Neurodegenerative disease

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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.


News tagged with neurodegenerative diseases


An atomic-level look at an HIV accomplice

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Since the discovery in 2007 that a component of human semen called SEVI boosts infectivity of the virus that causes AIDS, researchers have been trying to learn more about SEVI and how it works, in hopes of ...





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Green tea chemical combined with another may hold promise for treatment of brain disorders

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) and the University of Pennsylvania have found that combining two chemicals, one of which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of protein ...


Study explains how exercise helps patients with peripheral artery disease

Medicine & Health / Research

created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 5 million individuals in the U.S. and is the leading cause of limb amputations. Doctors have long considered exercise to be the single best therapy for PAD, and now a new study helps ...


Research sheds light on workings of anti-cancer drug

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Nov 26, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The copper sequestering drug tetrathiomolybdate (TM) has been shown in studies to be effective in the treatment of Wilson disease, a disease caused by an overload of copper, and certain metastatic cancers. ...


Blocking biofilms: Alzheimer's research sheds light on potential treatments for urinary tract infections

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research into Alzheimer's disease seems an unlikely approach to yield a better way to fight urinary tract infections (UTIs), but that's what scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...


Polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids boost the birth of new neurons

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Universitat Autňnoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain) researchers have confirmed that a diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids, patented as an LMN diet, helps boost the production of the brain's stem cells ...


Researchers find new piece of BSE puzzle

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) could be a step closer based on new results from scientists at the University of Leeds. The team has found ...


Researchers Identify Gene Mutations Underlying Risk for Most Common Form of Parkinson's Disease

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Two genes containing mutations known to cause rare familial forms of parkinsonism are also associated with the more common, sporadic form of the disease where there is no family history, researchers have ...


Smoking may now be considered an established risk factor for Lou Gehrig's disease

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

While previous studies have indicated a "probable" connection between smoking and ALS, a new study published in the Nov. 17, 2009 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, states that s ...


Antioxidant found in vegetables has implications for treating cystic fibrosis

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a dietary antioxidant found in such vegetables as broccoli and cauliflower protects cells from damage caused by chemicals generated during the ...


Researchers find potential treatment for Huntington's disease (w/ Video)

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity ...



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