Neurodegenerative Diseases News and Research

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Discovering the Critical Role of Astrocytes in Neurodegenerative Diseases

AZoLifeSciences talks to Dr. Shane Liddelow about their research into discovering the critical role of astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases like glaucoma.

From New York University (NYU) 29 Jul 2020

Researchers identify mechanism that prevents death of neurons

When our neurons -- the principle cells of the brain -- die, so do we. Most neurons are created during embryonic development and have no "backup" after birth.

27 Jul 2020

Boosting metabolic resources in the brain could be a way to slow neurodegeneration

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have shown for the first time that when one optic nerve in the eye is damaged, as in glaucoma, the opposite optic nerve comes to the rescue by sharing its metabolic energy.

From Vanderbilt University 22 Jul 2020

Quality of lab procedures has a big impact on discovery of effective drugs

In their quest to find new drugs to treat deadly diseases, scientists study millions of molecules at high speed at the same time. Often it is enzymes that are investigated as targets in these 'high-throughput' screenings.

From University of Bath 22 Jul 2020

Genes and cardiovascular health contribute to a person's dementia risk

Genes and cardiovascular health each contribute in an additive way to a person's risk of dementia, U.S. researchers including Sudha Seshadri, MD, and Claudia Satizabal, PhD, of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) reported July 20 in the journal Neurology.

21 Jul 2020

Study shows cathepsin B can be used as biomarker for traumatic brain injury

Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute for Research (WRAIR) have recently demonstrated that cathepsin B, a well-studied protein important to brain development and function, can be used as biomarker, or indicator of severity, for traumatic brain injury.

14 Jul 2020

TMEM106B gene reveals the causes of neurodegenerative diseases

Across the globe, approximately 50 million people are living with dementia. The two most common forms are Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which develop when neurons in specific parts of the brain stop functioning - triggering memory loss and other behavioral or personality changes.

10 Jul 2020

Salmonella biofilm protein can cause autoimmunity and arthritis in animals

Scientists from the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre at the University of Saskatchewan and Temple University have demonstrated that a Salmonella biofilm protein can cause autoimmune responses and arthritis in animals.

10 Jul 2020

Study reveals the role of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease

In people affected by Parkinson’s, clusters of alpha-synuclein or α-synuclein, also referred to as the “Parkinson’s protein,” are detected in the brain.

6 Jul 2020

Researchers identify osmotic stress as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system.

29 Jun 2020

How upregulation of a single gene by SARs-CoV-2 can trigger cytokine storm

The SARS-CoV-19 virus initially has a limited capability to invade, attacking only one intracellular genetic target, the aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AhRs).

29 Jun 2020

Disrupted circadian rhythms in older adults linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease

Older men who have a weak or irregular circadian rhythm guiding their daily cycles of rest and activity are more likely to later develop Parkinson's disease, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences who analyzed 11 years of data for nearly 3,000 independently living older men.

16 Jun 2020

Human stem cell models reveal neurodegeneration in glaucoma

Glaucoma, a serious eye condition responsible for causing vision loss, affects over three million Americans.

12 Jun 2020

A protein that helps to fight viruses can also inhibit lung tissue repair

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that a protein which is initially helpful in the body’s immune response to a virus, can later interfere with the repair of lung tissue.

12 Jun 2020

Researchers identify how certain gene mutations cause ALS

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified how certain gene mutations cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

11 Jun 2020

Research team discovers proteins that regulate interorganelle communication

Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI headed by Suh Pann-ghill) announced on the 2nd that the joint research team of KBRI (team led by Dr. Mun Ji-young), Seoul National University, and Pohang University of Science and Technology discovered the proteins that engage in the formation of MAM, which is the cellular signaling hub.

4 Jun 2020

Stem cell model sheds new light on neurodegeneration process

A new study published today in Neuron led by The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute's Valentina Fossati, Ph.D., creates astrocytes - an integral support cell in the brain - from stem cells and shows that in disease-like environments, these normally helpful cells can turn into neuron-killers.

2 Jun 2020