New Hope For Treating Psychosis in Parkinson’s Disease

One night without warning, Jay Sagen leapt from his bed and grabbed the quilt, then ran downstairs and threw it out onto the street. He was certain there was a large black snake in it. His startled wife Diane hurried after him and tried to explain that nothing was there. “But he wasn’t listening to…

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IL-1Ra Promotes Neurogenesis After Cerebral Ischemia

A potential new stroke drug not only works in rodents by limiting the death of existing brain cells, but also by promoting the birth of new neurons, a team of scientists at The University of Manchester has found. The finding provides further support for the development of this anti-inflammatory drug, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra in…

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Tau Phosphorylation Curbs Amyloid Beta Toxicity In Alzheimers

A protein called kinase p38γ, which is lost as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, has been identified by researchers at the University of New South Wales and Neuroscience Research Australia. When they reintroduced the protein into the brains of mice, it was shown to have a protective effect against memory deficits associated with the disease. The study…

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Biomarkers For Huntington’s Disease Progression Identified

Several new biological markers for measuring the progression of Huntington’s disease (HD) have been identified by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. The findings could help clinical trials that test new treatments for the the inherited neurodegenerative disorder. Although genetic testing can identify HD patients well before the first symptoms appear in middle age, there…

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Brain Myelin Structure Mirrors Strength Of Electrical Communication

A previously unknown relationship between brain structure and brain function has been uncovered by scientists at The University of Nottingham. The finding builds on our knowledge of how the brain works and could help us understand how communication in the brain breaks down in diseases such as multiple sclerosis and mental disorders such as schizophrenia.…

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Brain Insulin Signaling Points To Treatment For Alzheimer's

Through observing similarity in the way insulin signaling works in the brain and in the pancreas of diabetic patients, researchers at Tohoku University have found what may be a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Led by Dr. Shigeki Moriguchi and Professor Kohji Fukunaga, the team says that Alzheimer’s disease can be described as a diabetic…

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Mitochondrial Dysfunction Implicated In Alzheimer's Disease

The tragic case of Auguste Deter might have vanished into the recesses of medical history, but for one fact. Her doctor, Alois Alzheimer, made a thorough examination of her medical condition, including her excised brain, discovering the telltale amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles characteristic of her illness. Auguste Deter was the first person diagnosed with…

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Could Lonely People Be More Prone to Alzheimer’s Disease?

In a recently published paper, data from a study of 79 cognitively normal adults was used to investigate whether cortical amyloid levels in the brain, a marker of preclinical Alzheimer disease, was associated with self-reported loneliness. Nancy J. Donovan, M.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and coauthors used imaging as…

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Tau Prion Structures Determine Dementia Type and Progression

The distinct structures of toxic protein aggregates that form in degenerating brains determine which type of dementia will occur, which regions of brain will be affected, and how quickly the disease will spread, a study from the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute suggests. The work helps decipher the diversity of dementias linked to tau prion…

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