Genetics

Gene therapy can protect against ALS and SMA-related cell death

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Milan in Italy have identified a gene in human neurons that protects against the degeneration of motor neurons in the deadly diseases ALS and SMA. Gene ...

Neuroscience

Nervous system discovery overturns previous theory

It appears that when the nervous system is developing, only the most viable neurons survive, while immature neurons are weeded out and die. This is shown in a groundbreaking discovery by researchers at Karolinska Institutet ...

Neuroscience

Tissue model reveals role of blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer's

Beta-amyloid plaques, the protein aggregates that form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, disrupt many brain functions and can kill neurons. They can also damage the blood-brain barrier—the normally tight border that ...

Medications

Potential drug targets for ALS and FTD identified in two studies

A pair of collaborative studies led by Fen-Biao Gao, Ph.D., have identified two potential drug targets for the diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The studies, which appear in Nature ...

Medical research

Researcher seeks early detection to forestall glaucoma's ravages

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and worldwide. More than 3 million Americans suffer from the eye disease. If caught and treated early, its progression can be significantly slowed, but the disease often ...

Health

Diets consisting of fewer calories improve cell performance

The number of calories a person eats directly influences the performance of cells. A group of researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) has shown that low-calorie meals have a protective effect against some diseases. ...

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