementia when taken for more than one year. The Johns Hopkins researchers who conducted the systematic review say the results should offer more clarity and reassurance to patients and the doctors who prescribe the statin medications.
People predisposed to Alzheimer disease have excessive amounts of a protein called beta amyloid in their brains. This protein can be detected by a neuroimaging technique called brain PET. Houston Methodist Hospital’s Nantz National Alzheimer Center will focus on the role of neuroimaging in diagnosing different types of dementia during its Third Annual International Alzheimer Symposium on Oct. 16.
Researchers tested using vagus nerve stimulation as a possible technique to improve stroke recovery. The study showed that pairing vagus nerve stimulation with physical rehabilitation returned all the rats in the trial group to pre-stroke levels – double the effectiveness of rehabilitation alone.
Neuroscientists have identified the location in the brain's visual cortex responsible for generating a common perceptual illusion: seeing shapes and surfaces that don't really exist when viewing a fragmented background.
New research shows that humans distinguish the difference between fine textures, such as silk or satin, through vibrations, which are picked up by two separate sets of nerve receptors in the skin and relayed to the brain.
A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a hard lot. Patients typically get the diagnosis around age 30 after experiencing a series of neurological problems such as blurry vision, wobbly gait or a numb foot. From there, this neurodegenerative disease follows an unforgiving course.
Researchers from UNC School of Medicine have pinpointed the precise cellular connections responsible for triggering binge eating. The finding, published in Science, lends insight into a cause for obesity and could lead to treatments for anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder – the most prevalent eating disorder in the U.S.
Researchers have found that the skeleton, acting through the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin, exerts a powerful influence on prenatal brain development and cognitive functions such as learning, memory, anxiety, and depression in adult mice. Findings from the mouse study could lead to new approaches to the prevention and treatment of neurologic disorders. The study was published today in the online edition of Cell.
Protein synthesis in nerve cell dendrites underlies long-term memory formation in the brain, among other functions. Knowing how proteins are made to order at the synapse can help researchers better understand how memories are made. RNA translation is dictated by translational hotspots, where translation is occurring in a ribosome at any one time in a discrete spot.
Contrary to earlier studies, new research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may not benefit thinking skills. The study is published in the September 25, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Omega-3s are found in fatty fish such as salmon and in nuts.
A new study suggests that the auditory cortex does more than just process sound. When study subjects were expecting a reward and received it, or weren’t expecting a reward and were right, this area lit up on brain scans. Study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology.
For the first time, scientists at Toronto Rehab have found that in people with chronic moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), atrophy (shrinkage) in the brain may be countered by participating in environmental enrichment – increased physical, social and cognitive stimulation.
A paper detailing new diagnostic criteria for tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) appears in the most recent online issue of Pediatric Neurology. The author is Hope Northrup, M.D., professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Scientists have developed a novel molecular probe detectable by PET imaging. The new molecular marker, MeDAS, offers the first non-invasive visualization of myelin integrity of the entire spinal cord at the same time, as published today in an article in the Annals of Neurology.
A new study provides evidence that one important part of memory undergoes substantial development even after the age of 7.
With advances in neurofeedback techniques, the signal-to-noise ratio of the brain activity underlying our thoughts can be remastered, according to a recent discovery by a research team led by Stephen LaConte of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a cellular switch that potentially can be turned off and on to slow down, and eventually inhibit the growth of the most commonly diagnosed and aggressive malignant brain tumor.
When we’re born, our brains aren’t very organized, but as we grow and learn, things get a bit more stable. How and why does this happen -- and what happens when it doesn’t go normally? Researchers have made a major stride in understanding this process, called synapse maturation.
Working with cells in test tubes and in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a chemical commonly used as a dog food preservative may prevent the kind of painful nerve damage found in the hands and feet of four out of five cancer patients taking the chemotherapy drug Taxol.
Researchers from the University of Montreal and their colleagues have found brain activity beyond a flat line EEG, which they have called Nu-complexes (from the Greek letter).
New evidence suggests that taking vitamin B supplements may help reduce the risk of stroke. The research appears in the September 18, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A genetic mutation, known as GBA, that leads to early onset of Parkinson’s disease and severe cognitive impairment (in about 4 to 7 percent of all patients with the disease) also alters how specific lipids, ceramides and glucosylceramides are metabolized. Mayo Clinic researchers have found that Parkinson’s patients who do not carry the genetic mutation also have higher levels of these lipids in the blood. Further, those who had Parkinson’s and high blood levels were also more likely to have cognitive impairment and dementia. The research was recently published online in the journal PLOS ONE.
A groundbreaking study in multiple sclerosis focusing on “remyelination in the brain” has been initiated by Omar Khan, M.D., professor and chair of neurology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.
