Related topics: proceedings of the national academy of sciences , brain cells
Neurodegenerative disease
hideNeurodegenerative 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.
News tagged with neurodegenerative diseases
Prion leaves lasting mark on memory
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 04, 2010 |
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Prions are a special class of proteins best known as the source for mad cow and other neurodegenerative diseases. Despite this negative reputation, according to a new report in the February 5th issue of the journal Cell a prio ...
Melatonin precursor stimulates growth factor circuits in brain
Feb 04, 2010 |
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Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered unexpected properties for a precursor to melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep cycles.
3 brain diseases linked by toxic form of same neural protein
Feb 02, 2010 |
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For the first time, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that three different degenerative brain disorders are linked by a toxic form of the same protein. The protein, ...
Stem cells rescue nerve cells by direct contact
Feb 01, 2010 |
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Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have shown how transplanted stem cells can connect with and rescue threatened neurons and brain tissue. The results point the way to new possible treatments ...
Study Offers Evidence That Spongiform Brain Diseases Are Caused By Aberrant Protein
Jan 28, 2010 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have determined how a normal protein can be converted into a prion, an infectious agent that causes fatal brain diseases in humans and mammals.
New target for fighting Alzheimer's: study
Jan 26, 2010 |
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French researchers said Tuesday they had found a promising new target in the fight against Alzheimer's, the debilitating brain disease that causes irreversible memory loss and dementia.
Scientists find survival factor for keeping nerve cells healthy
Jan 26, 2010 |
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Scientists at the Babraham Institute have discovered a novel survival factor whose rapid transport along nerve cells is crucial for keeping them alive. The same factor seems likely to be needed to keep our nerves healthy ...
Brain protein critical to movement, memory, and learning deciphered at the Advanced Light Source
Jan 22, 2010 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The structure of a protein that is sending electrical pulses between neurons in your brain as you read this article has been fully mapped for the first time using Lawrence Berkeley National ...
Researchers identify a new gene involved in autophagy, the cellular recycling program
Jan 21, 2010 |
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All cells are equipped with a recycling programme to collect and remove unnecessary cellular components. Autophagy sequesters and digests aged organelles, damaged proteins and other components, which, if not ...
Dual role for immune cells in the brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jan 13, 2010 |
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We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, ...
Gladstone scientists identify role of key protein in ALS and frontotemporal dementia
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jan 12, 2010 |
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Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) have identified the reason a key protein plays a major role in two neurodegenerative diseases. In the current edition of the Journal of Neuroscience, re ...
Study of alcohol reaction may revolutionize drug development
Jan 11, 2010 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Enzyme malfunctions are at the root of many serious health problems, but rarely do scientists come up with a way to repair them.
Scientists show 'lifeless' prions capable of evolutionary change and adaptation
Dec 31, 2009 |
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Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined for the first time that prions, bits of infectious protein devoid of DNA or RNA that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease, are capable of Darwinian evolution.
Proline Repeats in Protein Help Grow Tooth Enamel (w/ Podcast)
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A simple amino acid that is repeated in the center of proteins found in tooth enamel makes teeth stronger and more resilient, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Cut out the (estrogen) middleman
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Estrogen seems to act like a middleman in its positive effect on the brain, raising the possibility that future drugs may bypass the carcinogenic hormone altogether while reaping its benefits.
