Neurodegeneration News and Research

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Neurodegeneration is the umbrella term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons.

Researchers Provide Genetic Diagnosis for 30 Long-Term Undiagnosed Cases

An international team of researchers has provided a genetic diagnosis for 30 individuals whose condition was undiagnosed for years despite extensive clinical or genetic testing.

11 Nov 2024

How Neuroimmune Cells Modulate Immune Responses and Neuroinflammation

The brain, traditionally considered an immune-privileged organ due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB), has its own sophisticated immune defense system.

7 Nov 2024

Integrating Multiple Scales to Understand Brain Function

A long-standing goal of neuroscience is to understand how molecules and cellular structures on a microscale give rise to communication between brain regions at the macroscale. A study published in Nature Neuroscience now identifies, for the first time, hundreds of brain proteins that explain inter-individual differences in functional connectivity and structural covariation in the human brain.

1 Nov 2024

Personalized Mini-Brains Provide Insight into Autism Spectrum Disorder

Using stem cells generated from patients with a rare and severe form of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, Scripps Research scientists have grown personalized "mini-brains" (or organoids) to study the disorder in new detail.

24 Oct 2024

Structural Insights into Bacteriophages Open Doors for New Therapeutics

The viruses that infect bacteria are the most abundant biological entities on the planet. For example, a recent simple study of 92 showerheads and 36 toothbrushes from American bathrooms found more than 600 types of bacterial viruses, commonly called bacteriophages or phages.

23 Oct 2024

A New Method to Correct Misplaced Proteins in Cells

Cells are highly controlled spaces that rely on every protein being in the right place. Many diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders, are associated with misplaced proteins. In some cancers, for instance, a protein that normally stands watch over DNA replicating in the nucleus is sent far from the DNA it is meant to monitor, allowing cancers to grow.

23 Sep 2024

Innovative Stem Cell Research Unveils Glial Cell Dynamics in Multiple Sclerosis

Researchers from The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute and Case Western Reserve University have discovered novel ways in which glia, by using the largest known collection of stem cell models from MS patients, essential brain support cells contribute to the disease.

27 Aug 2024

The Complex Link Between DNA Modification and ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease which remains incurable. The disease is characterized by the selective degeneration of upper motor neurons in the motor cortex as well as the lower motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. The cause of ALS remains unknown in 90 percent of cases, which are referred to as sporadic ALS because there is no family history for the disease. Cumulative evidence suggests that sporadic ALS may result from complex interactions between genetic susceptibility and aging.

23 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Discovery in Mitochondrial Recycling Could Impact Health Treatments

Mitochondria, the so-called "powerhouse of the cell," depend on a newly discovered recycling mechanism identified by scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

22 Aug 2024

UChicago Team Secures $7.4 Million Grant to Study Cellular Adaptation

Cells use a variety of processes to adapt to changes and stressors in their environment, like increased temperature.

21 Aug 2024

Deep-Learning Model Identifies Parkinson's Disease-Specific Neuroanatomical Features

A deep-learning-based contrastive approach to examine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from Parkinson’s disease patients.

14 Aug 2024

High-Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics at Lower Cost

A novel spatial transcriptomics method that could revolutionize tissue sample gene expression profiling.

7 Aug 2024

Study Challenges Current Understanding of Parkinson's and Lewy Body Disease Onset

Early detection of Alzheimer's disease-related changes in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies could be made possible by monitoring the amyloid-β (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) proteins.

1 Aug 2024

Macrophage Inflammation may Contribute to LSD Symptoms

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found that inflammation in an immune cell may be responsible in part for some severe symptoms in a group of rare genetic conditions called lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs).

15 Jul 2024

UCL Study Uncovers Astrocytes' Role in Brain Energy Boosting Mechanism

A key mechanism which detects when the brain needs an additional energy boost to support its activity has been identified in a study in mice and cells led by UCL scientists.

4 Jul 2024

Small Molecule Restores TERT Levels to Combat Aging-Related Decline

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have demonstrated that therapeutically restoring 'youthful' levels of a specific subunit of the telomerase enzyme can significantly reduce the signs and symptoms of aging in preclinical models.

24 Jun 2024

Multimodal Imaging Reveals Heterogeneity in Amyloid Plaques

Alzheimer's disease (AD), which affects millions of people globally, is still one of the most difficult and common neurodegenerative conditions.

19 Jun 2024

PhoreMost Introduces GlueSEEKER Platform for Discovery of Molecular Glue Degraders

PhoreMost Ltd., a leading UK biopharmaceutical company unlocking the next generation of drug targets, today announced the introduction of GlueSEEKER™. The new phenotypic screening platform expands the Company’s capabilities in this emerging therapeutic modality to support the systematic discovery and development of novel molecular glue degraders (MGDs) for targeted protein degradation (TPD).

From PhoreMost 22 May 2024

Unveiling Cannabinoid’s Potential for Treating Age-Related Brain Degeneration

Scientists at the Salk Institute observed the neuroprotective effects of cannabinol in fruit flies and discovered cannabinoid analogs that may prove to be promising future treatments for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and traumatic brain injury.

18 Apr 2024

Breakthrough Study Reveals Genetic Variants with Significant Impact on Obesity Risk

A study led by Medical Research Council (MRC) researchers has identified genetic variants in two genes that have some of the largest impacts on obesity risk discovered to date.

5 Apr 2024