Lack of sleep during adolescence and early adulthood accelerates Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related tau pathology, finds a study of male and female mice published in JNeurosci. These results support the importance of establishing healthy sleep habits in early adult life to help stave off progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Using a mouse model of tauopathy, Sigrid Veasey […]
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Blood test biopsy for kids with brain tumors is simple, safe way to see if treatment is working
A new blood test for children with brain tumors offers a safer approach than surgical biopsies and may allow doctors to measure the effectiveness of treatment even before changes are identified on scans, according to research led by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and Children’s National Health System. Unlike a standard brain biopsy, which entails drilling […]
Study provides insights on the effects of exercise on cognitive performance
A new British Journal of Psychology study has looked at the details behind how cognitive performance may improve during aerobic exercise. Electroencephalography readings were taken as 24 participants performed a visual working memory task while at rest and during exercise involving different postures: seated on or pedalling a stationary bicycle, as well as standing or […]
Five things to know about the poliolike condition that has hospitalized two Chicago-area children
At least two children who have been diagnosed with a rare but serious condition that weakens muscles and limits mobility are being treated in Chicago, according to Lurie Children’s Hospital. The parents of a Batavia 2-year-old, Julia Payne, went public in hopes of raising awareness for acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, which causes inflammation in […]
Oscillations provide insights into the brain’s navigation system
The brain creates a map of our environment, which enables reliable spatial navigation. The Nobel Prize was awarded in 2014 for research into how this navigation system works at the cellular level. Researchers at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing have now shown that […]
New model mimics human tumors for accurate testing of cancer drugs
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have genetically engineered a new laboratory model that enables accurate testing of anti-cancer drugs by mimicking the complexity of human cancers. Using this advanced model, researchers will be able to discover the safest and most effective ways to use promising drugs called MCL-1 inhibitors in the clinic. The work […]
Satiety in 3-D
Many overweight people lack the feeling of being full. It was long thought that this was due to the disrupted transport of the satiety hormone leptin to the brain. That is not the case, as a group of scientists from Helmholtz Zentrum München has now shown in the International Journal of Obesity. The work was […]
Do not give decongestants to young children for common cold symptoms, say experts
Decongestants should not be given to children under 6—and given with caution in children under 12—as there is no evidence that they alleviate symptoms such as a blocked or runny nose, and their safety is unclear, say experts in The BMJ today. Instead, they advise doctors to reassure patients that a cold is distressing but […]
Study identifies gene that makes gentle touch feel painful after injury
Ever wonder why things that normally feel gentle, like putting on soft shirts, are painful after a sunburn? In a study of four patients with a rare genetic disorder, NIH researchers found that PIEZO2, a gene previously shown to control our sense of our bodies in space and gentle touch, may also be responsible for […]
Creating custom brains from the ground up
Scientists studying how genetics impact brain disease have long sought a better experimental model. Cultures of genetically-modified cell lines can reveal some clues to how certain genes influence the development of psychiatric disorders and brain cancers. But such models cannot offer the true-to-form look at brain function that can be provided by genetically-modified mice. Even […]