Frameshift Mutants of β Amyloid Precursor Protein and Ubiquitin-B in Alzheimer's and Down's Syndrome Patients

WEBINAR 1998-05-28 Chris Weihl led this live discussion on 28 May 1999. Readers are invited to submit additional comments by using our Comments form at the bottom of the page.   Article under discussion van Leeuwen FW, de Kleijn DPV, van den Hurk HH, Neubauer A, Sonnemans M

Progress in Anti-inflammatory Drugs for Alzheimer's

RESEARCH NEWS 1998-05-20 Research News The brains of Alzheimer's disease victims are peppered with neuritic plaques-microscopic, spherical structures containing, among other things, deposits of β amyloid peptide, dead and dying neurons and evidence of inflammation. The infla

A Role for a Synuclein Protein

RESEARCH NEWS 1998-05-18 Research News Synucleins are small cytoplasmic proteins that are found in synaptic terminals. They are present in senile plaques and Lewy bodies (features of Alzheimer's disease and familial Parkinson's disease). Synucleins also bind amyloid pep

Success with Artificial Chromosomes

RESEARCH NEWS 1998-05-01 Research News (From Nature Biotechnology press release.) Each cell in our bodies contains 46 chromosomes. But one day far in the future, doctors may give us an extra miniature chromosome containing therapeutic genes to treat disease. Researchers are curre

Transgenic Mouse Mill

RESEARCH NEWS 1998-04-09 Research News Breeding “knockout” mice is a prized tool for evaluating the function of genes, but it is a ponderous and costly tool, consuming many months and thousands of dollars to create each new knockout strain. But that could soon change. In today’s

New Parkinson’s Gene

RESEARCH NEWS 1998-04-09 Research News A gene on the long arm of chromosome 6 has been linked to an inherited form of Parkinson’s disease, called autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism (AR-JP). The research team of Nobuyoshi Shimizu and colleagues at Keio University School of

Alzheimer Presenilins in the Nuclear Membrane, Interphase Kinetochores, and Centrosomes Suggest a Role in Chromosome Segregation

WEBINAR 1998-03-20 Marc Paradis led this live discussion on 20 March 1998. Readers are invited to submit additional comments by using our Comments form at the bottom of the page. Paper under Discussion: Li JH, Xu M, Zhou H. Ma J. and Potter H. Alzheimer presenilins in the n

Isolation of Single Immunohistochemically Identified Whole Neuronal Cell Bodies from Post-Mortem Human Brain for Simultaneous Anlaysis of Multiple Gene Expression

WEBINAR 1998-02-27 Peter T. Nelson led this live discussion on 27 February 1998. Readers are invited to submit additional comments by using our Comments form at the bottom of the page. Paper Under Discussion: Cheetham JE, Coleman PD, Chow N. Isolation of Single Immunohistoc

New Alzheimer's Journal

COMMUNITY NEWS 1998-02-23 Community News Scientists often complain that scientific journals take too long to review manuscripts, and that subscription prices are unaffordable. A new journal devoted to Alzheimer's disease research, Alzheimer's Reports, aims to carve out a

Deficiency of Presenilin 1 Inhibits the Normal Cleavage of the Transmembrane Domain of Amyloid Precursor Protein

WEBINAR 1998-01-30 Deborah Watson and Kenneth Kosik led this live discussion on 30 January 1998. Readers are invited to submit additional comments by using our Comments form at the bottom of the page. Paper Under Discussion: De Strooper B, Saftig P, Craessaerts K, Vandersti

Normal Presenilin-1 May Inhibit Amyloid β Formation

RESEARCH NEWS 1998-01-22 Research News Researchers trying to study the role of presenilin-1 (PS1) in Alzheimer's pathogenesis have been stymied by the fact that presenilin knockout mice die before birth. Bart De Strooper from the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology in Belgium

Caspase's Role in Apoptosis Clarified

RESEARCH NEWS 1998-01-01 Research News Two recent papers describe the processes involved in the final stages of apoptotic cell death. During apoptosis, enzymes known as caspases break down cellular proteins, causing severe morphological changes and cell shrinkage. In the final st

Copper-binding Function for Prion Protein?

RESEARCH NEWS 1997-12-18 Research News A pathologic form of prion protein is believed to cause scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The normal function of prion protein is yet unknown, but a recent study by Hans Kretzschmar of the University of

Proteoglycans Inhibit Axon Regeneration

RESEARCH NEWS 1997-12-18 Research News Why is the adult mammalian central nervous system unable to regenerate damaged axons? Scarring of glial tissue may be a factor, according to Jerry Silver and his colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The researche

New Microscope Reveals Alignment of Molecules in Living Cells

RESEARCH NEWS 1997-12-18 Research News An innovative microscope has been developed which provides scientists with a new window through which to explore the dynamics of molecular order and disorder in living cells and other quasi-liquid systems. Originally conceived by famed cell