neurological disorders

First disease-specific stem cells from human skin cells

harminka — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:14:14 -0500

A team of researchers from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) and Columbia University, in a collaboration catalyzed by the Project A.L.S./Jenifer Estess Laboratory for Stem Cell Research, has demonstrated that pluripotent stem cells generated from a patient with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) can be directed to differentiate into motor neurons—the very brain cells destroyed by ALS.

Neurologically impaired mice improve after receiving human stem cells

harminka — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:04:14 -0500

Scientists report a dramatic success in what may be the first documented rescue of a congenital brain disorder by transplantation of human neural stem cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, may lead the way to new strategies for treating certain hereditary and perinatal neurological disorders.

Gene may shed light on neurological disorders

harminka — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:35:26 -0500

In our brains, where millions of signals move across a network of neurons like runners in a relay race, all the critical baton passes take place at synapses. These small gaps between nerve cell endings have to be just the right size for messages to transmit properly. Synapses that grow too large or too small are associated with motor and cognitive impairment, learning and memory difficulties, and other neurological disorders.

Spasmodic Torticollis Association Ask For eBay Fundrasing

admin_huliq — Sun, 18 May 2008 09:01:06 -0500

Fundraise for the National Spasmodic Torticollis Association on eBay through Mission Fish.

Gene therapy clinical trial yields promising results for Batten disease

harminka — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:42:55 -0500

Promising results from a team of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center physician-scientists show that gene therapy is both safe and effective at slowing the progression of Batten disease, or Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (LINCL), a rare, genetic, degenerative neurological disorder that usually becomes fatal in children by the age of 8 to 12.

Family study bolsters link between pesticides and Parkinson's

harminka — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:30:12 -0500

For the first time, the association between Parkinson’s disease and exposure to pesticides has been shown in patients with the neurological disorder compared with their unaffected relatives, according to a study in the online open access journal BMC Neurology.

Research unveils new hope for deadly childhood disease

harminka — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:29:02 -0600

Investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center have uncovered a promising drug therapy that offers a ray of hope for children with Batten disease – a rare neurodegenerative disease that strikes seemingly healthy kids, progressively robs them of their abilities to see, reason and move, and ultimately kills them in their young twenties.

Scientists Identify Chemical that Triggers Parkinson’s Disease

harminka — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:43:53 -0500

Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered the key brain chemical that causes Parkinson's disease - a breakthrough finding that could pave the way for new, far more effective therapies to treat one of the most common and debilitating neurological disorders.

Antibody leads to repair of myelin sheath

harminka — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:29:06 -0500

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a human antibody administered in a single low dose in laboratory mouse models can repair myelin, the insulating covering of nerves that when damaged can lead to multiple sclerosis and other disorders of the central nervous system.

Gene loss leads to protein splicing

harminka — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:17:18 -0500

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville have discovered how loss of a gene can lead to accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain, resulting in a common dementia, and they say this mechanism may be important in a number of age-related neurological disorders.

Molecule that protects from neuronal disorders

harminka — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 11:52:46 -0500

Researchers discover a protein required for the normal development of the cerebral cortex and to prevent defects associated with mental retardation

Proteins involved in new neurodegenerative syndrome

harminka — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:25:59 -0500

The interplay of two proteins that bind to messenger RNA, a molecule that mediates translation of the information encoded in genes into proteins, triggers the appearance of fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FTAX), a late-life disorder associated with the gene that causes fragile X syndrome in children, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Emory University School of Medicine in a report that appears today in the journal Neuron.