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Study findings reveal drug development possibilities for brain diseases

Nearly two dozen experimental therapies targeting the immune system are in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease, a reflection of the growing recognition that immune processes play a key role in driving the brain damage that leads to confusion, memory loss and other debilitating symptoms.

9 Mar 2023

Scientists discover two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons in ALS

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons that would normally be destroyed in ALS, based on a study in mice. Upper motor neurons initiate movement, and they degenerate in ALS.

24 Feb 2023

Study: Platelets likely to perform a protective function in AD

A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging entitled, "Immune-mediated platelet depletion augments Alzheimer's disease neuropathological hallmarks in APP-PS1 mice."

16 Feb 2023

UNC research describes another layer to the challenge of HIV latency

When people living with HIV take antiviral therapy (ART), their viral loads are driven so low that a standard blood test cannot detect the virus.

1 Feb 2023

New technologies reveal cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease

A figure from the paper depicts pathways perturbed in Alzheimer's disease. Below examples are listed for each pathway by major brain cell type. Image Credit: The Picower Institute.

4 Jan 2023

Microglial cells trigger inflammatory protective mechanisms in the immune system

Microglia, the brain’s own immune cells, are present in the central nervous system.

1 Dec 2022

Tackling epilepsy with a potential new drug

One of the epilepsy types that are most prevalent worldwide is temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Although there are symptomatic medications available, one-third of TLE patients are still not responding to the current course of treatment, necessitating the urgent need for new drug targets.

25 Nov 2022

UO research in zebrafish shows a gut-brain link that influences social behavior

To learn to socialize, zebrafish need to trust their gut. Gut microbes encourage specialized cells to prune back extra connections in brain circuits that control social behavior, new UO research in zebrafish shows.

10 Nov 2022

Characterizing the transcription profile of microglia in a mouse model

Researchers from Tohoku University have now shown that the consolidation and extinction of contextual fear conditioning alter the microglial genes connected to the synapse—structures that permit neurons to communicate with one another.

13 Sep 2022

Researchers analyze functional microglia to empower retinal organ

Professor Zi-Bing Jin is in charge of this research (Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, and Capital Medical University). He has spent the last decade working on retinal organoids, which can accurately mimic retinal development.

3 Jun 2022

Researchers analyze single-cell DNA sequencing for having a significant role in Alzheimer’s disease

The loss of functional neurons in the brain is a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. What, on the other hand, is the source of this loss?

21 Apr 2022

Microglia regulate the intrinsic excitability of neuronal subtypes differently

A new study reports that immune cell responses to bacteria affect the intrinsic excitability of rat neuronal subtypes differently.

20 Apr 2022

Critical signaling pathways in immune cells could reduce Alzheimer’s progression

According to Weill Cornell Medicine researchers, inhibiting a critical signaling route in brain-resident immune cells may reduce brain inflammation and hence halt the progression of the disease in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders.

15 Apr 2022

Study sheds light on genetic causes of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

If we want to enhance our knowledge and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, we need to identify genetic risk factors.

7 Apr 2022

Noncoding DNA mutations prevent the brain from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

When a condition is connected to a genetic mutation, it is generally negative news.

4 Apr 2022

Discovery provides new insights into the understanding of tolerance to endotoxic death

Sepsis is a high-mortality disease that arises when the body's immune reaction to pathogens causes multi-organ defects.

9 Mar 2022

Astrocyte networks are essential for spatial learning and memory formation, study shows

Astrocytes form large networks of interconnected cells in the central nervous system. When these cell-to-cell couplings are disrupted in the brain of adult mice, the animals are no longer able to store spatial information.

9 Mar 2022

Microglia help neurons grow synapses critical to cognitive functioning, research finds

Microglia, the immune cells of the brain, are known for eating up unwanted items like germs and debris, much as their counterparts do in the rest of the body.

8 Mar 2022

UCI biologists discover how a gene variant protects against Alzheimer's disease

While the word "mutation" may conjure up alarming notions, a mutation in brain immune cells serves a positive role in protecting people against Alzheimer's disease.

15 Feb 2022