Newsline — Monday, October 27, 2014 9:00
Invisible Implants Open New Window Into the Brain
Human Skin Cells Reprogrammed Directly into Brain Cells
Friday, October 24, 2014 9:00
In a recent study published in the journal Neuron, researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, found a way to convert human skin cells directly into a specific type of brain cell affected by Hungtington’s disease; an inherited genetic, neurodegenerative disorder that is ultimately fatal. Unlike other techniques that turn one cell type into another, this new process does not pass through a stem cell phase avoiding the production of multiple cell types. The researchers produced a specific type of brain cell, called medium spiny neurons, which are important for controlling movement. They are the primary cells affected in Huntington’s disease. The ability to convert adult human cells presents the possibility of using a patient’s own skin cells, which are easily accessible and won’t be rejected by the immune system, providing the potential for future therapies. To study the cellular properties associated with the disease, the investigators also took skin cells from patients with Huntington’s disease and reprogrammed them into medium spiny neurons using a new approach. Researchers also plan to inject…
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Stress-related Inflammation May Increase Risk for Depression
Thursday, October 23, 2014 9:00
According to a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, preexisting differences in the sensitivity of a key part of each individual’s immune system confer a greater risk of developing stress-related depression or anxiety. Previous studies have found depression and anxiety to be associated with elevated blood levels of inflammatory molecules and white blood cells after a confirmed diagnosis, but it has been unclear whether greater inflammation was present prior to the onset of disease or whether it is functionally related to depression symptomology. “Our data suggests that preexisting individual differences in the peripheral immune system predict and promote stress susceptibility,” said the study’s lead author. The study provides experimental evidence that the emotional response to stress can be generated or blocked in the periphery, offering the potential for new forms of treatment for stress disorders and may eventually inform therapeutic strategies to reengineer a patient’s immune system to reduce stress vulnerability. To read more about this study, click here.
Radiation, Then Chemo Improves Survival in Adults with Low-grade Glioma
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 13:30
A chemotherapy regimen consisting of procarbazine, CCNU and vincristine (PCV) administered following radiation therapy improved progression-free survival and overall survival in adults with low-grade gliomas, when compared to radiation therapy alone. The findings were part of the results of a Phase III clinical trial presented at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. The trial, RTOG 9802, enrolled 251 patients with low-grade gliomas between October 1998 and June 2002 to address the role of chemotherapy following radiation treatment. Patients enrolled were at high risk, compared to other low-grade glioma patients because they were 40 years of age or older or had a less than complete surgical removal of their tumor if they were under 40. Investigators also found that patients with oligodendroglioma had better outcomes than those with astrocytoma or oligoastrocytoma. To learn more about the study, click here.
Breakthrough Replicates Human Brain Cells for Use in Alzheimer’s Research
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 10:02
In a recent study published in the journal Nature, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston created what they are referring to as Alzheimer’s in a dish — a petri dish with human brain cells that developed the telltale structures of Alzheimer’s disease. The key to their success, the lead researcher explained, was the decision to grow human brain cells in a gel, where they formed networks similar to those found in an actual brain. They gave the neurons the genes for Alzheimer’s disease. Within weeks, they saw the hard brillo-like clumps known as plaques, and then the twisted spaghetti-like coils known as tangles — the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease. The results from the study could dramatically accelerate finding and testing new drug candidates for the disease. To read more about this study, click here.
Study Reveals Mechanism That Repairs Brain After Stroke
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 14:35
According to a new study recently published in the journal, Science, a previously unknown mechanism through which the brain produces new nerve cells after a stroke has been discovered. Researchers at Lund University and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have shown that following an induced stroke in mice, astrocytes start to form nerve cells in the injured part of the brain. Using genetic methods to map the fate of the cells, the scientists could demonstrate that astrocytes in this area formed immature nerve cells, which then developed into mature nerve cells. The new nerve cells were found to form specialized contacts with other cells. While it remains to be shown whether the nerve cells are functional and to what extent they contribute to the spontaneous recovery that is observed in a majority of experimental animals and patients after a stroke, the new study demonstrates for the first time that self-repair in the adult brain involves astrocytes entering a process by which they change their identity to nerve cells. To learn more about the study, click here.
