amyotrophic

Wisconsin scientists grow critical nerve cells

... novel treatments of degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. With healthy cells grown in the lab, scientists could, in theory, replace dying motor neurons to restore function and alleviate the symptoms of disease or injury. Much sooner in the future...

Antibiotic might fight HIV-induced neurological problems

...al models of other diseases -- multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, stroke and more. The drug is being tested in early clinical trials for some non-HIV-related conditions. "Last year we discovered that SIV triggers some of the same biological pathways of cell death and inflamm...

Some Brain Cells 'Change Channels' To Fine-tune The Message

...of a goal. In people with Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), some muscle-controlling nerve cells die because too much of the brain chemical glutamate binds to the cells' AMPA receptors, and so too much calcium gets inside. If these threatened nerve cells can swap their calcium-allowing...

Some Brain Cells Change Channels

...of a goal. In people with Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), some muscle-controlling nerve cells die because too much of the brain chemical glutamate binds to the cells' AMPA receptors, and so too much calcium gets inside. If these threatened nerve cells can swap their calcium-allowing...

Molecular trigger for Huntington's disease found

...ay a role in some forms of Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Ironically, p53 is the same regulatory protein that is inactivated in a large fraction of cancers. This inactivation allows abnormal cancer cells to escape the cell's protective "suicide program" that woul...

New neurons take baby steps in the adult brain

...at succumb in diseases like muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or nerves that are damaged by trauma or injury. In none of these systems are new neurons formed or integrated to any great extent naturally. ...

U of MN researchers identify ataxia gene

...may provide insight into other diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.The research will be published in the February print issue of Nature Genetics, and posted online Jan. 22, 2006. Ataxia is a hereditary disease that causes loss of coordination ...

Weizmann Institute suggests that immune cells help to maintain cognition and brain cell renewal

...as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, glaucoma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and the nerve degeneration that results from trauma or stroke. In their earlier research, Schwartz and her team provided evidence to suggest that T cells directed against CNS components do not attack the brain but instead, r...

Mechanism identified for promising neurological drug

...for Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), all of which cause brain and nerve cell degeneration as a consequence of inflammation. However, says Swanson, "it's really been unclear up till now how minocycline works to prevent the inflammatory response." Swanson credit...

Neurons grown from embryonic stem cells restore function in paralyzed rats

...orders as spinal cord injury, transverse myelitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and spinal muscular atrophy. The study was funded in part by the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The researchers, led by Douglas Kerr, M.D., Ph.D., of The Johns Hopkins University Schoo...

Discovery of agile molecular motors could aid in treating motor neuron diseases

...lf atrophies. A well-known motor neuron disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Using a specially-constructed microscope that allows researchers to observe the action of one macromolecule at a time, the team found that a protein motor is able to move back and fo...

Variations in detoxifying genes linked to Lou Gehrig's disease

...drugs may be a risk factor for developing sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), and possibly responsible for a reported twofold increased risk of ALS in Gulf War veterans. These findings, from a study led Teepu Siddique, M.D., and colleagues at Northwestern University, open the...

Test reveals effectiveness of potential Huntington's disease drugs

...o treat Alzheimer's disease, and riluzole, used in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, did protect the cells. Memantine demonstrated a stronger effect in the study. Memantine has also shown evidence of retarding the progression of Huntington's in people, while riluzole has helped relieve some symptoms. "Our resul...

UNC scientists solve mystery of how largest cellular motor protein powers movement

...ransmission and mimics the symptoms of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ...

Human stem cells delay start of Lou Gehrig's disease in rats

... themselves succumb to Lou Gehrig's, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study is published in this week's issue of Transplantation. "We were extremely surprised to see that the grafted stem cells were not negatively affected by the degenerating cells around them, as many feared introducing ...

From a lowly yeast, researchers divine a clue to human disease

...to neurological diseases, including a rare form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, and movement disorders. By exploring how Sen1 works in yeast, Brow provides a powerful tool other researchers can use to better understand the interplay of the protein and gene regulation...

Growth factor stimulates rapid extension of key motor neurons in brain

...al cord and that die in motor neuron diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). In the November 2006 issue of Nature Neuroscience, two investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute describe how insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) dra...

Gene hunters close in on Lou Gehrig’s disease

...h for the genetic roots of the most common form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Johns Hopkins scientists have newly identified 34 unique variations in the human genetic code among 276 unrelated subjects with ALS. The 34 so-called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, represent good candidate genes p...

Bisexual fruit flies show new role for neurochemical

...rceive and learn to debilitating illnesses such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, post-traumatic stress syndrome and schizophrenia is influenced by the number of receptors on nerve cells. The more receptors each cell has at its communication points, or synapses, the better that messages are c...

Researchers develop marker that identifies energy-producing centers in nerve cells

...these diseases including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS) and Huntington's disease. "The mice we have developed with the fluorescent protein could be bred with mouse models of various neurological diseases, so we could apply the ability to see mitochondria in neurons to...