A structural–functional basis for dyslexia in the cortex of Chinese readers

Therapeutic application of histone deacetylase inhibitors for central nervous system disorders

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 2 weeks (www.nature.com)

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) — enzymes that affect the acetylation status of histones and other important cellular proteins — have been recognized as potentially useful therapeutic targets for a broad range of human disorders. Pharmacological manipulations using small-molecule HDAC inhibitors — which may restore transcriptional balance to neurons, modulate cytoskeletal function, affect immune responses and enhance protein degradation pathways — have been beneficial in various experimental models of brain diseases

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Ginkgo Biloba Does Not Reduce Dementia Risk, Study Shows

piggy submitted, created time 1 month 2 weeks (www.sciencedaily.com)

The medicinal herb Ginkgo biloba does not reduce the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease development in either the healthy elderly or those with mild cognitive impairment, according to a large multicenter trial led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Findings from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study, which is the first to have the necessary participant numbers and monitoring years to enable measurement of G. biloba's effectiveness and safety profile in dementia prevention, were just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association

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Neurodegenerative disease: Giving survival a boost

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 2 weeks (www.nature.com)

Although it is the selective death of motor neurons that ultimately causes the symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the disease also renders other spinal cord cells, including astrocytes, dysfunctional. Maragakis and colleagues have now shown that the replacement of damaged astrocytes through precursor cell transplantation might be a useful therapeutic strategy for ALS.

The authors transplanted glial restricted precursors (GRPs) into the grey matter of the spinal cord in a transgenic rat model of ALS

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Sixty-four cases of measels in the U.S., all but one in unvaccinated patients

Darkfrog submitted, created time 8 months 3 days (www.nytimes.com)

Measels is on the rise in the U.S. There have been sixty-four cases this year alone. Only one of these patients can be shown to have had the vaccine. There have been no fatalities so far.

Sixteen of these children are from families who declined vaccination for religious or other resasons, including fear of autism

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Strong Education Blunts Effects of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Suggests

piggy submitted, created time 1 month 4 weeks (www.sciencedaily.com)

A test that reveals brain changes believed to be at the heart of Alzheimer's disease has bolstered the theory that education can delay the onset of the dementia and cognitive decline that are characteristic of the disorder.

Scientists at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that some study participants who appeared to have the brain plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease still received high scores on tests of their cognitive ability

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Enzyme Discovery May Lead to Better Heart and Stroke Treatments

piggy submitted, created time 1 month 2 weeks (www.sciencedaily.com)

A Queen's University study sheds new light on the way one of our cell enzymes, implicated in causing tissue damage after heart attacks and strokes, is normally kept under control.

Led by Biochemistry professor Peter Davies, the research team's discovery will be useful in developing new drug treatments that can aid recovery in stroke and heart disease, as well as lessen the effects of Alzheimer's and other neurologically degenerative diseases

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How Red Wine Compounds Fight Alzheimer's Disease

piggy submitted, created time 1 month 2 weeks (www.sciencedaily.com)

Scientists call it the "French paradox" — a society that, despite consuming food high in cholesterol and saturated fats, has long had low death rates from heart disease. Research has suggested it is the red wine consumed with all that fatty food that may be beneficial — and not only for cardiovascular health but in warding off certain tumors and even Alzheimer's disease.

Now, Alzheimer's researchers at UCLA, in collaboration with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, have discovered how red wine may reduce the incidence of the disease. Reporting in the Nov

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MRI Brain Scans Accurate in Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

piggy submitted, created time 2 weeks 2 days (www.sciencedaily.com)

JOURNAL: ScienceDaily
DESCRIPTION: MRI scans that detect shrinkage in specific regions of the mid-brain attacked by Alzheimer’s disease accurately diagnose the neurodegenerative disease, even before symptoms interfere with daily function, a study by the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) in Miami and Tampa found.

The study, reported earlier this month in the journal Neurology, adds to a growing body of evidence indicating MRI brain scans provide valuable diagnostic information about Alzheimer’s disease

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Brain Birth Defects Successfully Reversed Through Stem Cell Therapy

piggy submitted, created time 1 week 2 days (www.sciencedaily.com)

Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded in reversing brain birth defects in animal models, using stem cells to replace defective brain cells.

The work of Prof. Joseph Yanai and his associates at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School was presented at the Tel Aviv Stem Cells Conference last spring and is expected to be presented and published nest year at the seventh annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Barcelona, Spain.

Involved in the project with Prof. Yanai are Prof

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Collagen VI may help protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease

piggy submitted, created time 2 days 19 hours (www.eurekalert.org)

Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND), UCSF, and Stanford have discovered that a certain type of collagen, collagen VI, protects brain cells against amyloid-beta (Aβ) proteins, which are widely thought to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD). While the functions of collagens in cartilage and muscle are well established, before this study it was unknown that collagen VI is made by neurons in the brain and that it can fulfill important neuroprotective functions

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Prions are usefull for disease

Making older Schwann cells young again

sea-maid submitted, created time 7 months 2 weeks (www.jcb.org)

Myelin-making Schwann cells have an ability that make people become young again. The author performed some research about why myelin production falters in some diseases.

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Alzheimer's Risk Factor Also Aids HIV

sea-maid submitted, created time 6 months 2 weeks (www.sciencemag.org)

The defective lipid carrier apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) has accumulated a nasty record. Not only are people who have the gene for apoE4 famously predisposed to Alzheimer's disease, but the same risk factor can also worsen several nervous system disorders and promote cardiovascular disease. A study out this week suggests that apoE4 also hastens the death of people infected with HIV, possibly by allowing the virus easy entry into cells.

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Study finds good cholesterol may fight dementia

lily1984 submitted, created time 6 months 1 week (www.wsls.com)

Having low levels of HDL, or good cholesterol, does more than increase your risk for heart disease. It may also increase your risk for dementia.

Researchers at University College London analyzed blood samples and memory test results from over 35 hundred older adults. The study participants were followed for at least seven years. They found adults with low levels of HDL had an increased risk for dementia.

For example, participants with low HDL at age 55 had a 27% increased risk for the disease compared to those with high levels

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