by Leah Eisenstadt, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard A section of brain from a mouse model of neurodegeneration, showing a control protein in green, Nptx2 in red, and glial cells in white. Boosting Nptx2 rescued synapses and reduced complement overactivity. Credit: Borislav Dejanovic Scientists have long known that the complement cascade, a set of immune...
Tag: <span>Brain cell</span>
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Impact of key Alzheimer’s protein depends on type of brain cell in which it is produced
by Sarah Williams, Gladstone Institutes Tau pathology and its spread are significantly reduced after neuronal APOE4 removal. a, Representative images of p-tau staining with AT8 antibody in the hippocampus of 10-month-old PS19-fE4 and PS19-fE3 mice with and without Cre (scale bar, 500 µm). b, Quantification of the percent p-tau (AT8) coverage area in the hippocampus of 10-month-old PS19-fE4...
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Individualized brain cell grafts reverse Parkinson’s symptoms in monkeys
Grafting neurons grown from monkeys’ own cells into their brains relieved the debilitating movement and depression symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison reported today. In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, the UW team describes its success with neurons made from induced pluripotent stem cells from the monkeys’ own...
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Brain cell network supplies neurons with energy
by University of Bonn When an astrocyte in the thalamus is filled with a dye, it diffuses into neighboring cells of the network (red). These include many oligodendrocytes (green), as shown by the overlay (B3, yellow). Credit: © Group Steinhäuser; from: Cerebral Cortex, January 2018;28: 213-222; doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhw368 The human brain has about as many neurons...
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Protective brain-cell housekeeping mechanism may also regulate sleep
Penn Medicine study may point to new strategies for improving sleep and preventing neurodegenerative disease UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE An important biological mechanism that is thought to protect brain cells from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s may also be involved in regulating sleep, according to new research from the Perelman School...
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Scientists identify a new kind of human brain cell
One of the most intriguing questions about the human brain is also one of the most difficult for neuroscientists to answer: What sets our brains apart from those of other animals? Digital reconstruction of a rosehip neuron in the human brain. Credit: Tamas Lab, University of Szeged “We really don’t understand what makes the human brain special,”...
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Discovery challenges belief about brain’s cellular makeup
A discovery made by Junhwan Kim, PhD, assistant professor at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, is challenging science’s longstanding beliefs regarding the cellular makeup of the brain. This breakthrough was outlined in a study recently published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. Having a full understanding of the brain can help identify new therapies...