It may now be possible to identify the first-stage Parkinson’s patients who will go on to develop dementia, according to a study conducted at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal by Dr. Oury Monchi, PhD, and his postdoctoral student, Dr. Alexandru Hanganu, MD, PhD, both of whom are affiliated with Université de Montréal. These findings were published in the journal Brain. Continue reading
Scientists have uncovered how inflammation and lack of oxygen conspire to cause brain damage in conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.
The discovery, published today in Neuron, brings researchers a step closer to finding potential targets to treat neurodegenerative disorders. Continue reading
A new University of British Columbia study identifies an important molecular change that occurs in the brain when we learn and remember.
Published this month in Nature Neuroscience, the research shows that learning stimulates our brain cells in a manner that causes a small fatty acid to attach to delta-catenin, a protein in the brain. This biochemical modification is essential in producing the changes in brain cell connectivity associated with learning, the study finds. Continue reading
A new technique that targets proteins that cause disease and destroys “bad apples” in the cell has been developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia’s Brain Research Centre, part of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.
The findings, published this month in Nature Neuroscience, has important implications for a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, stroke and even cancers, the researchers say. Continue reading
A study led by University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researchers has revealed how the fatal neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is transmitted from cell to cell, and suggests the spread of the disease could be blocked.
“This work identifies an important piece of the puzzle in determining how the disease is transmitted throughout the nervous system,” says lead investigator Dr. Neil Cashman, UBC’s Canada Research Chair in Neurodegeneration and Protein Misfolding. “By understanding how this occurs, we can devise the best ways to stop the progressive neurological damage seen in ALS.” Continue reading
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