Alzheimer's disease is predominant in elderly people, but the way age-related changes to lipid composition affect the regulation of biological processes is still not well understood. Links between lipid imbalance and disease have been established, in which lipid changes increase the formation of amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. This imbalance inspired researchers from
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-2 (SARS-CoV-2), an RNA virus that belongs to the family Coronaviridae. According to research, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients often suffer from neurological disorders like strokes, lost taste or smell, memory loss, confusion, and delirium. By comparing the symptoms associated with other coronavirus infections,
The immune system is the brain's best frenemy. It protects the brain from infection and helps injured tissues heal, but it also causes autoimmune diseases and creates inflammation that drives neurodegeneration. Two new studies in mice suggest that the double-edged nature of the relationship between the immune system and the brain may come down to
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons in a part of the brain (known as substantia nigra pars compacta), which leads to a deficit of dopamine (DA), one of the main neurotransmitters active in the central nervous system. Symptomatic treatment focuses on increasing the concentration of dopamine
It might seem like a given that mothers take extra risks to protect their children, but have you ever wondered why? A new study led by Kumi Kuroda at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan shows that in mice, this and other nurturing behaviors are driven in part by neurons in a
Can a protein found in a mosquito lead to a better understanding of the workings of our own brains? Prof. Ofer Yizhar and his team in the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Neurobiology Department took a light-sensitive protein derived from mosquitoes and used it to devise an improved method for investigating the messages that are passed
Weight loss surgery is more effective than dieting to reduce brain pressure that can cause blindness in patients with a neurological condition, finds a study led by the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB). Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) is a debilitating condition that raises pressure in the brain and can
Severity of illness, history of stroke, and being divorced or widowed were independently predictive of delirium in hospitalized patients in Zambia, according to a study published in PLOS ONE. A collaborative team of researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Zambia Teaching Hospital published the risk factors as a follow-up look at
Chaperone protein imbalance can play a significant role in initiating toxic accumulation of tau in the aging brain—an early step in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders known as tauopathies, a new preclinical study by University of South Florida Health (USF Health) neuroscientists suggests. In humans, misfolding of the protein tau leads
The fact that the human body is made up of cells is a basic, well-understood concept. Yet amazingly, scientists are still trying to determine the various types of cells that make up our organs and contribute to our health. A relatively recent technique called single-cell sequencing is enabling researchers to recognize and categorize cell types
The brain processes information using both slow and fast currents. Until now, researchers had to use electrodes placed inside the brain in order to measure the latter. For the first time, researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Berlin Institute, successfully visualized these fast brain signals from the outside – and
Glioblastomas are the most common and most aggressive brain tumors. Their survival rate has barely increased over the last 50 years, indicating an urgent need to develop new therapeutic strategies. In a paper published this week in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, the team led by
A team of New Jersey researchers has shown that changes in perceptual certainty and response bias, two central metrics of signal detection theory (SDT), correlate with changes in cognitive fatigue. They also show that SDT measures change as a function of changes in brain activation. This finding was reported in Frontiers in Psychology on January
Bipolar disorder affects millions of Americans, causing dramatic swings in mood and, in some people, additional effects such as memory problems. While bipolar disorder is linked to many genes, each one making small contributions to the disease, scientists don’t know just how those genes ultimately give rise to the disorder’s effects. However, in new research,
Bipolar disorder affects millions of Americans, causing dramatic swings in mood and, in some people, additional effects such as memory problems. While bipolar disorder is linked to many genes, each one making small contributions to the disease, scientists don’t know just how those genes ultimately give rise to the disorder’s effects. However, in new research,
Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), a synthetic version of the male sex hormone testosterone, are sometimes used as a medical treatment for hormone imbalance. But the vast majority of AAS is used to enhance athletic performance or build muscle because when paired with strength training. AAS use increases muscle mass and strength, and its use is known
Dental cavities could significantly increase the risk of a life-threatening stroke from bleeding in the brain, according to new research. Past studies have shown a link between gum infection and stroke, but few studies have looked into what role dental cavities might play. In the new study, researchers looked specifically at cavities and intracerebral stroke,
Music-based interventions have become a core ingredient of effective neurorehabilitation in the past 20 years thanks to the growing body of knowledge. In this theme issue of Neurorehabilitation, experts in the field highlight some of the current critical gaps in clinical applications that have been less thoroughly investigated, such as post-stroke cognition, traumatic brain injury,
What: The Brain Prize has been awarded to Michael A. Moskowitz, M.D., a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, who also is supported by an NIH grant. The Brain Prize is "the world's most prestigious award for brain research" and is awarded by the Lundbeck Foundation, Denmark. Dr.
Using genetic engineering, researchers at UT Southwestern and Indiana University have reprogrammed scar-forming cells in mouse spinal cords to create new nerve cells, spurring recovery after spinal cord injury. The findings, published online today in Cell Stem Cell, could offer hope for the hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who suffer a spinal cord injury