Researchers Find Protein Linked to DNA Damage and the Development of Child Brain Tumors
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 9:48
In a recent study published in the journal Developmental Cell, scientists at the University of Montreal discovered a mechanism that promotes the progression of medulloblastoma, the most common brain tumor found in children. During the study, the research team found a protein — known as Sonic Hedgehog — induces DNA damage, which causes the cancer to develop. Sonic Hedgehog belongs to a family of proteins that gives cells the information needed for an embryo to develop properly. It also plays a significant role in tumorigenesis, the process that transforms normal cells into cancer cells. “Our team studied a protein called Boc, which is a receptor located on the cell surface that detects Sonic Hedgehog,” explained one of the study’s lead authors. “With this study, we found that the presence of Boc is required for Sonic Hedgehog to induce DNA damage.” Furthermore, the results of the study found that Boc causes DNA damage in tumor cells, which promotes the progression of precancerous lesions into advanced medulloblastoma. To read more about this study, click here.
Researchers Develop a New Target for Personalized Brain-cancer Treatment
Monday, October 20, 2014 15:10
In a recent study published in the journal Genome Research, researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a new fusion protein found in approximately 15 percent of secondary glioblastomas. The finding offers new insights into the cause of this type of cancer and provides a therapeutic target for personalized oncologic care. “While genomic profiling is yielding improved understanding of primary glioblastoma, our understanding of secondary glioblastoma remains rudimentary,” said the study’s lead author. Primary glioblastomas occur in the elderly, without evidence of a less malignant precursor. Secondary glioblastomas occur mostly in younger patients and progress from low-grade, less aggressive precursor tumors to glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of the disease. During the study, researchers used a technology called RNA-Seq to study the RNA sequences derived from 272 clinical tumor specimens from patients afflicted with secondary glioblastoma or precursor forms of the tumor. The results revealed that the RNA sequences of brain cancers become progressively more abnormal as the tumor becomes more malignant. More specifically, the frequency of aberrant RNAs…
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Practicing Simple Yoga Pose Reduces Adolescent Scoliosis by Almost Half
Monday, October 20, 2014 9:00
In a recent clinical trial that studied yoga for the reduction of scoliosis curvature, researchers found that a basic yoga pose — done for an average of only 1.5 minutes a day, six times a week for two months — reduced idiopathic scoliosis curves for adolescent and adult patients an average of 32 percent. The 25-participant trial was evaluator-blinded, X-ray based and used the standard Cobb method for measuring results. Among 19 compliant patients who did yoga more than three times per week, the improvement was 40 percent. Within that group, adolescents saw a 49 percent improvement. All patients did the side plank yoga pose, and all patients practiced it on one side only, the side of their curve. “Since scoliosis is an asymmetrical condition, I have treated it asymmetrically, asking patients to do the pose on the weaker side only. That strengthens the specific spinal muscles on the convex side that are needed to help with curve reduction,” said the researcher who conducted the study. The most common treatment for this widespread condition is…
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New Computational Approach Finds Gene That Drives Aggressive Brain Cancer
Friday, October 17, 2014 13:00
According to a new study published in the journal Cell, researchers from Columbia University Medical Center found that by using an innovative algorithm that analyzes gene regulatory and signaling networks, the loss of a gene called KLHL9 is the driving force behind the most aggressive form of glioblastoma. The research team demonstrated in mice transplants that these tumors can be suppressed by reintroducing the KLHL9 protein, offering a possible strategy for treatment. Researchers used the same approach to identify mutations and heritable variants that have also been linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease — suggesting that the algorithm, combined with researchers’ sophisticated computer models of cellular regulation, is a powerful method for identifying genetic drivers of a wide range of diseases. “This algorithm adds a new dimension to our ability to identify the genetic cause of complex disease. When combined with other tools that our lab has developed, it will help identify many more genes that hold potential as genetic biomarkers of disease progression and targets for treatment,” said the study’s lead author. To…
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