Category Research News (General)

Researchers have, for the first time, revealed the atomic structures of one of the two types of the abnormal filaments which lead to Alzheimer’s disease. Understanding the structures of these filaments will be key in developing drugs to prevent their…

Working with mouse, fly and human cells and tissue, researchers report new evidence that disruptions in the movement of cellular materials in and out of a cell’s control center — the nucleus — appear to be a direct cause of…

A team of researchers has found a way to measure tau levels in the blood. The method accurately reflects levels of tau in the brain that correlate with neurological damage. The study, in mice and a small group of people,…

A team of researchers has identified silent, seizure-like activity in the hippocampus, a brain structure significantly affected in Alzheimer’s Disease, in two patients with Alzheimer’s disease and no known history of seizures. These alterations in the brain’s electrical activity could…

Working with human brain tissue samples and genetically engineered mice, researchers report that consequences of low levels of the protein NPTX2 in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may change the pattern of neural activity in ways that…

Cell biologists have discovered the protein that may be the crucial traffic regulator for the transport of vital molecules inside nerve cells. When this traffic regulator is removed, the flow of traffic comes to a halt. The resulting ‘traffic jams’…

Parkinson’s disease may start in the gut and spread to the brain via the vagus nerve, according to a new study published in Neurology. The vagus nerve extends from the brainstem to the abdomen and controls unconscious body processes like…

Unique graphic characters called “Greebles” may prove to be valuable tools in detecting signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) decades before symptoms become apparent, according to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The research showed that cognitively normal…

Complex neurotechnological devices are required to directly select and influence brain waves inside the skull’s interior. Although it has become relatively easy to implement the devices, researchers are still faced with challenges when trying to keep them running properly in…

Stimulating the brain by taking on leadership roles at work or staying on in education helps people stay mentally healthy in later life, according to new research. The large-scale investigation, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, used data from more…

Among adults who entered a study more than 25 years ago, an increasing number of midlife vascular risk factors, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking, were associated with elevated levels of brain amyloid later in…

In a new study published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers report advances in the understanding of how the protein TDP-43 causes damaging plaques to build up in neurodegenerative illnesses like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a form of…

Psychiatric disorders do not increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows. However, the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses increased before the Alzheimer’s diagnosis, which might be due to prodromal symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The results were published in…

Researchers have succeeded in analysing the effects of selective mutations of the alpha-synuclein protein, a protein that is closely linked to Parkinson’s disease. Examining the effects of changing a single amino acid in the protein, the physicochemists were able to…

Scientists have identified a common mechanism in two forms of neurodegeneration that affect young adults or the elderly: frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL). This study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. FTD is one of…

Scientists have identified that mutations in a protein commonly linked to frontotemporal dementia (FTD) result in obsessive-like behaviors. They linked these behaviors to immune pathways, implicating that targeting key components of the immune system could be a new therapeutic strategy…

Data from the Framingham Heart Study has shown that people who consistently sleep more than nine hours each night had double the risk of developing dementia in 10 years as compared to participants who slept for 9 hours or less.…

Huntington’s disease is caused by a gene mutation that causes an abnormal form of the protein huntingtin to build up in the brain. Small chemical modifications on different parts of huntingtin could reduce its toxicity and aggregation, but as many…

A new study of the neural circuits that underlie long-term memory formation reveals, for the first time, that memories are formed simultaneously in the hippocampus and the long-term storage location in the brain’s cortex. However, the long-term memories remain “silent”…

A new study published in PLOS Medicine has found that the metabolism of omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids in the brain are associated with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Currently it is thought that the main reason for developing…

A new study has found a link between neurological birth defects in infants commonly found in pregnant women with diabetes and several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National…

A study has shown that suppressing a certain protein in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) could markedly extend the animal’s life span. In one experiment, none of the untreated mice lived longer than 29 days, while some…

A major contributor to most neurological diseases is the degeneration of a wire-like part of nerve cells called an axon, which electrically transmits information from one neuron to another. The molecular programs underlying axon degeneration are therefore important targets for…

A simple blood test may be as accurate as a spinal fluid test when trying to determine whether symptoms are caused by Parkinson’s disease or another atypical parkinsonism disorder, according to a new study published in Neurology. In early stages…

Scientists say neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s may be linked to defective brain cells disposing toxic proteins that make neighboring cells sick. In a study published in Nature, researchers found that while healthy neurons should be able to sort…

A team of researchers has identified an underlying mechanism in early onset Parkinson’s. Using flies, mice and patient cells, the team focused on cardiolipin, a fat unique to cells’ mitochondria, organelles that produce energy. They demonstrated that reducing the effects…

