MEDGADGET EDITORS NEUROLOGY, PSYCHIATRY Many people suffer from an inability to focus on tasks that require a great deal of attention. Drugs such as Ritalin are available to help mitigate symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related conditions, but these medications come with a number of side effects, including long term dependence. Now, researchers at...
Category: <span>Neuroscience</span>
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Inflammatory marker linked to dementia
by University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio An inflammatory marker called sCD14 is related to brain atrophy, cognitive decline and dementia, according to a study of more than 4,700 participants from two large community-based heart studies. The study was published Monday, Dec. 9, in the journal Neurology. “We have strong reason to...
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Research using brains-in-a-dish forces a radical rethinking of Huntington’s disease
By SHARON BEGLEY @sxbegleDECEMBER 10, 2019 Even allowing for the fact that these were lilliputian brains, they were not behaving at all according to plan. From the first days of the tiny lab-grown organs’ development, primitive “progenitor cells” romped out of their birthplaces in the deep interior and quickly turned into neurons and glia, specialized...
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CBD medicine may help ease another form of seizure
by Amy Norton, Healthday Reporter The study involved 224 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)—a genetic condition that affects about one in 6,000 people, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It causes noncancerous tumors to arise throughout the body, and—in 90% of patients—seizures that are often resistant to standard drugs. (HealthDay)—Prescription-grade CBD may...
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Repairing leaky blood-brain barrier may rejuvenate brain function
New research in mice questions the idea that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” The answer may lie in preserving the blood-brain barrier, which tends to become leaky with age. New research looks at the decline of brain functions that accompanies aging. The blood-brain barrier is a complex set of blood vessel characteristics...
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To the brain, straight from the vein: IV treatment for TBI
by Charlene Betourney, University of Georgia A team of researchers from the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center has found that neural exosomes—”cargo” molecules within the nervous system that carry messages to the brain—can minimize or even avert progression of traumatic brain injury when used as part of a new cell-to-cell messaging technology. Steven Stice, left,...
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Dementia study reveals how proteins interact to stop brain signals
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Fresh insights into damaging proteins that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease could aid the quest for treatments. A study in mice reveals how the two proteins work together to disrupt communication between brain cells. Scientists observed how proteins – called amyloid beta and tau – team up...
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Neurodegenerative diseases may be caused by transportation failures inside neurons
by Katherine Fenz, Rockefeller University All neurodegenerative diseases have a common thread: the appearance of protein clumps in the brain such as amyloid-beta plaques in Alzheimer’s disease and alpha synuclein aggregates in Parkinson’s. The root cause of this buildup has been hard to pinpoint, but Rockefeller scientists have identified a likely culprit that opens up...
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The eyes are the window to the nervous system
by Torsten Arndt, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Individuals who experience an unpleasant tingling in their hands or feet or who suffer from painful discomfort and numbness could be affected by a neuropathy—a disorder of the nervous system in which the nerve fibers become damaged and may begin to degenerate. This effect is already visible on the cornea before...
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Online cognitive behavioral therapy for fibromyalgia shows promise
by Karolinska Institutet Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed an online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program for the difficult-to-treat pain syndrome fibromyalgia. In her doctoral thesis, Maria Hedman-Lagerlöf shows that patients who receive the treatment experience fewer symptoms and enjoy better quality of life. “Many doctors feel frustrated and at a loss when meeting a...