Synthetic compound could serve as prototype for a novel class of drugs to treat neurological damage DZNE – GERMAN CENTER FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), UK and Japan have developed a neurologically acting protein and tested it in laboratory studies. In mice, the experimental compound ameliorated symptoms of...
Tag: <span>Synaptic</span>
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Squid studies illuminate neural dysfunction in ALS; suggest new route to therapy
CREDIT: DANIEL COJANU WOODS HOLE, Mass. — Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is one of the most devastating adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases. Patients, including the late actor/playwright Sam Shepard, become progressively weaker and eventually paralyzed as their motor neurons degenerate and die. To find a cure for ALS, which is fatal, scientists need a deeper understanding of...
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Restoring nerve-muscle communication in ALS
by Karuna Meda, Thomas Jefferson University Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, lose muscle control as nerve cells or neurons in the brain and spinal cord degenerate and can no longer send signals to muscles. Previous studies have identified that problems at the synapse, the point where signals jump...
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New imaging tool helps researchers see extent of Alzheimer’s early damage
New imaging technology allows scientists to see the widespread loss of brain synapses in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that one day may help aid in drug development, according to a new Yale University study. The research, published May 13 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, compared the density...
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Study finds ‘volume dial’ for turning neural communication up or down
by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Neuroscientists at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have found that a protein acts like a volume dial for the release of neurotransmitters, the chemicals that neurons release across connections called synapses to stimulate muscles or communicate with other neurons in brain circuits. The findings help explain how synapses...
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Synaptic protein regulates anxiety behaviour
Anxiety disorders are severe mental disorders in which patients suffer from intense fears and anxiety or from sudden, inexplicable panic attacks. In extreme cases, the affected individuals barely leave their homes, which can have serious consequences for their relationships with family and friends as well as for their professional lives. Scientists at the Max Planck...