University of Adelaide researchers have identified a likely molecular pathway that causes a group of untreatable neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The reasons behind why it often takes people several weeks to feel the effect of newly prescribed antidepressants remains somewhat of a mystery – and likely, a frustration to both patients and physicians. How an antidepressant works on the biochemistry and behavior in mice lets researchers tease out the relative influence of two brain proteins on the pharmacology of an antidepressant. They found increased nerve-cell generation in the hippocampus and a quicker response to the antidepressant.
In the past few years, as imaging tools and techniques have improved, scientists have been working tirelessly to build a detailed map of neural connections in the human brain---- with the ultimate hope of understanding how the mind works.
Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found a group of proteins essential to the formation of long-term memories.
Researchers from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute performed what they assumed would be a routine experiment in neurodevelopment. The results, however, revealed surprising roles of an important protein and its receptors. The finding could prove useful for the development of therapies and diagnostics to combat brain disease.
People who get occasional migraines are more likely to be obese than people who do not have migraines, according to a study published in the September 11, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Johns Hopkins scientists have found that levels of certain fats found in cerebral spinal fluid can predict which patients with HIV are more likely to become intellectually impaired.
There is important new physical evidence that most research on the origins of multiple sclerosis has focused on the wrong part of the brain. Until now, most investigation has focused on the brain's white matter, where degradation of myelin that coats nerves occurs. But advanced analysis of cerebrospinal fluid via proteomics and high-resolution mass spectrometry, unattainable until recently, reveals proteins linked to gray matter in patients with newly discovered cases of MS ... pointing to gray matter as a critical initial target as MS develops.
Studies of a therapy designed to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggest that the treatment dramatically slows onset and progression of the deadly disease, one of the most common neuromuscular disorders in the world. The researchers, led by teams from The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Ludwig Institute at the University of California, San Diego, found a survival increase of up to 39 percent in animal models with a one-time treatment, a crucial step toward moving the therapy into human clinical trials.
Results show that small, near objects can appear farther away than larger, farther objects.
The primary tool for diagnosing Parkinson’s is the diagnostic ability of the physician, who can generally identify the clinical symptoms only after the disease has progressed considerably. A new joint study by researchers at the University of Haifa and Rambam Hospital that compared the writing process of 40 sick and healthy subjects suggests an innovative and noninvasive method of diagnosing Parkinson’s at a fairly early stage
Scientists in Vienna (Austria) have found a way to overcome some of the limitations of light microscopy. Applying the new technique, they can record the activity of a worm’s brain with high temporal and spatial resolution.
Patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery with bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) appear to be at increased risk of benign tumors—but not cancers, reports a study in the September issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 26 million people worldwide. It is predicted to skyrocket as boomers age—nearly 106 million people are projected to have the disease by 2050. Fortunately, scientists are making progress towards therapies. A collaboration among several research entities, including the Salk Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, has defined a key mechanism behind the disease’s progress, giving hope that a newly modified Alzheimer’s drug will be effective.
New research suggests that men who exercise vigorously as young adults may reduce their risk of developing epilepsy later in life. The study is published in the September 4, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Epilepsy is a brain disease that causes repeated seizures over time.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health have identified a compound that dramatically bolsters learning and memory when given to mice with a Down syndrome-like condition on the day of birth. As they report in the Sept. 4 issue of Science Translational Medicine, the single-dose treatment appears to enable the cerebellum of the rodents’ brains to grow to a normal size.
Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute announced today study findings showing, for the first time, the link between the brain’s cerebellum and proprioception, or the body’s ability to sense movement and joint and limb position. Published in The Journal of Neuroscience, the study uncovers a previously unknown perceptual deficit among cerebellar patients, suggesting that damage to this portion of the brain can directly impact a person’s ability to sense the position of their limbs and predict movement. This discovery could prompt future researchers to reexamine physical therapy tactics for cerebellar patients, who often have impaired coordination or appear clumsy.
Among scientists, the role of proteins called sirtuins in enhancing longevity has been hotly debated, driven by contradictory results from many different scientists. But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may settle the dispute.
An antihistamine discovered in the 1950s to treat itching may also prevent seizures in an intractable form of childhood epilepsy, according to researchers at UC San Francisco who tested it in zebrafish bred to mimic the disease.
Fifteen percent of the most common type of strokes occur in adolescents and young adults, and more young people are showing risk factors for such strokes, according to a report in the journal Neurology.
Schizophrenia is one of the most devastating neurological conditions, with only 30 percent of sufferers ever experiencing full recovery. While current medications can control most psychotic symptoms, their side effects can leave individuals so severely impaired that the disease ranks among the top ten causes of disability in developed countries.
A new drug target to treat depression and other mood disorders may lie in a group of GABA neurons shown to contribute to symptoms like social withdrawal and increased anxiety, Penn Medicine researchers report in a new study in the Journal of Neuroscience.
A team of neuroscientists has found a key to the reduction of forgetting. Their findings show that the better the coordination between two regions of the brain, the less likely we are to forget newly obtained information.
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