http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The first experimental drug to boost brain synapses lost in Alzheimer's disease has been developed by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. The drug, called NitroMemantine, combines two FDA-approved medicines to stop the destructive cascade of changes in the brain that destroys the connections between neurons, leading to memory loss and cognitive decline. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-drug-reverses-loss-brain-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:04 EST news290694309 Difficult-to-study diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and autism now can be probed more safely and effectively thanks to an innovative new method for obtaining mature brain cells called neurons from reprogrammed skin cells. According to Gong Chen, the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences and professor of biology at Penn State University and the leader of the research team, "the most exciting part of this research is that it offers the promise of direct disease modeling, allowing for the creation, in a Petri dish, of mature human neurons that behave a lot like neurons that grow naturally in the human brain." Chen added that the method could lead to customized treatments for individual patients based on their own genetic and cellular information. The research will be published in the journal Stem Cell Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-alzheimer-schizophrenia-autism-mature-brain.html Medical research Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:54:37 EST news289752861 Environment moulds behaviour - and not just that of people in society, but also at the microscopic level. This is because, for their function, neurons are dependent on the cell environment, the so-termed extracellular matrix. Researchers at the Ruhr-Universität have found evidence that this complex network of molecules controls the formation and activity of the neuronal connections. The team led by Dr. Maren Geißler und Prof. Andreas Faissner from the Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology reports in the Journal of Neuroscience in collaboration with the team of Dr. Ainhara Aguado, Prof. Christian Wetzel and Prof. Hanns Hatt from the Department of Cell Physiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cellular-environment-formation-neuronal.html Neuroscience Mon, 06 May 2013 11:59:03 EST news287060336 A team of Korean researchers investigated whether "environmental enrichment" can improve the neurobehavioral function of six week-old mice after transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) to treat hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, and found that brain repair (neurogenesis) was aided in some animals through exercise-induced fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), a strong pro-angiogenic factor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-environmental-enrichment-important-factor-impacting.html Medical research Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:38:43 EST news283603116 Alcohol consumption affects the brain in multiple ways, ranging from acute changes in behavior to permanent molecular and functional alterations. The general consensus is that in the brain, alcohol targets mainly neurons. However, recent research suggests that other cells of the brain known as astrocytic glial cells or astrocytes are necessary for the rewarding effects of alcohol and the development of alcohol tolerance. The study, first-authored by Dr. Leonardo Pignataro, was published in the February 6th issue of the scientific journal Brain and Behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-alcohol-consumption-brain-cells.html Neuroscience Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:32:20 EST news282817900 Working with a group from Nagasaki University, a research group at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Japan's Kyoto University has announced in the Feb. 21 online publication of Cell Stem Cell has successfully modeled Alzheimer's disease (AD) using both familial and sporadic patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and revealed stress phenotypes and differential drug responsiveness associated with intracellular amyloid beta oligomers in AD neurons and astrocytes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-alzheimer-disease-ipscs.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:14:55 EST news280671287 Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology developed a unique Bioactive3D culture system for brain cells. This system gives new possibilities to study cell-cell interactions and disease pathogenesis on cellular and molecular levels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-brain-cells-3rd-dimension-body.html Medical research Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:17:00 EST news278324208 A new study out today in the journal Science turns two decades of understanding about how brain cells communicate on its head. The study demonstrates that the tripartite synapse – a model long accepted by the scientific community and one in which multiple cells collaborate to move signals in the central nervous system – does not exist in the adult brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-brain-flawed.html Neuroscience Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:00:19 EST news277045517 A research team composed of University of Kentucky researchers has published a paper which provides the first direct evidence that activated astrocytes could play a harmful role in Alzheimer's disease. The UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has also received significant new National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to further this line of study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-team-inhibits-alzheimer-biomarkers-animal.