Researchers from Keio University (Yokohama, Japan) and Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA) have constructed 3D neurovascular tissues through combining neural and vascular models within a microfluidic system. The researchers built a microfluidic chip with compartments for neural cells and vascular cells, separated by a central portion filled with a specialised 3D biomaterial, called a hydrogel.…
Author: Geoffrey Potjewyd
High-Fat ‘Binge-Eating’ Worsens Stroke Outcome
It is well known that obesity and a poor diet leads to an increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, but the effect of acute changes in diet remain largely unknown. A research group from the University of Manchester have established that high-fat ‘binge-eating’ can significantly worsen the damage caused by stroke. The group fed…
Amyloid-beta Causes Alzheimer’s Associated Endothelial Cell Damage
Recent research has shown precise mechanisms of which amyloid beta peptide – the protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease onset and progression – has detrimental effects on brain endothelial vascular cells. The multi-centre group of scientists behind the study discovered that amyloid-β causes endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in rat brain endothelial cells (bEND.3), subsequently leading to…
Combinatorial Drug Strategy Could Be Key To Treating Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is a notoriously difficult condition to treat. The complete lack of any disease-modifying treatments being licensed since the disease was first diagnosed over 100 years ago exemplifies this difficulty. There are multiple reasons for this failure, and is a contentious issue among some researchers. 4 Major Pathologies Alzheimer’s disease is a complex condition,…
BBB Transporters Inhibit Efficacy Of New Brain Tumour Drugs
A research group from The Netherlands Cancer Institute has discovered the mechanisms which limit access to the brain for two brain tumour drugs, inhibiting their chemotherapeutic effect. They have established that the drugs (AZD1775 and PD0166285) have a high affinity for ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters based at the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which pump the drugs…
Buprenorphine Analogue Produces Innovative Antidepressant Activity
Researchers from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at Bath University (U.K.) have developed a drug which shows signs of treating depression and anxiety through a previously uncharted mechanism. The drug (BU10119) is composed of two compounds, a buprenorphine analogue and naltrexone. The research group used oral dosage of BU10119 in mice and tested the…
Extracellular Matrix Protein Pivotal To Neuronal Connections
The extracellular matrix (ECM) fills the space between cells, providing a meshed network for cells to grow, attach to, and migrate through. Although the ECM is crucial to the healthy function of cells, it is often overlooked in research circles where the common focus is biology within the cell. Now, a research group based in…
Eye Imaging Provides Neurovascular Biomarker In Alzheimer’s Subjects
The relationship between blood flow in the brain and neurodegenerative diseases is well documented and gaining prominence in research circles. The dysfunction of brain blood flow (neurovascular dysfunction) has been shown to disrupt the removal of the key Alzheimer’s protein amyloid-beta as well as damaging brain cells from leakage of foreign cells into the brain…
Alzheimer’s Disease Driven By Wnt-PCP: Derailed By Fasudil
A recent multi-centre study has established that synapse loss in Alzheimer’s disease is driven by a specific signalling pathway. This pathway is called the Wnt-planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling pathway and it may be pivotal to the progressive neurodegeneration seen in the disease. The researchers also discovered that this process can be inhibited by the…