Nonhuman primates like rhesus monkeys share certain characteristics with people that may make them better study subjects than mice for research on neurodegenerative diseases.
The U.S. BRAIN Initiative seeks to elucidate the connection between brain structure and function.
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From figuring out where memories are stored to how sensory information translates to behavior, new technologies are helping neuroscientists better understand how the brain works.
Drugs can convert between different isomers in the body, leading to unexpected effects.
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From thalidomide to resveratrol, molecules with the exact same chemical properties can have drastically different effects in the body depending on how they’re arranged in space.
People reported having frequent bad dreams at the beginning of the study were twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s compared with those who had them less than once a week.
Brain changes including shrinkage, weakened connections and poorer performance on thinking and memory tests could explain ‘brain fog’ after COVID – even after ‘mild’ cases.
About 1 in 300 people in the general population carry the Tay-Sachs disease gene.
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Tay-Sachs is a rare and fatal neurodegerative disorder that most commonly affects children. Researchers have developed the first Tay-Sachs treatment to reach clinical trials.
Eliminating human guesswork can make for faster and more accurate research.
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Understanding when and how neurons die is an important part of research on neurodegenerative diseases like Lou Gehrig’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
Our research suggests the multiplication of protein aggregates in individual regions of the brain, rather than their spread between regions, is key to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
A plant fruit in Nigeria shows potential for a new drug for epilepsy treatment.
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An extract of a plant’s fruit in Nigeria could protect against seizure and prevent brain degeneration. It could therefore be studied further for the development of a new antiepileptic drug.
Port Soy Harbour in the Grampian region of Scotland which, along with the Highlands, has a high rate of Huntington’s, partly due to ancestral susceptibility to the disease.
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Brian Andrew Maxwell, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Insight on how a unique protein plays a role in cellular stress responses may provide more clues on how to treat diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s.
We knew people with Parkinson’s disease were at heightened risk of developing addictive behaviours like gambling. Our research gives insight into why this is.
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Philip Mosley, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
About one in six people who take the most common medication for Parkinson’s disease will develop addictive behaviours. We found whether this happens depends on a person’s unique brain structure.
An MRI image of the brain.
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Not all drug development needs to start from scratch. Sometimes researchers discover that a drug developed for one disease can be used for another. Here a cancer drug may show promise for dementia.
Figuring out the pieces to the Alzheimer’s puzzle.
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Many pieces leading to Alzheimer’s disease have been identified. To put the pieces together, one scholar argues that the government should launch a Manhattan Project-scale effort to find a cure.
Researchers are developing treatments for blindness caused by neurodegeneration.
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A new type of drug blocks the destruction of neurons in the eye, preventing blindness. The researchers hope that the same therapy can be applied to other common neurodegenerative diseases.
Dementia patients are often the perpetrators and often the victims of abuse. Research also shows that a medical history of head injury can more than double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in some populations, even after many years.
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From aggressive patients with Alzheimer’s to frustrated caregivers, dementia is increasingly entwined with violence in private homes and residential facilities.