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 at Université Laval and researcher at the CERVO Brain Research Centre, might have figured out why. In a recent edition of Nature Communications, the researchers propose a “recipe” to produce neurons that could reconstitute the neuron circuits that are destroyed by Parkinson’s disease. Continue reading
Author: Julie
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 over one year, the researchers found that brain regions closely connected to subcortical regions showed the most degeneration over the one-year period in PD patients, and that this happens earlier than previously thought. Continue reading
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 the very foundation of your nervous system. It is through them that your brain converts the data transmitted by your retina into images and that your mood adapts to the situations you are living. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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 brain barrier could allow molecules and microbes to reach the brain, causing inflammation. Continue reading
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 government should invest in investigator-led research, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, applied sciences research institutions, as well as in agricultural research. The government should also expand access to the Canadian Graduate Scholarship program.
Call to action: Budget 2018
Read our latest Call to action to encourage increases tri-council investments in Budget 2018:
Budget 2018
The Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, has launched a new consultation for the 2018 budget, which is currently being drafted. We encourage you strongly to participate in this initiative, to convince the government that science funding can’t wait.
Consultation website:
read more about how to give your input on Budget 2018….
Read our latest advocacy reports
CAN-Advocacy-Report-SfN-2017-09_final
CAN-Final-Advocacy-Report-SfN-2016-2017-FINAL-2
#SupportTheReport
Visit the SupportTheReport.ca website to find resources and calls to action to support the implementation of the Naylor Report.
CAN participates in Canada’s Standing Committee on Finance pre-budget consultations
CAN representatives and members participated in the pre-budget consultations of Canada’s Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) in Montreal and Toronto on October 18th and 20th 2017.
CAN advocacy officer Jason Tetro, CAN member Melanie Woodin, and CAN Chief Operating Officer Julie Poupart all made statements to the committee, which can be viewed here: CAN participates in Canada’s Standing Committee on Finance pre-budget consultations
Canada’s Fundamental Science Review
Have you read the Naylor report yet? It is available on the sciencereview.ca website. We will work, with partners, to ensure it is implemented in policy.
#SummerOfScienceCAN
A step-by-step guide for researchers connecting with Members of Parliament, by the Association of Canadian Early Career Health Researchers
Read it here: http://www.acechr.ca/summerofsciencecan.html
Plan a visit to your MP to talk to them about the importance of implementing the Naylor report.
Canada-wide Brain Research Strategy Development
Canada needs a national brain research strategy, which could be implemented with additional government funding, in order to drive transformative outcomes in neurological and mental health for Canadians.
A presentation of the Canadian Brain Research Strategy (CBRS) was made at CAN2017 by Lynn Raymond and Yves DeKoninck, partnered with presentations from the Neurological Health Charities Canada (NHCC), the Canadian College of Neuropyschopharmacology (CCNP), and Brain Canada.
View the CBRS fact sheet here (PDF)
We are seeking feedback from the community on this proposal.
The CBRS website has been launched: http://www.canadianbrain.ca/
View the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/canadianbrain
March for Science, April 22 2017
The Canadian Association for Neuroscience is proud to endorse the March for Science, which is a call to support and safeguard the scientific community, and to reaffirm that science is a non-partisan, fact based endeavour that benefits the whole of humanity. (read our full statement here: March for Science, April 22 2017 )
CAN Presenting Canadian Neuroscience to MPs in Ottawa in February 2017!
CAN participated in a Neuroscience luncheon, organised with Research Canada for the Health research caucus on Parliament Hill on February 13th 2017. During this event, Beverley Orser and Charles Bourque delivered lectures to showcase great examples of how investment in basic research can and does lead to improved treatment strategies.
View a short report about the event here (with link to pictures)
View the event flyer: Neuroscience Research in Canada luncheon. Sponsorship opportunities are available for this event – reach out to us if your institution would like to participate.
If you would like to inform your Member of Parliament about our event, you can
Use this tool to find your MP.
Read our statement from January 31st 2017:
Science as a uniting global force: A statement by the Canadian Association for Neuroscience
Letter from January 4th 2017
Dear CAN Members,
The federal budget for 2017 is being finalized right now. We encourage you to send an email to Prime Minister Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau to urge them to increase the CIHR budget. As you know, Project Grants are expected to have a 7-8% success rate unless the CIHR budget is significantly increased by the current government. It is very important to let the government know about the dire situation our labs are facing. These emails do matter! Please, send your letter and encourage your colleagues to do the same.
You can use this model letter that you can modify and send.
Please, send your email to these addresses:
Prime Minister’s) email:
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members/Justin-Trudeau(58733)
Finance minister’s email
The Honourable William Francis Morneau
Bill.Morneau@parl.gc.ca
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members/Bill-Morneau(88992)
Please also consider signing the petition launched by the Canadian Society of Molecular Biosciences:
The double-double: Investment in scientific excellence and job creation
After the important investments into infrastructure and equipment we now encourage the federal government to take the third and most important next step: enable our researchers to use their equipment and facilities by providing them with the necessary operating funds. On behalf of Canadian scientists, we request a doubling of the budgets for open operating grants of CIHR and NSERC by the end of the first mandate of the Liberal government.
View the petition on the CSMB website, and add your name:
https://www.csmb-scbm.ca/advocacy/Petition.aspx
Happy New Year!
Katalin Toth, Chair of the CAN Advocacy Committee and
Freda Miller, President of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience.
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.
In a recently published study entitled The C-terminal tails of endogenous GluA1 and GluA2 differentially contribute to hippocampal synaptic plasticity and learning, researchers from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have discovered the precise neuronal mechanisms that can regulate synaptic plasticity to influence distinct forms of memory. We sat down with Dr. Zhengping Jia, a Senior Scientist in the Neurosciences & Mental Health Program at SickKids who led the study, published online in Nature Neuroscience. Continue reading
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 remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and it is the focus of a large Canadian conglomerate known as the CIHR Team in Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis, or ECoMS. As the name implies, the group aims to determine how co-existing chronic diseases – comorbidities – affect those suffering with MS. Last week, representatives of the team, headed by Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie at the University of Manitoba and Director of Manitoba’s MS Clinic at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, revealed their findings in the journal, Neurology. Continue reading
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 cells, including other neurons, to transmit signals. A team led by SickKids scientist David Kaplan with Freda Miller and their trainees Konstantin Feinberg and Adelaida Kolaj has recently identified a drug, called fortetinib, that protects axons from degeneration in multiple conditions. It may turn out to be a clinically useful therapeutic drug. Continue reading
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 degeneration of the body’s nerve cells and a progressive loss of motor control. Continue reading