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:52:50 EST news274459840 Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow have uncovered a possible new method of enhancing nerve repair in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-discovery-nerve-regeneration-spinal-injury.html Neuroscience Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:00:12 EST news271417331 (HealthDay)—For children undergoing routine anesthesia for medically indicated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the metabolic signature varies with use of sevoflurane and propofol, according to a study published in the November issue of Anesthesiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-metabolic-patterns-propofol-sevoflurane-differ.html Other Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:00:01 EST news270487680 Growing evidence suggests that there may be a link between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, but the physiological mechanisms by which diabetes impacts brain function and cognition are not fully understood. In a new study published in Aging Cell, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies show, for the first time, that diabetes enhances the development of aging features that may underlie early pathological events in Alzheimer's. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-diabetes-proteins-linked-alzheimer-features.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:42:42 EST news270463247 Stem cells are considered promising agents for the recovery of spinal cord injuries. European scientists explore their abilities and plan future therapeutic strategies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-stem-cell-therapy-spinal-cord.html Medical research Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:00:01 EST news267781317 Astrocytes, previously thought of as helper cells for neurons, have recently been shown to send signals themselves. The signals are chemical not electrical and astrocytes send them to neurons, vascular cells and other astrocytes to improve the efficiency of synaptic signaling. A team led by Katsuhiko Mikoshiba and Hiroko Bannai at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, have described the mechanism that allows astrocytes to signal each cell in their network individually. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-starring-role-astrocytes.html Medical research Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:33:39 EST news263802806 German biologists have deliberately transformed stem cells from the spinal cord of mice into immature nerve cells. This was achieved by changing the cellular environment, known as the extracellular matrix, using the substance sodium chlorate. Via sugar side chains, the extracellular matrix determines which cell type a stem cell can generate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-fate-stem-cells-immature-nerve.html Medical research Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:42:55 EST news260095363 Understanding memory is still one of the greatest challenges in science. In recent years, no one doubted the role that neurons played in the formation of cerebral networks. A few years ago however, the scientific world turned to the study of astrocytes with more attention. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-drug-blocks-traumatic-memories.html Medical research Tue, 19 Jun 2012 10:15:26 EST news259319601 When brain cells start oozing too much of the amyloid protein that is the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, the astrocytes that normally nourish and protect them deliver a suicide package instead, researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-neuron-nourishing-cells-retaliate-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 22 May 2012 11:13:59 EST news256903979 Global network activity in the brain modulates local neural circuitry via calcium signaling in non-neuronal cells called astrocytes (Fig. 1), according to research led by Hajime Hirase of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute. The finding clarifies the link between two important processes in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-astrocytes-bridge-gap-global-brain.html Neuroscience Fri, 11 May 2012 11:20:02 EST news255951082 A type of cell plentiful in the brain, long considered mainly the stuff that holds the brain together and oft-overlooked by scientists more interested in flashier cells known as neurons, wields more power in the brain than has been realized, according to new research published in Science Signaling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-astrocytes-power-revealed.html Medical research Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:36:36 EST news252248411 Mayo Clinic researchers have identified critical steps leading to myelin destruction in neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a debilitating neurological disease that is commonly misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings could lead to better care for the thousands of patients around the world with NMO. The paper was published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-rresearch-diagnosis-potential-treatment-neuromyelitis.html Medical research Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:10:02 EST news242042549 For the past decade, researchers have tried to reprogram the identity of all kinds of cell types. Heart cells are one of the most sought-after cells in regenerative medicine because researchers anticipate that they may help to repair injured hearts by replacing lost tissue. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are the first to demonstrate the direct conversion of a non-heart cell type into a heart cell by RNA transfer. Working on the idea that the signature of a cell is defined by molecules called messenger RNAs (mRNAs), which contain the chemical blueprint for how to make a protein, the investigators changed two different cell types, an astrocyte (a star-shaped brain cell) and a fibroblast (a skin cell), into a heart cell, using mRNAs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-heart-reprogram-brain-cells.html Medical research Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:43:27 EST news229354987