New Evidence Of Age-Related Decline In The Brain’s Master Circadian Clock

On July 20, 2011, in Neuroscience, Sleep, submitted by Christopher Fisher, PhD
Gene Block with co-authors

A new study of the brain’s master circadian clock — known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN — reveals that a key pattern of rhythmic neural activity begins to decline by middle age. The study, whose senior author is UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, may have implications for the large number of older people who have difficulty sleeping and adjusting to time changes. The study results were published July 13 in the Journal of Neuroscience, the journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

Protecting The Brain From A Deadly Genetic Disease

On February 27, 2010, in Neuroscience, submitted by Christopher Fisher, PhD

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a cruel, hereditary condition that leads to severe physical and mental deterioration, psychiatric problems and eventually, death. Currently, there are no treatments to slow down or stop it. HD sufferers are born with the disease although they do not show symptoms until late in life. In a new study published in [...]

MIT Neuroscientists Unveil Molecular Pathway Involved With Huntington’s Disease

On February 24, 2010, in Neuroscience, submitted by Christopher Fisher, PhD
CalDAG-GEFI

MIT researchers have discovered new molecular changes in the brains of individuals with Huntington’s disease, a genetic disorder that leads to neuronal loss accompanied by unwanted movements, psychiatric symptoms, and eventual death. By studying brains of human patients, as well as mouse and rat models, they have uncovered a protective response that may eventually lead [...]

Penn Study Finds That Three Brain Diseases Are Linked By A Toxic Form Of The Same Neural Protein

On February 22, 2010, in Neurological, Neuroscience, submitted by Christopher Fisher, PhD

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, called Elk-1, was found in clumps of misshaped proteins that are the hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Huntington’s disease. Bookmark [...]