Author: Julie

There are usually three main tools for fighting brain cancer: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. But for patients with ependymoma, a type of childhood brain tumour most common in babies, despite many clinical trials none of the standard chemotherapy medicines have been shown to help. While treatments for many other childhood cancers have changed and improved over the past two decades, chemotherapy for ependymoma has remained stagnant. The underlying cause of the chemo-resistance has baffled doctors until now. Continue reading →

More detailed scans could lead to better diagnosis and treatments

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable and debilitating neurodegenerative disease that affects an estimated 100,000 Canadians. Typically, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used to confirm diagnosis, but current techniques are limited in their ability to detect subtle differences in tissue damage. Continue reading →

Research from Western University (London, Canada) has revealed a possible new target for treating movement disorders such as Huntington’s disease (HD) and Parkinson’s disease. Stephen Ferguson, PhD, a scientist at Western’s Robarts Research Institute, and Fabiola Ribeiro, PhD, of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil found a definite improvement in motor behaviours in a HD mouse model when one of the major receptors in the brain, called Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 (mGluR5) was deleted. The research is published online in Human Molecular Genetics. Continue reading →

Study sheds light on why diet may help control seizures in epilepsy patients

A new study by scientists at McGill University and the University of Zurich shows a direct link between metabolism in brain cells and their ability to signal information. The research may explain why the seizures of many epilepsy patients can be controlled by a specially formulated diet. Continue reading →

Through a series of studies, Dr. Andréa LeBlanc, a principal investigator at the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, has discovered elevated levels of the protein Caspase-6 in the area of the brain – namely, the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and cognition – first damaged by Alzheimer’s disease. This phenomenon is seen from the very earliest stages of cognitive impairment. Continue reading →

New study sheds light on most common and deadly form of brain cancer

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and deadly form of primary malignant brain cancer accounting for approximately 15% of all brain tumours and occurring mostly in adults between the ages of 45 and 70. The aggressive recurrent nature of this cancer is only temporarily contained by combined surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The recurrence of GBM is usually fatal, resulting in an average patient survival time of less than two years. A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro – at McGill University, published in Nature Communications, identifies two specific key players in the growth of GBM. Continue reading →

Scientists from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital in Canada have discovered that two genes linked to hereditary Parkinson’s disease are involved in the early-stage quality control of mitochondria. The protective mechanism, which is reported in The EMBO Journal, removes damaged proteins that arise from oxidative stress from mitochondria.  Continue reading →

New research shows that preterm babies with slower brain development as they reach their due dates are more likely to have delayed cognitive, language and motor development at 18 months of age. The researchers also found that preterm babies with significant injury to the brain’s white matter were more likely to have slower motor development as toddlers. Continue reading →

Researchers identify mechanism implicated in brain cancer and a drug that decreases brain tumour growth

Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) have made a discovery that could lead to better treatment for patients suffering from brain cancer.

Despite current treatment strategies, the median survival for patients with the most aggressive brain cancer – called glioblastoma, is 15 months. Less than five per cent of patients survive beyond five years. Continue reading →