Stem cell researchers know only too well that most
adult neural precursor cells differentiate into astrocytes, not the coveted nerve cells. Even when stimulated by the addition of neuron-inducing growth factors...
A drug currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of dry mouth in Sjogren's syndrome
(an autoimmune disease that affects excorine glands) has been shown to reduce
levels of amyloid-β...
The enzyme neprilysin—capable of degrading Aβ42 peptide—is a new
player in the Alzheimer's disease mystery. Writing in Neuroscience Letters, Patrick McGeer's group at the University of British Columbia adds critical circumstantial evidence...
Glial cells quietly play a much bigger role than ever
imagined, according to an article in today's issue of Science. Ben Barres and colleagues at Stanford report that astrocytes exert a powerful influence on communication between neurons...
James Bamburg presented a poster (Abstract 2821) on the formation of cellular inclusions composed of actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF) and the cofilin family of proteins (collectively known as AC) and of their putative involvement in neurodegeneration...
News Summary from the 40th Annual Meeting of The American Society for Cell Biology Part II: News Summary from American Society for Cell Biology Meeting American Society for Cell Biology: 2000 Annual Meeting
The cause of Alexander's disease, a very rare, inherited CNS disorder, has been traced to the gene for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), according to a report published in this month's Nature Genetics...
Three independent studies published in the 22 December issue of Science reported that chromosome 10 probably harbors one or more genes that confer an increased susceptibility to late-onset Alzheimer's disease...
At the Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, San Juan, Puerto Rico, the speakers discussed the sequence of changes in gene expression in the brain that may take place during the transition from normal...
The drug selegiline, thought to be neuroprotective, has been used to treat Parkinson's disease for the past 25 years, but a report a few years ago suggested that the
drug could accelerate death in patients taking it...
In today's issue of Science, researchers at the Whitehead Institute and Corning Inc. describe a new microarray technique that can decipher the function of master switches in a cell by identifying the set of genes they control across the entire genome...
A study presented earlier this week at the 2000 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies in Honolulu found that by manipulating the structure of amyloid-β, it was possible to reduce the peptide's ability...
Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting: Stem Cells Drawn to Aβ Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting: Stem Cells Promising for Motor Neuron Disorders Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting: Does ApoE Contribute to Tangle Formation? Society for Neurosc