Author: Julie
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Researchers suggest a new approach to improve neuron grafts in people suffering from Parkinson’s disease
Treating people affected by Parkinson’s disease by grafting healthy neurons is an attractive idea which has not yet given the anticipated results up until now. Even if grafted neurons survive, they are not able to recreate the dopaminergic neuron circuits that are essential for normal brain function. An international team led by Martin Lévesque, professor
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Progression of Parkinson’s disease follows brain connectivity
A study by a group of researchers led by Alain Dagher from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University has tested the theory that brain degeneration in Parkinson’s disease (PD) originates in subcortical regions and spreads along neural networks to the cerebral cortex. By analyzing data on PD patients and healthy controls collected
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Researcher Hideto Takahashi decrypts signals from neurons
A discovery by Hideto Takahashi and his team paves the way for a better understanding of the mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders. Did you know? Your body is made up of a hundred billion nerve cells that, like small computers, receive, process and deliver crucial information to your body. These machines are your neurons. They form
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A non-invasive method to detect Alzheimer’s disease
Volume in brain region linked to physiological changes characteristic of AD New research has drawn a link between changes in the brain’s anatomy and biomarkers that are known to appear at the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), findings that could one day provide a sensitive but non-invasive test for AD before cognitive symptoms appear.
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How chronic social stress can lead to depression
A recent publication by Caroline Ménard shows that chronic stress, as occurs in cases of bullying, can make the blood-brain barrier more permeable to contaminants and microbes that may be in the blood. As the brains of depressed individuals show signs of inflammation, Caroline Ménard and her colleagues had hypothesized that leakiness of the blood
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2017 Advocacy archives
Release of the Report of the Standing Committee on Finances (FINA) Use this link to view the report of the FINA committee, released after the budget consultations of the Fall 2017. http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/FINA/report-21/ Recommendation 50 Use the Fundamental Science Review (the Naylor Report) as a framework for long-term support of science and research. In particular, the
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SickKids researchers discover precise molecular mechanisms that can influence memory
Learning and memory are crucial parts of human cognition, yet the biological processes that govern how we learn and store different types of memories are poorly understood. Although a cellular process called synaptic plasticity has long been thought to contribute to learning and memory, many of the neural mechanisms behind synaptic plasticity have remained unclear.
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Canadian Researchers Reveal How Certain Chronic Diseases Can Worsen The Effects of Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis is known as a progressive disease in which symptoms worsen over time. But for some 85% of those who suffer, the first stages of the illness come in waves. The individual may feel perfectly well some days while others are marked with worsening or new symptoms. Officially this condition is known as relapsing
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Researchers at SickKids identify an anti-cancer drug as a candidate to inhibit the degeneration of neurons.
Nerve injuries and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and glaucoma share some characteristics, one of which is the degeneration of a part of neurons called the axon. Axons are long extensions that branch out of the cell body to allow neurons to connect to other
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uOBMRI researchers open new doors for Parkinson’s drug therapies
Dr. David Park has spent countless hours exploring how deactivating a gene impacts the way a cell handles the very nutrients it needs for its own survival and proper function. To Park and his research team, it’s an essential piece of the puzzle that is Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s affects 10 million people worldwide, causing a