by Audrey Post, Florida State University Graphical abstract. Credit: Journal of Neurophysiology (2022). DOI: 10.1152/jn.00070.2022 A team of Florida State University College of Medicine researchers has found a link between a specific protein in the brain and increased vulnerability to neurodegeneration for individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Their findings are published in the Journal of Neurophysiology. TLE is...
by Mikayla Mace Kelley, University of Arizona The Tmep protein can be seen in pink at a fly neuromuscular junction, which is outlined in blue. Tmep regulates how frequently the neuron fires. Credit: Martha Bhattacharya In many cases of epilepsy—a disorder that disrupts the normal pattern of electrical activity in the brain and often results in...
by Public Library of Science Three mouse embryos, representative of the study, that describes how the teratogenic drug Valproic acid can cause neurodevelopmental birth defects in mice, including microcephaly and exencephaly. The embryo on the left is a normal embryo, with no exposure to Valproic acid. The embryo in the middle is smaller and has...
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IMAGE: ARTIST’S RENDERING OF GABA TRANSPORTER 1 (GAT-1) EMBEDDED IN A NEURON’S MEMBRANE. TIAGABINE (GREEN) BLOCKS GAT-1 FROM SHUTTLING THE NEUROTRANSMITTER GABA (YELLOW AND RED) INTO THE CELL FROM THE SYNAPSE. (ILLUSTRATION: YEKATERINA KADYSHEVSKAYA.) CREDIT: USC DORNSIFE/YEKATERINA KADYSHEVSKAYA In brief: Scientists have, for the first time, determined the structure of a...
LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY IMAGE: ANTONIOS PANTAZIS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES, AND THE WALLENBERG CENTER FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE AT LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY. CREDIT: MAGNUS JOHANSSON/LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY Sometimes, even the alteration of a single nucleotide in a gene can cause serious disease. In a young boy with epilepsy, this kind of mutation has...
by Washington University School of Medicine Arg1809Cys Nf1-mutant mice do not develop optic gliomas following somatic Nf1 inactivation. A Incidence of optic pathway glioma (OPG) in NF1 patients harboring the c.5425C > T NF1 germline mutation. B Representative images of dissected optic nerves from control (Nf1f/f; CTL) and Nf1-mutant mice harboring conditional somatic Nf1 inactivation in neuroglial...
UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE IMAGE: MITOCHONDRIA (TUBULAR STRUCTURES) WITHIN THE CYTOSKELETON FILAMENTS OF NEURONS OBSERVED BY FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY. CREDIT: MARINE LAPORTE Epilepsy, one of the most common neurological disorders, is characterized by the spontaneous repetition of seizures caused by the hyperactivity of a group of neurons in the brain. Could we therefore reduce neuronal hyperactivity, and...
by University of Barcelona Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The cellular prion protein (PrPC), a protein in the surface of the neuronal cells, is imbalanced in human patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. However, the knowledge on the participation of PrPC in these pathologies contrasts with many reported data on its natural...
by University of Michigan Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain For children with epilepsy, seizures and related health concerns can disrupt every part of childhood, including sleep. Now, a new study finds that not only are reported sleep concerns highly prevalent in children with epilepsy—for both those with and without nighttime seizures—but these issues persist and may potentially...
PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY IMAGE: SCIENTISTS CONDUCT AN UPDATED ANALYSIS TO CLARIFY IF ALCOHOL DRINKERS MAY BE AT HIGHER RISK OF DEVELOPING EPILEPSY AND UNPROVOKED SEIZURES CREDIT: PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Epilepsy, a common neurological disorder associated with stigma, psychiatric comorbidities, and rising healthcare costs, affects approximately 50 million people globally. A common risk factor associated with...
