http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. An epilepsy drug shows promise in an animal model at preventing tinnitus from developing after exposure to loud noise, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings, reported this week in the early online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal for the first time the reason the chronic and sometimes debilitating condition occurs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scientists-mechanism-noise-induced-tinnitus-drug.html Neuroscience Mon, 27 May 2013 15:00:13 EST news288873457 Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that a certain type of DNA damage long thought to be particularly detrimental to brain cells can actually be part of a regular, non-harmful process. The team further found that disruptions to this process occur in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease—and identified two therapeutic strategies that reduce these disruptions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-scientists-dna-brain.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:10:01 EST news283335265 Researchers from King's College London have discovered that neuronal activity can stimulate tau release from healthy neurons in the absence of cell death. The results published by Diane Hanger and her colleagues in EMBO reports show that treatment of neurons with known biological signaling molecules increases the release of tau into the culture medi-um. The release of tau from cortical neurons is therefore a physiological process that can be regulated by neuronal activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-neuronal-tau-healthy-neurons.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:20:03 EST news280148351 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists have discovered the powerful role the molecule Myosin VI plays in communication between nerve cells in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-molecule-key-sustaining-brain.html Medical research Mon, 04 Feb 2013 06:30:02 EST news279180996 Synapse development is promoted by a variety of cell adhesion molecules that connect neurons and organize synaptic proteins. Many of these adhesion molecules are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders; mutations in neuroligin and neurexin proteins, for example, are associated with autism and schizophrenia. According to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology, another family of proteins linked to these disorders regulates the function of neuroligins and neurexins in order to suppress the development of inhibitory synapses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-protein-family-linked-autism-suppresses.html Medical research Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:00:05 EST news278584054 Epileptic seizures occur when neurons in the brain become excessively active. However, a new study from MIT neuroscientists suggests that some seizures may originate in non-neuronal cells known as glia, which were long believed to play a mere supporting role in brain function.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-discovery-seizures-glial-cells-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:57:00 EST news277552613 Repression of a single protein in ordinary fibroblasts is sufficient to directly convert the cells – abundantly found in connective tissues – into functional neurons. The findings, which could have far-reaching implications for the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, will be published online in advance of the January 17 issue of the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-protein-prompts-fibroblasts-neurons.html Medical research Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:00:01 EST news277027120 (Medical Xpress)—Results from a meta-analysis of 11 independent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research studies are giving hope to the ALS community by showing, for the first time, that the fatal disease may be treatable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-treatment-als-neural-stem-cell.html Neuroscience Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:10:02 EST news276421665 For the first time, a defective protein that plays a specific role in degrading intermediate filaments (IF), one of three classes of filaments that form the structure of nerve cells, has been discovered by an international team of researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-rare-lethal-childhood-disease-tracked.html Medical research Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:00:07 EST news274961015 Researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal have identified a crucial link between protein synthesis and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which can bolster new therapeutic avenues. Regulation of protein synthesis, also termed mRNA translation, is the process by which cells manufacture proteins. This mechanism is involved in all aspects of cell and organism function. A new study in mice has found that abnormally high synthesis of a group of neuronal proteins called neuroligins results in symptoms similar to those diagnosed in ASD. The study also reveals that autism-like behaviors can be rectified in adult mice with compounds inhibiting protein synthesis, or with gene-therapy targeting neuroligins. Their results are published in the journal Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-uncover-crucial-link-protein-synthesis.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:00:32 EST news272724414 (Medical Xpress)—Although they're a common nuisance in the home, fruit flies have made great contributions to research in genetics and developmental biology. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is again turning to this everyday pest to answer crucial questions about how neurons function at a cellular level—which may uncover the secrets of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-neurons-reveal-root-alzheimer-disease.html Medical research Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:54:43 EST news267699162 (Medical Xpress) -- Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between two well-established biological risk factors for schizophrenia previously believed to be independent of one another. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-link-biological-factors-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:36:30 EST news261725780 Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have achieved, for the first time, the generation of neuronal cells from stem cells of Fragile X patients. The discovery paves the way for research that will examine restoration of normal gene expression in Fragile X patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-stem-cell-paves-fragile-retardation.html Medical research Tue, 22 May 2012 10:53:17 EST news256902788 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 Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types - most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Scientists hope to take advantage of the finding to develop methods to heal and repair disease and injury in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-stem-cell-brain.html Medical research Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:30:01 EST news254136349 Researchers have just shown that the molecule REST acts as an adapter in stem cells, and hope that future studies of REST will contribute to the development of new types of treatments for diseases such as cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-rest-crucial-brain.html Genetics Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:32:30 EST news249906737 A red dye derived from lichens that has been used for centuries to color fabrics and food appears to reduce the abundance of small toxic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. The dye, a compound called orcein, and a related substance, called O4, bind preferentially to small amyloid aggregates that are considered to be toxic and cause neuronal dysfunction and memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-natural-dye-lichens-combat-alzheimer.html Medical research Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:20:03 EST news242042259 Researchers in Japan have discovered how a patient's neural stem cells could be used as an alternative source of the beta cells needed for a regenerative treatment for diabetes. The research, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine today, reveals how harvesting stem cells could overcome a lack of beta cell transplants from donors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-neural-stem-cell-transplant-tackle.html Medical research Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:17:11 EST news237179820 A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-molecular-movements-neural-unveiled.html Neuroscience Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:51:22 EST news222873618