Brain | Page 1534 | Science Codex

How neuronal activity leads to Alzheimer's protein cleavage

Amyloid precursor protein (APP), whose cleavage product, amyloid-b (Ab), builds up into fibrous plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, jumps from one specialized membrane microdomain to another to be cleaved, report Sakurai et al.

Although there is no definitive evidence that Ab plaques are the direct cause of Alzheimer's disease, there is much circumstantial evidence to support this. And working on this hypothesis, scientists are investigating just how the plaques form and what might be done to stop or reverse their formation.

Gladstone scientists identify role of fatty acids in Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) and the University of California have found that complete or partial removal of an enzyme that regulates fatty acid levels improves cognitive deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Their findings, which will be published in today's issue of Nature Neuroscience, identified specific fatty acids that may contribute to the disease as well as a novel therapeutic strategy.

Mothers launch national petition for preemies

HOUSTON, TX, OCT. 17, 2008 – Mothers are casting their votes for healthy babies and asking all Americans to join them in signing the March of Dimes 2008 Petition for Preemies. They're putting public officials – and all Americans – on notice that it's time to focus on the growing problem of premature birth, the leading cause of newborn death.

Scripps research team sheds light on immune system suppression

The work was reported in the October 16 issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe.

The study described the suppression of this immune response in mice infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, pointing to potential new avenues for the development of drug treatments for immunosuppressive diseases in humans.

Physical decline caused by slow decay of brain's myelin

During this year's baseball playoffs, Chicago White Sox outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., 38, threw a picture-perfect strike from center field to home plate to stop an opposing player from scoring. The White Sox ultimately won the game by a single run and clinched the division title.

Had Griffey been 40, it could be argued, he might not have made the throw in time. That's because in middle age, we begin to lose myelin — the fatty sheath of "insulation" that coats our nerve axons and allows for fast signaling bursts in our brains.

Study shows safety and efficacy of blood flow reversal system used during carotid stenting

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 16, 2008 – Results of a study on an embolic protection system during carotid stenting that uses a novel blood flow reversal system was reported today during the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF).

Better beer: College team creating anticancer brew

College students often spend their free time thinking about beer, but a group of Rice University students are taking it to the next level. They're using genetic engineering to create beer that contains resveratrol, a chemical in wine that's been shown to reduce cancer and heart disease in lab animals.

Experiments at CSHL support alternative theory of information processing in the cortex

Neurons in the sound-processing part of the brain's cortex are experts at timing. With remarkable precision, they fire electrochemical pulses or "spikes" in sync with the cues they receive from other neurons, even when these cues are separated by very small time intervals.

Blunted activation of brain reward circuitry increases risk for future weight gain

In the October 17, 2008 issue of Science, Oregon Research Institute (ORI) senior scientist Eric Stice, Ph.D., and colleagues provide evidence that blunted activation of brain regions when eating is related to current and future weight gain in young females. Results from two studies – the first prospective brain imaging studies on the development of obesity as it relates to decreased dopamine output -- suggest that individuals who experience weaker activation of reward circuitry when eating are more likely to be obese and are more likely to gain weight over time.

Yale researchers tie genes, lower reward response to weight gain

New Haven, Conn. - The brains of obese people seem to respond to a tasty treat with less vigor than the brains of their leaner peers, suggesting obese people may overeat to compensate for a reduced reward response, according to a new brain imaging and genetics study conducted by researchers at Yale University, The John B. Pierce Laboratory, the University of Texas and Oregon Research Institute.

Obesity, abnormal 'reward circuitry' in brain linked by imaging studies

Using brain imaging and chocolate milkshakes, scientists have found that women with weakened "reward circuitry" in their brains are at increased risk of weight gain over time and potential obesity. The risk increases even more for women who also have a gene associated with compromised dopamine signaling in the brain.

Brain signals less satisfaction for obese people, research shows

AUSTIN, Texas—Obese individuals may overeat because they experience less satisfaction from eating food due to a reduced response in their brains' reward circuitry, according to a new study by Eric Stice, psychology researcher at The University of Texas at Austin.

Could Dr. House be replaced by a computer?

Scientists know that different normal and diseased tissues behave differently. But a method that tells them just how they do so may one day give medical science a new way to fight obesity, hypertension, diabetes and other dangerous disorders of the metabolism.

Until now, scientists had to rely on basic observations at the cellular level, since they lacked information about the metabolic processes of individual organs, such as the liver, heart and brain.

Genes that control cell death fingered in age-related hearing loss

Several genes that play a role in how our body's cells normally auto-destruct may play a role in age-related hearing loss, according to research published online in the journal Apoptosis – a journal devoted to the topic of cell suicide, or programmed cell death.

MU brain imaging center provides research for autism, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease

Recently, the University of Missouri Department of Psychological Sciences introduced an addition to their field of research with the opening of the Brain Imaging Center (BIC). The BIC will allow MU researchers to conduct behavioral research on diseases that can have tremendous impact, including Parkinson's disease, autism, schizophrenia and other neurocognitive disorders using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.