An international group of researchers has identified new processes that form protein “clumps” that are characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). How these proteins, which can bind RNA in normal cells, stick together has remained…

For the first time a “tipping point” molecular link between the blood sugar glucose and Alzheimer’s disease has been established by scientists, who have shown that excess glucose damages a vital enzyme involved with inflammation response to the early stages…

A gene variant that produces red hair and fair skin in humans and in mice, which increases the risk of the dangerous skin cancer melanoma, may also contribute to the known association between melanoma and Parkinson’s disease. Reseachers report that…

Abnormality with special cells that wrap around blood vessels in the brain leads to neuron deterioration, possibly affecting the development of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study reveals. “Gatekeeper cells” called pericytes surround blood vessels, contracting and dilating to control blood…

In a study of mice and monkeys, researchers have shown that they could prevent and reverse some of the brain injury caused by the toxic form of the protein tau. The results, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggest that the…

Researchers have discovered a common genetic variant that greatly impacts normal brain aging, starting at around age 65, and may modify the risk for neurodegenerative diseases. The findings could point toward a novel biomarker for the evaluation of anti-aging interventions…

Restorative neuroscience, the study to identify means to replace damaged neurons and recover permanently lost mental or physical abilities, is a rapidly advancing scientific field. Redirecting immature neurons that reside in specific brain areas towards the sites of brain damage…

Two new publications outline a transformative approach to defining, studying and treating Parkinson’s disease. Rather than approaching Parkinson’s disease as a single entity, the international cadre of researchers advocates targeting therapies to distinct “nodes or clusters” of patients based on…

Investigators reported the discovery of a new gene that is associated with susceptibility to a common form of brain pathology called Tau that accumulates in several different conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, certain forms of dementia and Parkinsonian syndromes as well…

By inserting an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-linked human gene called TDP-43 into fruit flies, researchers have discovered a potential role for ‘transposons’ in the disease. Transposons, which are also called ‘jumping genes’ because they jump from place to place within…

Donepezil, a medication that is approved to treat people with Alzheimer’s disease, should not be prescribed for people with mild cognitive impairment without a genetic test, according to a new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Researchers discovered…

There is growing evidence showing a connection between Parkinson’s disease and the composition of the microbiome of the gut. A new study shows that Parkinson’s disease, and medications to treat Parkinson’s, have distinct effects on the composition of the trillions…

In experiments with a protein called Ephexin5 that appears to be elevated in the brain cells of Alzheimer’s disease patients and mouse models of the disease, researchers say removing it prevents animals from developing Alzheimer’s characteristic memory losses. In a…

Researchers have identified early biomarkers of Huntington’s disease (HD) during examinations of HD sheep still at a pre-symptomatic stage of the disease. Up until this point, the five-year-old HD sheep displayed no signs of the illness, but this comprehensive study…

Scientists have identified a mechanism in the molecular machinery of the cell that could help explain how neurons begin to falter in the initial stages of Alzheimer’s disease, even before amyloid clumps appear. This hypothesis centers on human genes critical…

Researchers have shown for the first time that Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and schizophrenia have a shared genetic origin, indicating that the causes of these diverse conditions are biologically linked. The work was published in Nature Communications. By analyzing the…

Researchers have found that engaging in mentally stimulating activities, even late in life, may protect against new-onset mild cognitive impairment, which is the intermediate stage between normal cognitive aging and dementia. The study found that cognitively normal people 70 or…

The most common genetic cause of the brain diseases frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a mutation in the C9orf72 gene. Researchers have demonstrated that if an affected parent passes on this mutation, the children will be…

In a paper published in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation, a research team has reported that a gene called ATF4 plays a key role in Parkinson’s disease, acting as a ‘switch’ for genes that control mitochondrial metabolism for neuron…

Disabling a part of brain cells that acts as a tap to regulate the flow of proteins has been shown to cause neurodegeneration, a new study has found. The research, which was carried out in mice, focused on the Golgi…

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a brain disease that belongs to a group of neurological diseases referred to as tauopathies. PSP impairs eye movements, locomotion, balance control, and speech, and is currently incurable. Now scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism…

New research has shown that intestinal bacteria can accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the researchers behind the study, the results open up the door to new opportunities for preventing and treating the disease. Because our gut bacteria…

Tiny particles that pollute the air — the type that mainly comes from power plants and automobiles — may greatly increase the chance of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. Scientists and engineers have found that older women…

Biologists have known for decades that enduring a short period of mild stress makes simple organisms and human cells better able to survive additional stress later in life. Now, scientists have found that a cellular process called autophagy is critically…