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New research reveals why low oxygen damages the brain
Brain cell dysfunction in low oxygen is, surprisingly, caused by the very same responder system that is intended to be protective, according to a new published study by a team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “These powerful protein responders initially protect brain cells from low oxygen as expected, but we […]
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Could Reducing Painful Procedures Help Premature Infants’ Brains?
Premature infants born earlier than 28 weeks gestation who experience fewer needle pokes while receiving life-saving care in the neonatal intensive care unit may have better growth of a part of the brain called the thalamus. The new study is published in the October 21, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the […]
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Community Noise May Affect Dementia Risk
Researchers studied 5,227 participants of the Chicago Health and Aging Project who were aged 65 years or older, of whom 30% had mild cognitive impairment and 11% had Alzheimer’s disease. They found that persons living with 10 decibels more noise near their residences during the daytime had a 36% higher odds of having mild cognitive […]
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Scientists Take Major Step Toward Angelman Syndrome Gene Therapy
Babies born with a faulty maternal copy of the UBE3A gene will develop Angelman syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder with no cure and limited treatments. Now, for the first time, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine show that gene editing and gene therapy techniques can be used to restore UBE3A in human neuron cultures […]
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Diagnosing Parkinson’s disease with skin samples could lead to earlier detection
New research shows a simple skin test can accurately identify Parkinson’s disease, demonstrating for the first time the feasibility of the method. Currently diagnosed by clinical signs and symptoms but only definitively diagnosed at autopsy, Parkinson’s disease is commonly misdiagnosed early in the disease course, complicating clinical trials of potential treatments. The study, published in […]
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Mayo Clinic contributes to diagnostic, therapeutic advance for rare neurodegenerative disorder
Mayo Clinic researchers, along with national and global collaborators, have developed a potential test for Machado-Joseph disease, or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) ― a disease that has no cure. They also have clarified the role of a gene target associated with the disease. The inherited disease is linked to a mutation in the ATXN3 […]
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A wearable sensor to help ALS patients communicate
People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suffer from a gradual decline in their ability to control their muscles. As a result, they often lose the ability to speak, making it difficult to communicate with others. A team of MIT researchers has now designed a stretchable, skin-like device that can be attached to a patient’s face […]
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Researchers Discover ‘Spooky’ Similarity In How Brains and Computers See
The brain detects 3D shape fragments such as bumps, hollows, shafts and spheres in the beginning stages of object vision – a newly discovered strategy of natural intelligence that Johns Hopkins University researchers also found in artificial intelligence networks trained to recognize visual objects. A new paper in Current Biology details how neurons in area […]
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Multiple Sclerosis as the Flip Side of Immune Fitness
About half of the people with multiple sclerosis have the HLA-DR15 gene variant. A study led by the University of Zurich has now shown how this genetic predisposition contributes to the development of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis in combination with environmental factors. The decisive factor is the shaping of a repertoire of immune cells […]
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Cord blood DNA can hold clues for early ASD diagnosis and intervention
A new study led by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers found a distinct DNA methylation signature in the cord blood of newborns who were eventually diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This signature mark spanned DNA regions and genes linked to early fetal neurodevelopment. The findings may hold clues for early diagnosis and intervention. “We […]