Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Learning stress-reducing techniques may benefit people with epilepsy

Learning techniques to help manage stress may help people with epilepsy reduce how often they have seizures, according to a study published in the February 14, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

15 Feb 2018

TUM scientists observe formation of myelin sheaths around nerve fibers

Nerve fibers are surrounded by a myelin sheath. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich have now made the first-ever "live" observations of how this protective layer is formed.

15 Feb 2018

Experimental molecular therapy restores insulation on peripheral nerves in mice

When the body attacks its own healthy tissues in an autoimmune disease, peripheral nerve damage handicaps people and causes persistent neuropathic pain when insulation on healing nerves doesn't fully regenerate.

12 Feb 2018

Chemist finds how to control blood sugar without usual side effects

Chemist Robert Doyle in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University has figured out how to control glucose levels in the bloodstream without the usual side effects of nausea, vomiting or malaise.

11 Feb 2018

Scientists design new triple labeling technique to analyze stem cell division

A joint team of scientists from Russia and the United States designed a method for marking dividing stem cells with three different labels.

8 Feb 2018

Researchers fabricate artificial device mimicking blood-brain barrier

Researchers at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia fabricated an artificial device reproducing a 1:1 scale model of the blood-brain barrier, the anatomical and functional structure that protects the central nervous system from external substances, such as contaminants, but also drugs when they are injected intravenously into the body.

8 Feb 2018

Researchers describe human blood-nerve barrier transcriptome for the first time

Human peripheral nerves -- all the nerves outside of the central nervous system -- are protected by the blood-nerve barrier. This is a tight covering of endothelial cells that maintains the microenvironment within the nerves by restricting the amounts or types of water, ions, solutes and nutrients that can reach the axons, or electric cables within the nerves, from the blood circulation system.

8 Feb 2018

Star-shaped brain cells may help control rhythm of breathing, NIH study suggests

Traditionally, scientists thought that star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes were steady, quiet supporters of their talkative, wire-like neighbors, called neurons. Now, an NIH study suggests that astrocytes may also have their say.

8 Feb 2018

USC scientists uncover cellular mechanism responsible for ALS and frontotemporal dementia

Scientists have for the first time discovered a mechanism that limits the number of "cellular janitors" in the nervous system, leading to increased risk for two neurodegenerative diseases: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, according to a Keck School of Medicine of USC study published today in Nature Medicine.

7 Feb 2018

Discovery sheds new light on pathology of Alzheimer's disease

An association between inflammation biomarkers in both blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid and markers of Alzheimer's disease associated pathology, has been found by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus working with the University of Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the University of California San Francisco Memory and Aging Center.

6 Feb 2018

Low dose alcohol everyday might actually "clean" the brain

A new study in mice has suggests that a couple of glasses of wine may actually “clean” the brain and not only clear the mind at the end of a long day. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Scientific Reports.

5 Feb 2018

Researchers discover gene network that regulates the motor neuron development in growing embryo

UCLA researchers have discovered the inner workings of a gene network that regulates the development of spinal motor neurons in the growing chicken and mouse embryo.

2 Feb 2018

Higher susceptibility of some babies to Zika virus has a genetic origin, study shows

Microcephaly, brain calcification, skeletal alterations, auditory and visual deficits - these are examples of the damage that can be caused by Zika virus in babies born to mothers infected during pregnancy.

2 Feb 2018

Low levels of alcohol helps the brain clear away toxins, study shows

While a couple of glasses of wine can help clear the mind after a busy day, new research shows that it may actually help clean the mind as well.

2 Feb 2018

Study unravels developmental splicing program that promotes neuronal maturation

Neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain communicate with each other by transmitting electric signals, or firing action potentials, through long processes named axons (which send out signals) and dendrites (which receive signals).

1 Feb 2018

Experimental therapy may enhance recovery for stroke patients

An experimental therapy being tested by University of Alberta scientists that targets the spinal cord may one day be key to spurring on enhanced recovery for stroke victims.

1 Feb 2018

Early access to palliative care may result in better quality of life for advanced cancer patients

Patients with advanced cancer have a significantly better quality of life in the weeks before they die if they receive early access to palliative care, according to research published today (Thursday, February 1).

1 Feb 2018

Study paves new way for development of vaccines against epidemics

The search for vaccines, treatments and preventive methods against infection by emerging viruses is one of the major challenges of global epidemiology.

30 Jan 2018

Groundbreaking study broadens spectrum of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes

A research team from the University of Helsinki, Helsinki University Hospital and Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics in Helsinki, Finland, have identified a new genetic mutation that alters the function of cryopyrin and leads to a life-long periodic inflammation of the cornea, the transparent window of the human eye. Patients who carry the mutation also develop corneal opacities that compromise vision.

29 Jan 2018