The U.S. BRAIN Initiative seeks to elucidate the connection between brain structure and function.
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From figuring out where memories are stored to how sensory information translates to behavior, new technologies are helping neuroscientists better understand how the brain works.
Understanding when and how neurons die is an important part of research on neurodegenerative diseases like Lou Gehrig’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
Our research suggests the multiplication of protein aggregates in individual regions of the brain, rather than their spread between regions, is key to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
A plant fruit in Nigeria shows potential for a new drug for epilepsy treatment.
Kateryn Kon/Science Photo Library
An extract of a plant’s fruit in Nigeria could protect against seizure and prevent brain degeneration. It could therefore be studied further for the development of a new antiepileptic drug.
Ubiquitin tags in cells serve different functions depending on stress conditions.
Michael Hughes
Brian Andrew Maxwell, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Insight on how a unique protein plays a role in cellular stress responses may provide more clues on how to treat diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s.
We knew people with Parkinson’s disease were at heightened risk of developing addictive behaviours like gambling. Our research gives insight into why this is.
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Philip Mosley, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
About one in six people who take the most common medication for Parkinson’s disease will develop addictive behaviours. We found whether this happens depends on a person’s unique brain structure.
An MRI image of the brain.
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Not all drug development needs to start from scratch. Sometimes researchers discover that a drug developed for one disease can be used for another. Here a cancer drug may show promise for dementia.
Figuring out the pieces to the Alzheimer’s puzzle.
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Many pieces leading to Alzheimer’s disease have been identified. To put the pieces together, one scholar argues that the government should launch a Manhattan Project-scale effort to find a cure.
Researchers are developing treatments for blindness caused by neurodegeneration.
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A new type of drug blocks the destruction of neurons in the eye, preventing blindness. The researchers hope that the same therapy can be applied to other common neurodegenerative diseases.
Symptoms for Huntington’s disease typically only start to be experienced in mid-adulthood.
Cyanobacterial blooms and algae are common in water bodies around the world. However, Australia is yet to monitor the growth of neurotoxins in our algae.
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A toxic chemical produced by algae and linked to motor neuron disease has been detected in NSW rivers. Its presence - long suspected but now confirmed - could be linked to a disease hotspot in the Riverina.
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after dementia.
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Yoshinori Ohsumi’s research on autophagy – a process that lets cells clear out harmful materials – brought biology and medicine closer to finding treatments for chronic and deadly diseases.
Happy-looking seniors via Shutterstock.
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Improvements in education and vascular health are likely partly responsible for a sharp decline in dementia over the past few decades. The trend may continue, if we also address obesity and diabetes.
Prion diseases are a rare class of brain disorders that are transmissible between animals of any species, including humans.
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Colin Masters, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
New research has identified a known neurodegenerative disease as being caused by prions. And it has again raised the possibility that these proteins are infectious.
If you have a Facebook account, you are likely to have seen someone pour an ice bucket on themselves in the name of raising awareness for amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a disease that affects…