Neurological Disease News and Research

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Astrocytes malfunction may contribute to neurodegenerative disorders

Scientists studying brain diseases may need to look beyond nerve cells and start paying attention to the star-shaped cells known as "astrocytes," because they play specialized roles in the development and maintenance of nerve circuits and may contribute to a wide range of disorders, according to a new study by UC San Francisco researchers.

29 Apr 2014

Biologists identify how T-type channels change electrochemical signaling of heart and brain cells

Biologists have discovered how an outer shield over T-type channels change the electrochemical signaling of heart and brain cells. Understanding how these shields work will help researchers eventually develop a new class of drugs for treating epilepsy, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

26 Apr 2014

Researchers develop novel tools to learn how astrocytes listen in on neuronal communication

Everything we do - all of our movements, thoughts and feelings - are the result of neurons talking with one another, and recent studies have suggested that some of the conversations might not be all that private.

17 Apr 2014

Researcher pinpoints error in protein formation that could be root of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

By studying nerve cells that originated in patients with a severe neurological disease, a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has pinpointed an error in protein formation that could be the root of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

4 Apr 2014

Novartis’ investigational compound achieves overall response rate of 58% in patients with ALK+ NSCLC

Novartis today announced that The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published clinical trial results showing the investigational compound LDK378 (ceritinib) achieved an overall response rate (ORR, including complete response [CR] and partial response [PR]) of 58% and a median progression-free survival (PFS) of seven months in adults with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received 400 mg or higher of LDK378 per day.

28 Mar 2014

Marina Cavazzana, Adrian J. Thrasher honored with Pioneer Award for gene therapy

Marina Cavazzana, MD, PhD, Paris Descartes University, France and Adrian J. Thrasher, MD, PhD, University College London Institute of Child Health, UK, have been honored with the Pioneer Award for basic and clinical gene therapy for immunodeficiency disorders.

25 Mar 2014

Damage to brain cells plays role in development of epilepsy after traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury is a risk factor for epilepsy, though the relationship is not understood. A new study in mice, published in Cerebral Cortex, identifies increased levels of a specific neurotransmitter as a contributing factor connecting traumatic brain injury (TBI) to post-traumatic epilepsy. The findings suggest that damage to brain cells called interneurons disrupts neurotransmitter levels and plays a role in the development of epilepsy after a traumatic brain injury.

11 Mar 2014

Men who have poorer cardiovascular fitness at 18 years more often suffer from dementia before 60

Men who at the age of 18 years have poorer cardiovascular fitness and/or a lower IQ more often suffer from dementia before the age of 60. This is shown in a recent study encompassing more than one million Swedish men.

10 Mar 2014

New findings shed light on how gene mutation causes motor neurone disease

Researchers have discovered a mechanism that may explain how a recently discovered mutation causes two devastating neurological diseases.

6 Mar 2014

Scientists reveal how a genetic code variation results in devastating brain diseases

New findings reveal how a mutation, a change in the genetic code that causes neurodegeneration, alters the shape of DNA, making cells more vulnerable to stress and more likely to die.

6 Mar 2014

Photoreactive compounds open new routes to treatment of neurological diseases

Photoreactive compounds developed by scientists of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich directly modulate nerve-cell function, and open new routes to the treatment of neurological diseases, including chronic pain and certain types of visual impairment.

3 Mar 2014

European Commission invests nearly $475 million in gene transfer and gene therapy projects

Over the past three funding stages, the European Commission has invested nearly $475 million in 100 projects in the gene transfer and gene therapy field.

25 Feb 2014

Scientists find how brain plucks information out of working memory

Keep this in mind: Scientists say they've learned how your brain plucks information out of working memory when you decide to act.

20 Feb 2014

Researcher receives Pioneer Award for engineering herpes simplex virus gene delivery systems

Joseph C. Glorioso, III, PhD (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA) devoted much of his research career to developing herpes viruses as efficient vectors for delivering therapeutic genes into cells.

20 Feb 2014

First record of direct link between Alzheimer's disease and elevated brain aluminium

Research at Keele University in Staffordshire, UK, has shown for the first time that an individual who was exposed to aluminium at work and died of Alzheimer's disease had high levels of aluminium in the brain.

14 Feb 2014

Prions and their shadow proteins: an interview with Dr Jiri Safar, Co-Director of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center

The prion diseases were originally discovered by Dr Gajdusek and Dr Gibbs. The first disease discovered was Kuru, which was affecting native tribes in the Papua New Guinea highlands in the 1950s.

9 Feb 2014

Communication for people with impaired speech: an interview with Professor Mark Hawley, Professor of Health Services Research, Director of CATCH and lead researcher for VIVOCA

There are many different causes of speech impairment but the one we are particularly interested in is actually the most common cause of speech impediment, which is dysarthria.

5 Feb 2014

Ronald G. Crystal wins Pioneer Award from Human Gene Therapy

In recognition of his seminal work on adenoviral vectors, which accelerated the translation of gene therapy from the research laboratory to the clinic, Ronald G. Crystal, MD (Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York City), has received a Pioneer Award from Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers discover potential treatment for viral infection that causes illnesses in children

Researchers have discovered a potential treatment for a viral infection that causes potentially fatal brain swelling and paralysis in children. The findings also point to possible treatments for related viruses including those that cause "common cold" symptoms.

29 Jan 2014

Therapath signs contract with United Healthcare to provide neuropathology services

Therapath LLC, the leader in comprehensive diagnostic and consultative neuropathology laboratory services, has signed a national contract with United Healthcare, a division of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), to provide the pathology analysis for these specialty services.