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Middle-Aged Americans report more pain than the elderly
As people age, they tend to report more acute or chronic pain — a common sign of getting older. Yet, in the United States, middle-aged adults are now reporting more pain than the elderly, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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PARKINSON’S DISEASE IS NOT ONE, BUT TWO DIFFERENT DISEASES
Disparate symptoms and varying disease rates in many Parkinson’s patients have puzzled researchers around the world. Now a comprehensive study from Aarhus University maps that there are actually two types of the disease, which should also be treated differently.
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Researchers Discover Neural Circuit for Detecting Male Pheromone Cues Relevant to Inter-male Aggression
In a study published in Neuron, the researchers from Dr. XU Xiaohong’s Lab at the Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, described a novel neural circuit for detecting male pheromone cues pertaining to inter-male aggression. Innate social behaviors are crucial for the propagation […]
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Complications from diabetes linked to worse memory, IQ in children
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a serious but common complication of type 1 diabetes, is linked to lower IQ scores and worse memory in children with type 1 diabetes, according to a study led by UC Davis Health researchers. The study published Sept. 22 in Diabetes Care is also the first large-scale work to differentiate between DKA’s […]
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研究发现脊髓受损后神经元再生的新通路
大脑中的星形胶质细胞主要起支持和分隔神经细胞的作用，在脊髓受到外伤后，这些细胞会通过增生形成“瘢痕”组织，并阻止受损神经元进行再生。这种对神经元修复的抑制作用被证实是完全可逆的，且取决于胶质细胞的代谢状态。如果胶质细胞在脊髓受损后进行了糖酵解过程，那么葡糖糖的分解产物就会与神经元表面的GABA-B受体相结合，从而激活一系列与轴突再生有关的通路。人为将乳酸这一糖酵解产物注入果蝇和小鼠的受损神经组织后，研究人员发现，相比对照组，实验组的运动机能得到了大幅度的提升。在未来，该研究团队还将在其他大型动物身上试验这种干预手段的效果，并试图找到最有利于神经元再生的糖代谢产物。
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遗传变异可通过β-淀粉样蛋白和Tau蛋白以外的因素增加阿兹海默症的患病风险
β-淀粉样蛋白和Tau蛋白在大脑中的病态积聚是阿兹海默症（AD）的一个主要特征，但这两种蛋白本身可能并不是AD发病的根本原因。一项新研究表明，6号染色体上某一核苷酸的突变可致使具有解毒和抗氧化功能的谷胱甘肽产生代谢异常并使大脑皮质变薄。拥有该遗传问题的个体相比其他同样具有过度磷酸化的Tau蛋白和β-淀粉样蛋白沉积的人群认知测试结果会更差些。亦即是说，这一遗传变异可通过Tau蛋白和β-淀粉样蛋白以外的途径，对人的思维和记忆直接产生负面影响。这一在基因层面上的重大发现将有助于新型AD治疗手段的开发。
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一新基因被发现与神经类疾病具有相关性
运动神经元不但控制我们的肢体运动，还负责确保我们能正常的呼吸、吞咽、以及发声。这些神经元的死亡是脊髓性肌萎缩症和肌萎缩侧索硬化症等神经肌肉类疾病的主要标志，患有这类疾病的病患在运动功能、吞咽功能、呼吸功能等各方面都会出现问题，严重影响日常生活并可能会导致预期寿命缩短。而最新的研究则指出，NEMF这一基因的突变与运动神经元的功能性障碍和死亡具有直接的联系。细胞内的核糖体在进行蛋白质合成时总免不了会出现差错，而NEMF基因会帮助细胞清理掉那些编译错误的蛋白质片段。当NEMF基因发生突变，运动神经元内所生成的蛋白质其精确性就无法被保证，从而诱发了各种神经肌肉类疾病的产生。
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The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Translational Research Co-organizes Cognitive Impairment Science Week in Shanghai, China
The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Translational Research, together with the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the Science and Technology Commission and the Health Promotion Center recently organized the Cognitive Impairment Science Week from September 21-27. More than 10 free clinics, popular science activities and education sessions helped to educate people about the importance of […]
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How the brain’s inner clock measures seconds
Tracking the passage of time to the second is critical for motor control, learning and cognition, including the ability to anticipate future events. While the brain depends on its circadian clock to measure hours and days, the circadian clock does not have a second hand.
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As Pandemic Progressed, People’s Perceived Risks Went Up
In the first week of the coronavirus pandemic, people living in the United States underestimated their chances of catching the virus, or of getting seriously ill from the virus, according to a recently published Caltech-led study. But as the days progressed, those same people became more worried about their personal risk, and, as a result, […]