Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

A new deep learning approach to predict disease-associated mutations

During the past years, artificial intelligence (AI) -- the capability of a machine to mimic human behavior -- has become a key player in high-techs like drug development projects.

28 Dec 2019

Inputs to the motor cortex can guide dexterous movements in mice

In a sleepy haze, reaching out and grabbing the coffee cup in front of you seems to happen on autopilot. But your caffeine-deprived brain is working hard.

26 Dec 2019

Research findings may one day help keep ALS at bay

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine on December 23, 2019, shows how to silence a defective gene responsible for the degeneration of the motor neurons in Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in adult mice. This could help prevent disease progression if the condition is already symptomatic, and even suppress the illness if it has not yet started.

23 Dec 2019

Could high cholesterol lead to motor neuron disease?

Researchers suggest that motor neuron disease may be linked to an abnormal build-up of cholesterol and other lipids within cellular compartments.

20 Dec 2019

New antibody shows promise in active lupus

A new trial involving the use of an antibody called anifrolumab reports improvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) after 52 weeks of treatment. The research, titled 'Trial of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus', is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Dec 2019

Obesity, but not poor diet and lack of exercise, associated with higher dementia risk

A large study that followed more than one million women for nearly two decades has found that obesity in midlife is linked to a greater risk of dementia later in life; however, poor diet and lack of exercise are not.

18 Dec 2019

OU study explores how menthol's irritant sensation is transmitted by the nervous system

A new University of Oklahoma study could have implications on our understanding of how certain sensory signals are transmitted through the body.

18 Dec 2019

Developing brain vulnerable to HIV despite early treatment

A new study on how the HIV infection affects the development of intellect and other areas of brain development in children shows that early treatment doesn’t completely avert these negative outcomes. The paper, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases shows that HIV in children can lead to impaired learning, reasoning and brain functioning.

18 Dec 2019

Aarhus University professor receives grant to develop a new form of cell therapy

Associate Professor Menglin Chen has received a major grant from the Carlsberg Foundation to develop a completely new method of regenerating brain and heart cells.

18 Dec 2019

A new function identified for glycine receptors during embryonic development

Glycine receptors are one of the most widely distributed inhibitory receptors in the central nervous system and have important roles in a variety of physiological processes.

18 Dec 2019

New standards needed for improving the design of clinical trials for MS patients

How can the perspectives of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) be given more consideration in clinical trials? This question was investigated and corresponding recommendations were developed by a working group of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association, the Charité University Hospital Berlin, and the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.

17 Dec 2019

High-fat meal can silence gut's communication with the body, study shows

A high-fat meal can silence communication between the intestine and the rest of the body, according to a new Duke University study in zebrafish.

17 Dec 2019

Spine surgery is safe in advanced-age patient group

Spine surgeons from seven institutions in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, conducted a multicenter, prospective study of spine surgeries performed in patients 80 years of age and older.

17 Dec 2019

Researchers demonstrate a novel method for treating multiple sclerosis

Measuring changes in the speed of electrical signals along nerves connecting the eyes to the brain may accurately reflect recovery from myelin loss in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and could be used to evaluate new treatments for the disease.

17 Dec 2019

The sympathetic nervous system can modulate action of defense cells in autoimmune disease

The results of a study conducted in Brazil suggest that the sympathetic nervous system - the part of the autonomous nervous system that controls responses to danger or stress - can modulate the action of defense cells in patients with autoimmune diseases.

16 Dec 2019

Older teens may have similar opioid overdose risk factors as adults

Older teens may have similar risk factors for prescription opioid overdose as adults, a new study suggests.

16 Dec 2019

Researchers identify rare genetic disorder

A team of South Australian researchers has cracked a rare gene variant for a disorder that sees a normal healthy child start to lose muscle tone and motor skills, ultimately losing the capacity to walk and use language.

16 Dec 2019

UAB seminar on the extraordinary science of the immune system

"The human immune system makes my head explode," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel recently told a University of Alabama at Birmingham freshman seminar on immunology. "This is by far the hardest subject I have ever had to explore."

15 Dec 2019

Novel drug shows efficacy against advanced ROS1 and NTRK fusion-positive NSCLC

Pooled analysis of three phase 1 and 2 clinical trials published online ahead of print in the journal Lancet Oncology show that the drug entrectinib is effective and well-tolerated against advanced ROS1 and NTRK fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC).

14 Dec 2019

Problem drinkers have higher likelihood of using benzodiazepines

Problem drinkers are more likely than teetotalers and moderate drinkers to take benzodiazepines, a class of sedatives that are among the most commonly prescribed drugs -- and the most abused.

14 Dec 2019