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Anti-inflammatory drug blocks brain plaques
June 24, 2008Brain destruction in Alzheimer's disease is caused by the build-up of a protein called amyloid beta in the brain, which triggers damaging inflammation and the destruction of nerve cells. Scientists had previously shown that preventing individual amyloid beta proteins from sticking to one another minimized brain lesions and protected nerve cells against damage.
The new study-a collaborative effort by researchers in Germany and the US-shows that an anti-inflammatory drug (called CNI-1493) may have the same effect. The drug-already tested in humans for the treatment of inflammatory diseases-protected nerve cells against amyloid beta -induced damage in culture. In mice prone to developing an Alzheimer's-like disease, the drug decreased brain inflammation and improved memory and cognitive function.
Other anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, have been shown to reduce Alzheimer's disease lesions in the brains of rodents, but CNI-1493 appears to be faster and more effective. If these results hold up in humans, CNI-1493 may provide a more effective alternative to current Alzheimer's therapies, which temporarily prolong the function of nerve cells but do not prevent their destruction.
Journal of Experimental Medicine
Journal of Experimental Medicine
Nerve Cells Current Events and Nerve Cells News RSSBright lights, not-so-big pupils
A team of Johns Hopkins neuroscientists has worked out how some newly discovered light sensors in the eye detect light and communicate with the brain. The report appears online this week in Nature.
Scientists Reveal Structure of New Botulism Nerve Toxin Subtype
cientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have determined the atomic-level structure of a third subtype of botulinum neurotoxin - a deadly toxin produced by certain bacteria that causes the disease botulism, and is also used in cosmetic and therapeutic applications such as reducing wrinkles and calming a hyperactive bladder.
Study first to pinpoint why analgesic drugs may be less potent in females than in males
Investigators at Georgia State University's Neuroscience Institute and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience are the first to identify the most likely reason analgesic drug treatment is usually less potent in females than males.
Researchers advance knowledge of little 'nano-machines' in our body
A discovery by Canada-U.S. biophysicists will improve the understanding of ion channels, akin to little 'nano-machines' or 'nano-valves' in our body, which when they malfunction can cause genetic illnesses that attack muscles, the central nervous system and the heart.
Low-carb diets can affect dieters' cognition skills
A new study from the psychology department at Tufts University shows that when dieters eliminate carbohydrates from their meals, they performed more poorly on memory-based tasks than when they reduce calories, but maintain carbohydrates. When carbohydrates were reintroduced, cognition skills returned to normal.
Cholinesterase inhibitors reduce aggression, wandering and paranoia in Alzheimer's disease
Cholinesterase inhibitors, used to treat cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, are also a safe and effective alternative therapy for the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, according to a study that appears in the December 2008 edition of Clinical Interventions in Aging.
Biologists spy close-up view of poliovirus linked to host cell receptor
Researchers from Purdue and Stony Brook universities have determined the precise atomic-scale structure of the poliovirus attached to key receptor molecules in human host cells and also have taken a vital snapshot of processes leading to infection.
Maintaining the brain's wiring in aging and disease
Researchers at the Babraham Institute near Cambridge, supported by the Alzheimer's Research Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), have discovered that the brain's circuitry survives longer than previously thought in diseases of ageing such as Alzheimer's disease.
Adult brain neurons can remodel connections
Overturning a century of prevailing thought, scientists are finding that neurons in the adult brain can remodel their connections.
Researchers identify new leprosy bacterium
A new species of bacterium that causes leprosy has been identified through intensive genetic analysis of a pair of lethal infections, a research team reports in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology.
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