Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

RNA interference as promising therapy for ALS

Scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have used RNA interference in transgenic mice to silence a mutated gene that causes inherited cases of amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), substantially delaying both the onset and the progression rate of the fatal motor neuron disease.

13 Mar 2005

Insulin levels linked to Alzheimer's disease

Insulin and its related proteins are produced in the brain, and according to researchers from Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School, reduced levels of this combination can be linked to Alzheimer's disease. The findings are reported in the March issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

7 Mar 2005

Neuren and Metabolic collaborate to develop range of nerve repair compounds

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Neuren) and Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Metabolic) have announced that the two companies have agreed to collaborate to co-develop Neuren's class of Neuro-regenerative Peptides (NRPs) for the treatment of degenerative conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, motor neuron disease and repairing the brain or nerves after injuries such as spinal cord injury.

7 Mar 2005

Australian biotech, Bionomics acquires central nervous system (CNS) business

Exciting Australian biotech, Bionomics has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the French central nervous system (CNS) business, Neurofit.

6 Mar 2005

Definitive evidence that TRPV3 is a temperature sensor

The human brain is like a general in a bunker. Floating in its bubble of cerebrospinal fluid, it has no direct window to the outside world, so the only way for the brain to observe, comprehend, and order the body into action is to rely on information it receives.

6 Mar 2005

Findings might advance search for new therapies for injured nerve fibers

Long distance messengers star in many heroic tales, perhaps the most famous being the one about the runner who carried the news about the victory of the Greeks over the Persians in the fateful battle of Marathon.

6 Mar 2005

Researchers turn fatal brain cancer into treatable disease for children

Some children with a rare brain tumor that is considered almost universally fatal can be saved if they receive radiation therapy followed by tandem (given one after the other) cycles of high-dose chemotherapy.

3 Mar 2005

How and why people become addicted to alcohol

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified several genetic changes in the brains of mice caused by ethanol, which may help researchers better understand how and why people become addicted to alcohol.

2 Mar 2005

Growing evidence base supports focus on mind-body connection in heart disease

Cardiologists should recognize and help manage depression, stress and other common psychosocial risk factors that play a powerful role in the wellbeing and health outcomes of heart disease patients, according to an article(PDF) in the March 1, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

1 Mar 2005

Scientists gain new insight into DiGeorge syndrome

A collaboration of European scientists has uncovered new insight into the most common chromosomal microdeletion syndrome in humans.

28 Feb 2005

Discovery of a protein JBP2, an important tool for African sleeping sickness research

Sixty million people in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa are threatened daily by a deadly parasitic disease known as African sleeping sickness.

28 Feb 2005

Scientists have regenerated a damaged optic nerve

This achievement, which occurred in laboratory mice and is described in the March 1, 2005 issue of the Journal of Cell Science, holds great promise for victims of diseases that destroy the optic nerve, and for sufferers of central nervous system injuries.

24 Feb 2005

U.S. Surgeon General urges women who are pregnant to abstain from alcohol

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona today warned pregnant women and women who may become pregnant to abstain from alcohol consumption in order to eliminate the chance of giving birth to a baby with any of the harmful effects of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

22 Feb 2005

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry in the new EU countries presents considerable potential

In contrast to subdued growth in the pharmaceutical markets of the former 15-state European Union (EU), pharmaceutical markets in the 'new' EU accession markets are expanding vibrantly.

22 Feb 2005

Beta blocker lowers blood pressure and wards off repeat heart attacks

A form of beta blocker, a drug commonly used to lower blood pressure and ward off repeat heart attacks, may provide the answer to preventing osteoporosis, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher.

20 Feb 2005

When does occasional absentmindedness signal the start of memory decline?

Forgetfulness is something everyone experiences at one time or another, but at what point does it indicate the beginning of a serious memory loss?

17 Feb 2005

Programmed cell death may provide clues to cancer and autoimmune diseases therapies

Dartmouth Medical School geneticists have found links in the cell death machinery of worms and mammals, opening new avenues for studying and targeting a process vital to development and implicated in cancer and autoimmune diseases.

16 Feb 2005

Genetic manipulation cuts nerve damage, boosts life span

A novel genetic manipulation significantly extends the life spans of flies by reducing the amount of wear and tear suffered by nerve cells in adults, according to new work published in Cell Metabolism. The findings support the idea that therapies designed to protect the adult nervous system by curbing the production of damaging free radicals might effectively increase longevity in other animals, including humans, the researchers said.

15 Feb 2005

Bionomics goes for aggressive strategy in 2005

Australian biotech, Bionomics gave an investor presentation in Melbourne on 2 February 2005 and outlined a bolder, more aggressive strategy. There are many Australian biotech companies with big aspirations.

13 Feb 2005

Ingestion of afterbirth appears to promote maternal behavior in mammals

A behavioral neuroscientist at the University at Buffalo holds that the ingestion of afterbirth by a mother, a feature of pregnancy in nearly all non-human mammals, not only relieves postpartum pain, but optimizes the onset of maternal behavior by mediating the activity of specific opioid activity circuits in the brain.

13 Feb 2005