Dev

As we age or develop neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, our brain cells may not produce sufficient energy to remain fully functional. Researchers have discovered that an enzyme called SIRT3 that is located in mitochondria — the cell’s powerhouse —…

The blood-brain barrier has been non-invasively opened in a patient for the first time. Scientists used focused ultrasound to enable temporary and targeted opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Opening the blood-brain barrier in a localized region to deliver chemotherapy…

Researchers are proposing a new way of understanding Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the devastating and incurable neurological disease. Their findings, published in the journal Neuron, could be a major milestone on the path to a treatment for both ALS and…

A new study finds that a component of aspirin binds to an enzyme called GAPDH, which is believed to play a major role in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. Researchers discovered that salicylic acid, the primary breakdown…

A study of the brains of mice shows that structural deterioration associated with old age can be prevented by long-term aerobic exercise starting in mid-life, according to a research article published in PLOS Biology. Researchers found that structural changes that…

Investigators have discovered a mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles – one of the two hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease – through the brains of affected individuals. In a report in the journal Nature Communications, researchers describe finding that a…

New research could lead to improved methods of detection for early-onset Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recording the responses of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to different visual patterns, using methods adapted from the study of vision in humans, scientists investigated the nervous…

Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by two types of lesions, amyloid plaques and degenerated tau protein. Cholesterol plays an important role in the physiopathology of this disease. Two research teams have shown, in a rodent model, that overexpressing an enzyme that…

Researchers have made a new discovery about Huntington’s disease, showing that the gene that causes the fatal disorder makes an unexpected “cocktail” of mutant proteins that accumulate in the brain. The findings are significant because these newly identified mutant proteins…

Alzheimer’s patients frequently suffer from sleep disorders, mostly even before they become forgetful, and it is known that sleep plays a very important role in memory formation. Researchers have now been able to show for the first time how the…