Muscle function regained in CRISPR-treated mice with congenital muscular dystrophy, SickKids study finds

Ronald Cohn
Ronald Cohn

Scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to correct a disease-causing mutation in mice with a form of congenital muscular dystrophy, MDC1A. The findings, published in the July 17 online edition of Nature Medicine, show significant improvement in muscle strength and function among the mice treated with CRISPR, with no remaining signs of paralysis.

MDC1A is a rare neuromuscular disease affecting one in 150,000 worldwide. It is caused by a mutation in a gene called laminin alpha 2 and is characterized at birth by muscle weakness and low muscle tone, as well as brain abnormalities. Babies born with this condition eventually lose all muscle function and live an average of 30 years. Continue reading

Brains are more plastic than we thought

Chris Pack
Chris Pack

Researchers train brains to use different regions for same task

Practice might not always make perfect, but it’s essential for learning a sport or a musical instrument. It’s also the basis of brain training, an approach that holds potential as a non-invasive therapy to overcome disabilities caused by neurological disease or trauma.

Research at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University (The Neuro) has shown just how adaptive the brain can be, knowledge that could one day be applied to recovery from conditions such as stroke. Continue reading

Making information meaningful leads to better memory

Jed Meltzer
Jed Meltzer

When trying to memorize information, it is better to relate it to something meaningful rather than repeat it again and again to make it stick, according to a recent Baycrest study published in NeuroImage.

“When we are learning new information, our brain has two different ways to remember the material for a short period of time, either by mentally rehearsing the sounds of the words or thinking about the meaning of the words,” says Dr. Jed Meltzer Continue reading

Brain area involved in addiction activated earlier than previously thought in recreational cocaine users

Marco Leyton
Marco Leyton

Non-dependent users also experience dopamine release in response to drug cues

Even among non-dependent cocaine users, cues associated with consumption of the drug lead to dopamine release in an area of the brain thought to promote compulsive use, according to researchers at McGill University.

The findings, published in Scientific Reports, suggest that people who consider themselves recreational users could be further along the road to addiction than they might have realized. Continue reading

Common acne medication offers new treatment for multiple sclerosis – Study results offer safe and affordable treatment option

Luanne Metz and  V. Wee Yong
Luanne Metz and V. Wee Yong

A Canadian clinical trial led by researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM), shows that minocycline, a common acne medication, can slow the progress of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in people who have recently experienced their first symptoms.

In addition to being an unexpected discovery — an acne drug benefitting a neurological disorder — the discovery is significant as it offers a safe and affordable treatment option for those with early onset MS. This discovery could impact thousands of newly diagnosed MS patients around the world. Continue reading

Researchers identify specific neurons that distinguish between reality and imagination

Julio Martinez-Trujillo
Julio Martinez-Trujillo

New Western University research shows that neurons in the part of the brain found to be abnormal in psychosis are also important in helping people distinguish between reality and imagination.

The researchers, Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo, principal investigator and professor at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Dr. Diego Mendoza-Halliday, postdoctoral researcher at M.I.T., investigated how the brain codes visual information in reality versus abstract information in our working memory and how those differences are distributed across neurons in the lateral prefrontal cortex region of the brain. The results were published today in Nature Communications (https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15471) Continue reading

Researchers identify a new factor essential for the healthy development of a child’s brain

Freda Miller
Freda Miller

Proper brain development is a crucial step in a child’s health. An important part of brain development is the creation of white matter, which enables different regions of the brain to rapidly and effectively “talk” to one another.

In a new study published in Neuron, a team of researchers led by Dr. Freda Miller and Dr. David Kaplan has revealed how oligodendrocytes, which are crucial for proper brain function and that are damaged or altered in conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, autism and concussions, are formed during development. Continue reading

Molecule shown to repair damaged axons

Alyson Fournier

Discovery could be key to treating brain and spinal cord injury

A foray into plant biology led one researcher to discover that a natural molecule can repair axons, the thread-like projections that carry electrical signals between cells. Axonal damage is the major culprit underlying disability in conditions such as spinal cord injury and stroke.

Andrew Kaplan, a PhD candidate at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University, was looking for a pharmacological approach to axon regeneration, with a focus on 14-3-3, a family of proteins with neuroprotective functions that have been under investigation in the laboratory of Dr. Alyson Fournier, professor of neurology and neurosurgery and senior author on the study. Continue reading

Second study from UBC shows “liberation therapy” fails to treat multiple sclerosis

Anthony Traboulsee
Anthony Traboulsee

Opening up narrowed veins from the brain and spinal cord is not effective in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study led by the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health.

The conclusions about so-called “liberation therapy,” which thousands of people with MS have undergone since 2009, represent the most definitive debunking of the claim that MS patients could achieve dramatic improvements from a one-time medical procedure. Continue reading

Largest international study of its kind finds new schizophrenia risk genes

Stephen Scherer
Stephen Scherer

Results of the International Psychiatric Genomics Consortium unveiled

TORONTO – Canadian and international scientists have uncovered six new schizophrenia risk genes in the largest study of its kind. The results of the international Psychiatric Genomics Consortium CNV working group are published in the Nov. 21 advance online edition of Nature Genetics, and further support the important role genes play in susceptibility to schizophrenia, and may be helpful in early diagnosis.

Continue reading