A mechanism involving potassium channels in the brain that control brain cell activity could provide a new and fundamentally different way of treating depression symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder, according to two complementary papers published recently by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In two new research articles, published … Read more
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have upended decades-old dogma of how connections between brain cells are rearranged during states of heightened vigilance or attention. The team found that a brain chemical associated with alertness, attention and learning alters brain connectivity and function not by acting directly on neurons, the cells … Read more
A stem cell therapy trial aimed at reducing neuroinflammation in patients with presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease is underway at UTHealth Houston. In Alzheimer’s disease, deposits of beta-amyloid and tau lead to the buildup of plaques and tangles in the brain, which cause dementia. An estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease … Read more
Air pollution contributes to nearly 7 million premature deaths each year, and its effects go far beyond the lungs. Breathing in wildfire smoke or automobile-related city smog doesn’t just increase the risk of asthma and heart disease-it may also contribute to brain diseases as diverse as Alzheimer’s and autism. Scientists at Scripps Research have discovered … Read more
Researchers led by Zhentao Zhang at Wuhan University, China have discovered a cholesterol metabolite that plays a critical role in the development of Parkinson’s disease in mice. Published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology on February 18th, the study shows that this metabolite is responsible for the formation of Lewy bodies and the death of … Read more
Take a look around your home and you’ll find yourself surrounded by familiar comforts-photos of family and friends on the wall, well-worn sneakers by the door, a shelf adorned with travel mementos. Objects like these are etched into our memory, shaping who we are and helping us navigate environments and daily life with ease. But … Read more
A paradigm-shifting study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows an experimental drug, GL-II-73, has the potential to restore memory and cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Recently published in Neurobiology of Aging, the study demonstrates that the drug improves memory deficits and reverses brain cell damage, offering hope for improving … Read more