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

Entire Genome Yields to a Chip

RESEARCH NEWS 1997-11-24 Research News Researchers at California-based Affymetrix have analyzed the activity of every gene in the yeast genome in a single experiment using a new "DNA chip." This remarkable technological feat hints of a future, following completion of th

Two New Genetic Risk Factors for Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease

RESEARCH NEWS 1997-10-16 Research News Scientists working in Oxford University and Duke University Medical Center this week reported the discovery of two new genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly 90 percent of all Alzheimer's cases are late-onset, a

TGF-β1 Linked to Plaque Formation

RESEARCH NEWS 1997-10-09 Research News A history of brain injury raises a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and many researchers now suspect that the brain’s inflammatory responses to injury may magnify the neurodegenerative process. Now researchers have identified a substanc

Antibodies Find a New Variety of Alzheimer's Plaque

RESEARCH NEWS 1997-06-27 Research News Researchers in Dr. John Q. Trojanowski's lab at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a new type of lesion in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. These new lesions appear only in brains with amyloid plaques, including brai

MEDLINE Now Free to the Public

COMMUNITY NEWS 1997-06-26 Community News The National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database is now accessible free to the general public through PubMed and Internet Grateful Med. Hot links to IGM and PubMed are available on the NLM home page. PubMed is an experimental search