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
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
