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New Gene Therapy Shows Promise in Treating Gliomas

The University of Michigan Department of Neurosurgery and Rogel Cancer Center study demonstrates enticing early results that a therapy merging cell-killing and immune-stimulating drugs is effective and safe in prolonging survival for patients with gliomas, an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer.

1 Sep 2023

Direct-to-Consumer Blood Test for Assessing User’s Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

In July, the first direct-to-consumer blood test designed to assess a user’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease hit the market. The test, which has not undergone Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, measures the level of a protein called beta amyloid, a key component of plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients, disrupting brain function.

23 Aug 2023

Integrating Ultrasound with Genetics to Precisely Modify Neurons in the Brain

Researchers have developed methods to study and manipulate areas of the brain, though many of those methods are restricted by the limited depth that light can reach within the brain. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis plans to overcome that limitation by integrating ultrasound with genetics to precisely modify neurons in the brain.

28 Jul 2023

Analyzing Glioma Progression and Implicating CPNs’ Long-Range Projections

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and lethal form of brain tumor. Despite treatment, GBM recurrence is inevitable and tends to occur outside surgical margins or in locations remote to the primary tumor, highlighting the central role played by tumor infiltration in this malicious disease.

29 Jun 2023

New Mechanism to Maintain Astrocyte-Neuron Communication

Neurons and astrocytes are the two types of cells required by the brain to enjoy the scent of morning coffee and freshly baked cookies or to discern the warning smell of something burning.

16 Jun 2023

Virus Plays Important Role in Treating Glioblastoma

A potential advancement in the treatment of glioblastoma was noted by Howard Colman, MD, PhD, the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Professor of Neuro-Oncology and co-leader of the Neurologic Cancers Disease Center and the Experimental Therapeutics CCSG program at Huntsman Cancer Institute, in a recently published manuscript.

13 Jun 2023

Scientists Integrate Multiple Therapeutic Approaches to More Effectively Target Brain Metastatic Melanomas

Acting as a team, twin stem cells activate the immune system to suppress tumor growth and prolong survival in representative preclinical models.

1 Jun 2023

Cancer Stem Cell Test can Accurately Decide More Effective Treatments for Glioblastoma Patients

New multi-institutional phase 3 clinical trial data published May 2 in Cell Reports Medicine found that a cancer stem cell test can accurately decide more effective treatments and lead to increased survival for patients with glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor.

8 May 2023

Study Uncovers Somatic Mutations That Play a Role in Common Form of Adult Epilepsy

Epilepsy affects approximately 1-in-26 people and the most common form, known as temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), often cannot be adequately treated with anti-seizure medications.

2 May 2023

Neuronal Activity Necessary and Sufficient to Drive Astrocyte Development

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have unraveled the processes that give astrocytes, the most abundant glial cell in the brain, their special bushy shape, which is fundamental for brain function.

27 Apr 2023

A Study on Gene Silencing Through a Recent Trial

Dr Catherine Mummery, a consultant neurologist at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology & the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, has led a trial. The trial signifies for the first time that a “gene silencing” method has been taken in Alzheimer’s and dementia disease.

From University College London 27 Apr 2023

Computational Models can Help Determine the Identities and Roles of Individual Neurons

Investigators at Cedars-Sinai have created computer-generated models to bridge the gap between "test tube" data about neurons and the function of those cells in the living brain.

26 Apr 2023

Study Uncovers a Protein-Protein Interaction Related to Parkinson's Disease

In a study published in Nature Communications, a team led by Krembil Brain Institute Senior Scientists, Drs. Lorraine Kalia and Suneil Kalia, and University of Toronto (U of T) Professor, Dr. Philip M. Kim, identified a protein-protein interaction that contributes to Parkinson's disease.

24 Apr 2023

Specialized Diet Stimulates a Unique Form of Programmed Cell Death

Glioblastoma is the most prevalent kind of adult brain tumor.

10 Apr 2023

Learning how the brain makes choices could help better understand neurological disorders

New research published by investigators at Cedars-Sinai advances scientific understanding of how the brain weighs decisions involving what people like or value, such as choosing which book to read, which restaurant to pick for lunch-;or even, which slot machine to play in a casino.

24 Mar 2023

Using AI to screen for genetic mutations in cancerous brain tumors in under 90 seconds

Using artificial intelligence, researchers have discovered how to screen for genetic mutations in cancerous brain tumors in under 90 seconds -; and possibly streamline the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas, a study suggests.

24 Mar 2023

Study investigates schizophrenia risk across African ancestry

Researchers have identified two previously unknown genes linked to schizophrenia and newly implicated a third gene as carrying risk for both schizophrenia and autism. Led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the multi-center study further demonstrated that the schizophrenia risk conferred by these rare damaging variants is conserved across ethnicities. The study may also point to new therapeutics.

14 Mar 2023

IGSF3-mediated potassium dysregulation drives glioma-related epilepsy

Glioma is one of the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumors. A common feature of glioma is the presence of localized, intermittent seizures referred to as glioma-related epilepsy, which is known to promote tumor growth. However, the mechanism involved at the molecular level is still not clear.

15 Feb 2023

Inhibiting astrocyte hyperactivity can reverse cognitive deficits associated with social deprivation

Here is an important reason to stay in touch with friends and family: social isolation causes memory and learning deficits and other behavioral changes.