Newborns whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to any one of a variety of environmental stressors — such as trauma, illness, and alcohol or drug abuse — become susceptible to various psychiatric disorders that frequently arise later in life. However, it has been unclear how these stressors affect the cells of the developing brain prenatallyContinue reading “Researchers Search for Earliest Roots of Psychiatric Disorders”
Category Archives: genes
Alzheimer’s Plaques Reduced by Targeting Sugar Attachment to the BACE1 Enzyme
Researchers at the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center in Japan have demonstrated that hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can be reduced when sugars are prevented from binding to one of the key enzymes implicated in the disease. The new findings, reported in EMBO Molecular Medicine, show that abnormal attachment of a particular sugar to theContinue reading “Alzheimer’s Plaques Reduced by Targeting Sugar Attachment to the BACE1 Enzyme”
New Genetic Clues Found in Fragile X Syndrome
Scientists have gained new insight into fragile X syndrome — the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability — by studying the case of a person without the disorder, but with two of its classic symptoms. In patients with fragile X, a key gene is completely disabled, eliminating a protein that regulates electrical signals inContinue reading “New Genetic Clues Found in Fragile X Syndrome”
Does Brain Size Really Matter?
Summary: Researchers have identified seven genes that predict intracranial volume and Parkinson’s disease. Source: USC. USC researchers lead an international team identifying 7 genes that predict ‘intracranial volume’ and Parkinson’s disease. Brain size may matter. In the world’s largest MRI study on brain size to date, USC researchers and their international colleagues identified seven geneticContinue reading “Does Brain Size Really Matter?”
Rare, Severe Neurological Disease Linked to Protein Trafficking Gene
Summary: Researchers have discovered that a severe form of epileptic encephalopathy is caused by recessive loss-of-function mutations in the gene DENND5A. Source: McGill University. Researchers have linked a debilitating neurological disease in children to mutations in a gene that regulates neuronal development through control of protein movement within neuronal cells. The scientists from the MontrealContinue reading “Rare, Severe Neurological Disease Linked to Protein Trafficking Gene”
Exome DNA sequencing test versus whole genome DNA test
Exome sequencing, also known as whole exome sequencing (WES or WXS), is a technique for sequencing all the expressed genes in a genome(known as the exome). It consists of first selecting only the subset of DNA that encodes proteins (known as exons) and then sequencing that DNA using any high-throughput DNA sequencing technology. Humans haveContinue reading “Exome DNA sequencing test versus whole genome DNA test”
Disrupted Immunity in the Fetal Brain Linked to Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Summary: A new mouse study could help explain how mothers who contract CMV during pregnancy have an increased risk of their offspring developing autism and schizophrenia. Source: Weizmann Institute of Science. Weizmann Institute findings in mice may help explain how viral infection during pregnancy raises the risk of autism and schizophrenia in the offspring. DisruptedContinue reading “Disrupted Immunity in the Fetal Brain Linked to Neurodevelopmental Disorders”
Could Alzheimer’s Associated Amyloid Plaques Fight Bacterial Infections?
Summary: According to researchers, the expression of human amyloid beta protected against potentially lethal infections in mice, roundworms and cultured human brain cells. Source: Mass General. Human amyloid-beta acts as natural antibiotic in the brains of animal models. A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators provides additional evidence that amyloid-beta protein – whichContinue reading “Could Alzheimer’s Associated Amyloid Plaques Fight Bacterial Infections?”
A New Role For Amyloid Beta in Alzheimer’s
Summary: Researchers have developed a new technique to measure levels of amyloid beta in the brain. They have also discovered new insights into why mutations of the TREM2 gene increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Source: WUSTL. Studies hint at therapeutic strategies against devastating disease. New Alzheimer’s disease research details a technique that speedilyContinue reading “A New Role For Amyloid Beta in Alzheimer’s”
New imaging technique measures toxicity of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
Summary: Researchers have developed a new imaging technique that makes it possible to study why proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases may go from harmless to toxic. Source: University of Cambridge. A new super-resolution imaging technique allows researchers to track how surface changes in proteins are related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s andContinue reading “New imaging technique measures toxicity of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases”
Novel Type of Cell Death in Huntington’s Disease May Lead to Effective New Therapies
Summary: Researchers have identified a novel type of cell death associated with Huntington’s disease. Source: Tokyo Medical and Dental University. Researchers centered at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) identify novel type of cell death in Huntington’s disease that may uncover new treatments. In Huntington’s disease (HD), the huntingtin gene is mutated, causing progressive neuronalContinue reading “Novel Type of Cell Death in Huntington’s Disease May Lead to Effective New Therapies”
Neurotoxicity predicted by organoids derived from stem cells
A new system developed by scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research and the University of Wisconsin-Madison may provide a faster, cheaper and more biologically relevant way to screen drugs and chemicals that could harm the developing brain. Reporting in the Sept. 21, 2015 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS),Continue reading “Neurotoxicity predicted by organoids derived from stem cells”
A Single Neuron May Carry Up To 1000 Genetic Mutations
A single neuron in a normal adult brain likely has more than a thousand genetic mutations that are not present in the cells that surround it, according to new research from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists. The majority of these mutations appear to arise while genes are in active use, after brain development isContinue reading “A Single Neuron May Carry Up To 1000 Genetic Mutations”
Gene Suppression Helps Long Term Memories Form
A new study has identified a number of genes that are repressed at various time points after memory formation, providing important clues as to how long-term memories are formed. Storing a persistent memory in the brain involves dynamic gene regulation. However, scientists’ knowledge of the target genes controlled during memory formation is limited. To gainContinue reading “Gene Suppression Helps Long Term Memories Form”