Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Tears may be reliable, noninvasive biological marker of Parkinson's disease

Tears may hold clues to whether someone has Parkinson's disease, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 21 to 27, 2018.

24 Feb 2018

Study provides insight into neurobiology of dying

A new Annals of Neurology study provides insight into the neurobiology of dying. For the study, investigators performed continuous patient monitoring following Do Not Resuscitate - Comfort Care orders in patients with devastating brain injury to investigate the mechanisms and timing of events in the brain and the circulation during the dying process.

23 Feb 2018

Study sheds light on how glial cells control the function of nerve cells

Research has uncovered how glial cells could modulate the activity of nerve cells. The study suggests that glial cells modulate neurotransmitter release by increasing the acidity of the immediate extracellular environment.

22 Feb 2018

Pioneering study may pave way for effective painkillers to treat neuropathic pain

A pioneering international study, carried out by the University of Granada, Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Florida, Laval University and the Jackson Laboratory has conducted an in-depth analysis of the molecular differences between the most common symptoms associated with neuropathic pain.

21 Feb 2018

People with major depressive disorder have reduced arginine levels, study shows

People suffering from major depressive disorder, MDD, have reduced arginine levels, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. Arginine is an amino acid which the body uses to produce, e.g., nitric oxide.

21 Feb 2018

Researchers reveal potential biological roots behind individuality

Scientists have studied the system that controls age-appropriate behavior and discovered a certain element of variation that may contribute to a species’ survival from an evolutionary point of view.

19 Feb 2018

Study sheds light on biology that guides behavior across different stages of life

Put 50 newborn worms in 50 separate containers, and they'll all start looking for food at roughly the same time. Like members of other species, microscopic C. elegans roundworms tend to act like other individuals their own age.

19 Feb 2018

Scientists develop fluorescent probe to identify cancer stem cells

Cells with stem-cell characteristics appear to be especially important in the formation and metastasis of tumors. Scientists have now developed a universal fluorescent probe for these “cancer stem cells”. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this dye also selectively kills off the cells.

19 Feb 2018

Traces of caffeine and its byproducts in the blood can be indicative of Parkinson’s disease

Researchers at Juntendo University report in Neurology the potential use of blood levels of caffeine and its byproducts as biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease. The finding is promising for the development of a method enabling early identification of the disease.

16 Feb 2018

Study could lead to new therapies to improve movement control in stroke survivors

New research published in The Journal of Physiology could open the door to new therapies to improve the movement of arms and hands of stroke survivors.

16 Feb 2018

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