Researchers from the University of Torino in Italy have correlated a protein to two major pathways affecting Alzheimer’s disease progression. The research group found that a brain protein, ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (Uch-L1), is able to reduce the production of amyloid beta plaques and neurovascular dysfunction. A common co-pathology of Alzheimer’s disease is the presence…
Category: Neurology
Post-stroke Vision Impairments Warrant Early Specialist Screenings
A stroke is a medical condition which shares many similarities to a heart attack. The blood supply of affected regions in the brain is cut off and cells suffer damage from the lack of nutrients and oxygen. The damage inflicted during stroke can affect a survivor’s eyesight, speech, movement and even their personality and behaviour.…
Are Migraines A Neuroprotective Response to Oxidative Stress?
A new theory about migraine attacks being proposed is that they are an integrated mechanism by which the brain protects and repairs itself. Previous research suggests that people who experience migraines have higher levels of oxidative stress. Jonathan Borkum, PhD, of the University of Maine, notes that migraine triggers — including stress, sleep disruption, noise,…
How Infrequent Seizures Lead To Memory Loss In Alzheimer’s
A mechanism that explains how even relatively infrequent seizures can lead to long-lasting cognitive deficits in animal models has been uncovered by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine. A more thorough understanding of this mechanism may lead to future strategies for reducing cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions associated with seizures, such as…
Antihistamine Clemastine Fumarate Restores Myelin In Multiple Sclerosis
Clemastine fumarate, an FDA-approved antihistamine, restores nervous system function in patients with chronic multiple sclerosis, results of a Phase II clinical trial led by UC San Francisco scientists shows. Earlier laboratory studies of the antihistamine compound conducted at UCSF suggest the drug most likely exerts its effect by repairing damage multiple sclerosis (MS) had inflicted…
Increased Risk of Stroke in Migraine With Aura
People that have migraines with aura have a higher risk of stroke, but the higher risk is not seen in migraine without aura. So concludes a twin study with 12-year follow-up from Karolinska Institutet. The study also found that the risk is lower than previously demonstrated and possibly related to familial factors. Between 11 and…
ApoE4 Worsens Neurodegeneration From Tau In Alzheimer’s
The protein ApoE4 exacerbates the brain damage caused by tangles of another protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, new research shows. In the absence of apolipoprotein E (ApoE), tau tangles did very little harm to brain cells. Nearly a quarter century ago, the ApoE4 genetic variant was identified as a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease…
Central Nervous System And Immune System: An Interconnection
The increased incidence of infections seen in spinal cord injury patients is directly linked to a disruption of the normal central nervous system, according to researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Harvard Medical School and Ohio State University. A newly-discovered reflex arc mediates a process which leads to…
First 3D All-human Blood Brain Barrier Model
A model that mimics the blood brain barrier, has been developed by Dr Zaynah Maherally and his team at the University of Portsmouth, clearing a way for better, more efficient and reliable tests of drugs to treat brain diseases. The brain is protected by the near-impermeable blood brain barrier, a fortress which protects the brain…