Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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Study uncovers how cells actively seek information to make better collective decisions

Cells, like humans, cast votes to make decisions as a group. But how do they know what to vote for? Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London have uncovered how cells actively seek information in order to make faster and better collective decisions to coordinate the growth of new blood vessels. This provides a new basis for understanding intelligence in cells.

9 Feb 2021

Scientists implicate disruption in prenatal neurogenesis in the development of autism

A new study of autism risk genes by UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley scientists implicates disruption in prenatal neurogenesis - a process in which specialized "progenitor" cells give rise to new brain cells - in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

9 Feb 2021

$1.8 million NIH grant supports research on extracellular vesicles

Scientists have known for decades that our cells constantly shed tiny pieces known as extracellular vesicles (EVs), but until relatively recently they believed that this process was merely a way for cells to rid themselves of material that was no longer needed.

8 Feb 2021

Study provides a causal link between the Alzheimer's risk gene and COVID-19

A City of Hope-led research team found that the same gene that increases the risk for Alzheimer's disease, ApoE4, can increase the susceptibility to and severity of COVID-19.

5 Feb 2021

Study describes dynamic link between protein folding and misfolding

Correct, or native, protein folding is essential for correct protein function. Protein misfolding can lead to the formation of amyloid fibrils, and amyloidosis, which is implicated in various human neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases.

From Osaka University 2 Feb 2021

Genetic changes in tumors could help predict patient's response to immunotherapy drugs

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, the UCL Cancer Institute, and the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence have identified genetic changes in tumours which could be used to predict if immunotherapy drugs would be effective in individual patients.

28 Jan 2021

Study: Phase separated droplets have many important functions in cells

Autophagy is a fundamental cellular process by which cells capture and degrade their own dysfunctional or superfluous components for degradation and recycling.

22 Jan 2021

Study may lead to new treatments for certain types of disease

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found a new way to prevent some tumours from repairing their own DNA, a function that is essential for cancer cell survival. This discovery could lead to much needed new treatments for certain types of the disease.

17 Dec 2020

Researchers identify promising treatments for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists from The Mount Sinai Hospital and the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology based in Japan have recently discovered novel molecular mechanisms that drive late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD).

25 Nov 2020

Scientists discover how abnormal proteins unleash latent toxicity in neurodegenerative diseases

Thanks to modern medicine, humans tend to live much longer than before. Unfortunately, this also opens a wider window to develop chronic diseases with late-onset, such as neurodegenerative diseases.

23 Nov 2020

Tau protein in Alzheimer's disease looks different at every dementia stage

Research into Alzheimer's disease has long focused on understanding the role of two key proteins, beta amyloid and the tau protein. Found in tangles in patients' brain tissue, a pathological form of the tau protein contributes to propagating the disease in the brain.

19 Nov 2020

Study confirms correlation between gut microbiota and Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. Still incurable, it directly affects nearly one million people in Europe, and indirectly millions of family members as well as society as a whole.

16 Nov 2020

Researcher develops procedures for defining preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease

Both of Andrew Kiselica's grandfathers developed dementia when he was in graduate school. As Kiselica was going through neuropsychology training in graduate school, he saw his mother's father become unable to walk or speak due to severe dementia.

12 Nov 2020

Study shows how chaperone activity influences the course of neurodegenerative diseases

In many neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, protein aggregates form in the brain and are assumed to contribute to neuronal cell death.

12 Nov 2020

Nanoparticles could be used to deliver drugs to the brain to treat neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) have shown that nanoparticles could be used to deliver drugs to the brain to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

10 Nov 2020

White blood cells can be trained to attack tumor cells

Scientists at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC) and Dresden University Medicine, together with an international team of researchers, were able to demonstrate that certain white blood cells, so-called neutrophil granulocytes, can potentially - after completing a special training program - be utilized for the treatment of tumors.

9 Nov 2020

Beetroot peptide may help treat inflammatory, neurodegenerative diseases

A team of researchers have successfully isolated a peptide (a tiny protein molecule) from beetroot in a recent study.

2 Nov 2020

New research sheds light on the working principles of advanced biosensing technologies

The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly the most challenging global health burden since the 2nd World War. The pandemic has raised social awareness on the importance of effective and timely diagnosis that may help minimize the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.

22 Oct 2020

Researchers demonstrate healing power of extracellular vesicles on a heart-on-a-chip

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) -- nanometer sized messengers that travel between cells to deliver cues and cargo -- are promising tools for the next generation of therapies for everything from autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases to cancer and tissue injury.

15 Oct 2020

Enzyme SSH1 impairs disposal of damaged tau and mitochondria leaking toxins

In a healthy brain, the multistep waste clearance process known as autophagy routinely removes and degrades damaged cell components - including malformed proteins like tau and toxic mitochondria.

13 Oct 2020