Latest Neurodegeneration Stories

Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) are two of the most prevalent forms of neurodegenerative disorders. In a study published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have analyzed changes in gene expression in the aging and diseased brain, finding new clues to the biology of normal aging and neurodegenerative diseases.Recent studies have identified changes in how genes are read, or expressed, in the brain either during aging or with...

Shape of key protein surprises researchersA new study finds that a protein key to Parkinson's disease has likely been mischaracterized. The protein, alpha-synuclein, appears to have a radically different structure in healthy cells than previously thought, challenging existing disease paradigms and suggesting a new therapeutic approach."Our data show that alpha-synuclein was essentially mistakenly characterized as a natively unfolded protein that lacked structure," said Dennis...

A single traumatic brain injury may prompt long-term neurodegeneration, Penn study showsYears after a single traumatic brain injury (TBI), survivors still show changes in their brains. In a new study, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggest that Alzheimer's disease-like neurodegeneration may be initiated or accelerated following a single traumatic brain injury, even in young adults.Over 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury...

Parkinson disease (PD) is a devastating incurable disease in which degeneration of dopamine neurons in the brainstem leads to tremors and problems with movement and coordination. An increasing proportion of patients appear to be genetically predisposed to disease. Now, two independent research groups have identified a mutation associated with an inherited form of PD. The papers, published by Cell Press in the July 9 issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics, provide new insight into the...

A small protein called SUMO might prevent the protein aggregations that typify Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a new study in the July 11, 2011, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).Insoluble protein clusters are the hallmarks of several neurodegenerative diseases. In PD, neurons harbor insoluble clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein. What triggers these protein pileups remains obscure. A possible clue for PD came when researchers overexpressed alpha-synuclein in human...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A small protein called SUMO might prevent the protein aggregations that typify Parkinson's disease (PD), according to this study.Insoluble protein clusters are the hallmarks of several neurodegenerative diseases. In PD, neurons harbor insoluble clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein. What triggers these protein pileups remains obscure. A possible clue for PD came when researchers overexpressed alpha-synuclein in human kidney cells and found that the protein was modified...

Overexpression of gene is linked with Alzheimer's disease and down syndromeChronic stress has long been linked with neurodegeneration. Scientists at USC now think they may know why.The study, which has tremendous implications for understanding and treating Alzheimer's disease, was published in the June issue of The FASEB Journal (the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology).Corresponding author Kelvin J. A. Davies, the James E. Birren Chair at the USC Davis...

Pathway disrupted in Gaucher disease affects Parkinson's-associated protein deposits, suggests novel therapeutic strategyMassachusetts General Hospital investigators appear to have found the mechanism behind a previously reported link between the rare genetic condition Gaucher disease and the common neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson's disease. In a report to appear in the July 8 issue of Cell and receiving early online release, they describe how disruption of the molecular pathway that...

Structural biologists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC are the first to measure the energy difference between protein variantsResearchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered structural clues about the protein linked to Parkinson's disease (PD), which ultimately could lead to finding a cure for the degenerative neurological disorder.The alpha-synuclein (α-synuclein) protein is commonly found in the healthy human brain even though...

Research offers new hope for key neurodegenerative disordersScientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified a drug candidate that diminishes the effects of both Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease in animal models, offering new hope for patients who currently lack any medications to halt the progression of these two debilitating illnesses.Gladstone Investigator Paul Muchowski, PhD, has identified a new compound called JM6 in experiments done in collaboration with an...