News tagged with neurodegenerative diseases

SUMO-snipping protein plays crucial role in T and B cell development

When SUMO grips STAT5, a protein that activates genes, it blocks the healthy embryonic development of immune B cells and T cells unless its nemesis breaks the hold, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Jan 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Muscling in on multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurodegenerative disease, causes periodic attacks of neurologic symptoms such as limb weakness and mobility defects. And while MS patients' walking abilities and muscle strength are examined on ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 26, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Alzheimer's neurons induced from pluripotent stem cells

Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary Alzheimer's disease ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jan 25, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Blocking metabolic protein improves movement in animals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Turning off a protein that helps cells balance energy increases animal mobility and reduces the death of nerve cells that control movement in animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a study in the ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jan 17, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cell's 'battery' found to play central role in neurodegenerative disease

A devastating neurodegenerative disease that first appears in toddlers just as they are beginning to walk has been traced to defects in mitochondria, the 'batteries' or energy-producing power plants of cells.

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jan 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Diet counts: Iron intake in teen years can impact brain in later life

(Medical Xpress) -- Iron is a popular topic in health news. Doctors prescribe it for medical reasons, and it's available over the counter as a dietary supplement. And while it's known that too little iron can result in cognitive ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Demographic, clinical factors appear associated with survival in patients with Parkinson's disease

Demographics and clinical factors appear to be associated with survival in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), and the presence of dementia is associated with a significant increase in mortality, according to a report in ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jan 02, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New findings about the prion protein and its interaction with the immune system

(Medical Xpress) -- Scrapie is a neurodegenerative disease which can function as a model for other diseases caused by an accumulation of proteins resulting in tissue malformations (proteinpathies), such as ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Regulatory enzyme overexpression may protect against neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease

Treatment that increases brain levels of an important regulatory enzyme may slow the loss of brain cells that characterizes Huntington's disease (HD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. In a report receiving advance online ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 18, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Using powerful MRI to track iron levels in brain could be new way to monitor progression of MS

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a new way to track the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in those living with the disease, by using a powerful, triple strength MRI to track increasing ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Antioxidant has potential in the Alzheimer's fight, researchers find

(Medical Xpress) -- When you cut an apple and leave it out, it turns brown. Squeeze the apple with lemon juice, an antioxidant, and the process slows down.

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 14, 2011 | popularity 2 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Alzheimer's vaccine cures memory of mice

(Medical Xpress) -- A vaccine that slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia has been developed by researchers at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Research Institute ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers decode a puzzling movement disorder

Neurodegenerative diseases represent one of the greatest challenges of our aging society. However, investigation into these diseases is made particularly difficult due to the limited availability of human brain tissue. Scientists ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 25, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

How the brain strings words into sentences

(Medical Xpress) -- Distinct neural pathways are important for different aspects of language processing, researchers have discovered, studying patients with language impairments caused by neurodegenerative ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 24, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover possible key to degenerative nerve diseases

(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and collaborators have discovered a powerful new protein in the eye of the fruit fly that may shed light on blinding diseases and other ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 17, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Neurodegenerative disease

Neurodegenerative disease (Greek νέυρο-, néuro-, "nerval" and Latin dēgenerāre, "to decline" or "to worsen") is a condition in which cells of the brain and spinal cord are lost. The brain and spinal cord are composed of neurons that do different functions such as controlling movements, processing sensory information, and making decisions. Cells of the brain and spinal cord are not readily regenerated en masse, so excessive damage can be devastating. Neurodegenerative diseases result from deterioration of neurons or their myelin sheath which over time will lead to dysfunction and disabilities resulting from this.

Some sources limit the term "degenerative" to conditions primarily affecting gray matter that are not associated with a obvious inciting event.

For more information about Neurodegenerative disease, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.