UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA A new University of Virginia study proves that a damaged peripheral nervous system is capable of repairing itself – when healthy cells are recruited there from the central nervous system. The finding has implications for the future treatment of debilitating and life-threatening nervous system disorders affecting children, such as muscular dystrophy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. The study will be published in the April 2 issue of the journal Cell Reports....
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Circadian clock plays unexpected role in neurodegenerative diseases
by Northwestern University While your body might bemoan the many uncomfortable effects of jet lag, your brain may be thanking you for that cross-time zone travel. In a new study, Northwestern University researchers induced jet lag in a fruit fly model of Huntington disease and found that jet lag protected the flies’ neurons. The team then...
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Immunotherapy kicks and kills HIV by exploiting a common virus
by University of Pittsburgh In a first on the quest to cure HIV, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health scientists report today in EBioMedicine that they’ve developed an all-in-one immunotherapy approach that not only kicks HIV out of hiding in the immune system, but also kills it. The key lies in immune cells designed to recognize an entirely different virus. The discovery, made...
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What types of pain can virtual reality relieve?
Pain medicine experts have clarified which types of pain can be best treated by time in virtual reality for people who have had an arm amputated or paralyzed. Twenty minutes watching a virtual replacement arm perform simple tasks can reduce feelings of uncontrolled or unnatural movement, but sensations of shooting or burning nerve pain may be unchanged. People with amputated limbs often feel pain in the limb that is no longer present,...
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Unpaired 1 — A new candidate gene to contribute to lifespan regulation
INSILICO MEDICINE, INC. Wednesday, April 3, 2019 – Alexey Moskalev, Ph.D., Head of the Laboratory of Geroprotective and Radioprotective technologies, and co-authors from the Institute of biology of Komi Science Center of RAS announce the publication of a scientific article titled “Effects of unpaired 1 gene over expression on the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster” in BMC...
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Blocking protein’s activity restores cognition in old mice, study shows
by Stanford University Medical Center By blocking a protein’s activity with antibodies, Stanford University School of Medicine investigators were able to improve cognitive behavior in aging mice. A paper describing the finding will be published online April 3 in Nature. Tony Wyss-Coray, Ph.D., professor of neurology and neurological sciences, is the senior author. The lead author...
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How wrinkles could be a thing of the past: Scientists create drugs which could keep the skin youthful by boosting levels of a crucial protein
Scientists from the University of Colorado did research on mice and in the lab They said rubbing certain chemicals into the skin could help it regenerate These boost levels of an elastic protein which dwindles over time By COLIN FERNANDEZ SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED: 13:00 EDT, 3 April 2019 | UPDATED: 13:29 EDT, 3 April 2019 Saggy, wrinkled faces could soon be a thing of the past as researchers have identified...
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Creating blood vessels on demand
by Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg When organs or tissues are damaged, new blood vessels must form as they play a vital role in bringing nutrients and eliminating waste and it is necessary for organs and tissues to regain their normal function. At present, the injection of growth factors or genetic material into the tissue site of interest can...
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New way to tackle mitochondrial disease
Diseases affecting mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, are often caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA. Symptoms of such mitochondrial diseases in mice can be ameliorated by increasing their levels of mitochondrial DNA, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The study is published in Science Advances and could lead to a novel treatment strategy for such mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondria are highly dynamic...
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People with autism have an altered sense of self
by Anglia Ruskin University New research has indicated that people with autism have an altered sense of self, which may explain some of the differences shown in social functioning. The study, which was carried out by scientists at Anglia Ruskin University and published in the journal Autism, involved a group of 51 adults, half with and half...