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Tag: "neuromuscular" at biology news

Silence the gene, save the cell: RNA interference as promising therapy for ALS

...tion, the mice showed a significant improvement in neuromuscular function. "This is the first demonstration of therapeutic efficacy in vivo of RNA interference-mediated gene silencing in an ALS model," notes Raoul. Because the normal form of the SOD1 protein may be necessary for the survival or function of adult...

Mutation in clams protects against paralytic shellfish poisoning but raises human health risk

..., she notes, leading to new drugs for treatment of neuromuscular disease. Because clams that possess the mutation are more likely to survive in red tide contaminated areas, the toxin and the mutation act together to influence the shellfish population, the authors conclude. ...

Small worm yields big clue on muscle receptor action

...wo different nicotinic receptors at the nematode's neuromuscular junctions, causing them to contract. Previously, researchers knew the subunit composition only of the levamisole-sensitive acetylcholine receptors. In the second, levamisole-insensitive acetylcholine receptors, a subunit called acetylcholine receptor...

UIC researchers show protein routes messages in nerve cells

...nswering the question because a synapse called the neuromuscular junction in the fly works much like synapses in human brain cells. "We can quickly mutate the flies," said Featherstone. "We looked among thousands of them for those without the glutamate receptors in the right place at the right time. Then we knew ...

'Cookbook recipes' would cure disease with nontoxic DNA delivery systems

... approved for treating cancer, cystic fibrosis and neuromuscular disorders, for example, but delivering DNA to the proper location and getting the right amount of DNA expression without killing innocent cells has become the Achilles' heel in DNA delivery. Positively charged (cationic) synthetic molecules will rea...

FSU biologists describe key role of signal-transcribing gene during cell cycle

...associated with the genesis of several genetic and neuromuscular diseases; the most common complex congenital heart disorder; and later life ills such as Alzheimer's, breast and lung cancer, and leukemia. "We now know that the transcription factor Cut is the key there," said Deng. Assisted by FSU graduate studen...

Botox could help target resistant tumors for treatment

...n the sympathetic nervous system, it could prevent neuromuscular contractions of vessels in tumors. The inhibition of this contraction could literally open the gate to improved tumor perfusion by chemotherapeutic drugs and oxygenation that enhances radiotherapy. The scientists used two tumor models, one for fibr...

Scientists reveal how deadly toxin hijacks cells

...tion and even stuttering. "I don't think there's a neuromuscular junction that hasn't been inhibited by injecting with botox A," says Chapman. Chapman and his team located the exact molecular gateway through which botox penetrates cells by gathering clues from earlier research that pointed to the potential import...

Brain-computer link lets paralyzed patients convert thoughts into actions

...ng disorders such as stroke, spinal cord injury or neuromuscular disease. The available assistive technologies, however, provide neither sufficient independence nor mobility. "Thanks to the generosity and pioneering spirit of our initial trial participants, who have volunteered without expecting to derive any p...

Researchers image molecular motor structural changes

...insights into a number of diseases, including some neuromuscular conditions, such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. These disorders are thought to be linked to deficiencies in transport by the molecular motors of chemical neurotransmitters that carry messages between nerve cells. Down syndrome, in which chromosomes...

Fast-freeze snapshot yields new picture of nerve-muscle junction

...eals new details of their location and function in neuromuscular synapses. The technique was used with tiny, one-mi...ws us to take a snapshot of what's going on at the neuromuscular junction and actually physically view the consequences of losing these proteins," said Richmond. Th...

'Marathon mice' elucidate little-known muscle type

...rtance for the therapy of a number of muscular and neuromuscular diseases in humans," Spiegelman's group concluded. "Many conditions accompanied by loss of physical mobility, including paraplegia, prolonged bed rest, and muscular dystrophies, involve a loss of oxidative fibers and their replacement with glycoly...

Switching genes to overdrive improves muscular dystrophy symptoms in mice

...operation of genes that control the development of neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) ?sites on muscle fibers where nerves attach and signal the fibers to contract. Part of the reason that exercise builds stronger muscles is that it increases PGC-1alpha activity. Conversely, disease or lack of exercise reduces PGC-1alp...

Dinosaur hearing, listening to muscle noise, quieter cubicles

...fness, which in turn can provide information about neuromuscular disease, such as muscular dystrophy. Muscle stiffness was traditionally measured using external radiation sources (such as a vibrating piston). But the Scripps researchers use a process called passive elastography, a low-cost, in-vivo, non-invasive ...

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