Molecular trigger for Huntington's disease found
...therwise display. These behaviors include abnormal reflexes such as an inhibited startle response to loud noise, which is also present in human HD patients. "In summary, our study establishes a specific role for p53 in HD," concluded Sawa and colleagues. "As p53 is a nuclear transcription factor that regulat...Whiplash injuries ?are they caused by startle reflexes?
...that a cause of whiplash injuries could be startle reflexes elicited by unexpected loud sounds. Whiplash injuries most commonly result from seemingly minor low-speed rear-end collisions. The reason for the injury is not known but it is generally thought that the sudden acceleration of the body relative to t...How many genes does it take to learn? Lessons from sea slugs
...specific networks controlling feeding or defensive reflexes in the sea slug. To their surprise, they identified more than 100 genes similar to those associated with all major human neurological diseases and more than 600 genes controlling development, confirming that molecular and genomic events underlying ke...Stem cells found in adult hair follicles may provide alternative to embryonic stem cells
...ty, if the grafts lead to an improvement of spinal reflexes in the injured spinal cord of mice. Dr. Sieber-Blum points out that the cells may also be useful to treat Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Hirschsprung's disease, stroke, peripheral neuropathies and ALS. Certain defects of the heart, and bo...Proteins necessary for brain development found to be critical for long-term memory
...cause the animals to exhibit heightened withdrawal reflexes days and weeks after the shocks are over. When the animals are shocked, a brain chemical known as serotonin is released that promotes the formation of a long-term memory associated with the shocks. However, when Carew and his colleagues blocked the...