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Stem Cell Discoveries Pace Growing Understanding of Human Brain's Uniqueness
<p>Scientists are making great strides in figuring out how the human brain develops, which are leading to novel ideas about the causes of a range of brain disorders, and are raising hopes for the regeneration of tissue that is lost in diseases such as Alzheimer’s. </p>
UCSF Study on Multitasking Reveals Switching Glitch in Aging Brain
Scientists at UCSF have pinpointed a reason older adults have a harder time multitasking than younger adults: they have more difficulty switching between tasks at the level of brain networks.
Parkinson's Disease Discoveries Lead to Major Neuroscience Prize for Nussbaum
Parkinson’s disease researcher Robert Nussbaum, a human geneticist and neuroscientist at UCSF, has been named to receive the prestigious Klaus Joachim Zülch Neuroscience Prize for 2011.
Parkinson's Disease Protein Impedes Nerve Signaling Long Before Brain Cells Die
Synuclein is a protein that can cause Parkinson’s disease, although it is not clear how. UCSF researcher Robert Edwards, MD, now has discovered that synuclein can affect signal transmission between nerve cells long before disease symptoms arise.
Proteins Linked with Alzheimer's, Other Neurodegenerative Diseases Found to Clump in Normal Aging
In neurodegenerative diseases, clumps of insoluble proteins appear in patients’ brains. These aggregates contain proteins that are unique to each disease, such as amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease, but they are intertwined with small amounts of many other insoluble proteins that are normally present in a soluble form in healthy young individuals.
Veterans Health Research Institute Presents Brain at War Conference Today
The Veterans Health Research Institute or NCIRE will present “The Brain at War: Neurocognitive Consequences of Combat” today (June 17).
UCSF transgenic mouse mimics Parkinson's earliest symptoms
UCSF researchers have created the first transgenic mouse to display the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease using the genetic mutation that is known to accompany human forms of the disease.
Statins may slow progression of multiple sclerosis, new study finds
A UCSF-led study examining the impact of statins on the progression of multiple sclerosis found a lower incidence of new brain lesions in patients taking the cholesterol-lowering drug in the early stages of the disease as compared to a placebo.
Novel Parkinson's treatment strategy involves cell transplantation
UCSF scientists have used a novel cell-based strategy to treat motor symptoms in rats with a disease designed to mimic Parkinson’s disease. The strategy suggests a promising approach, the scientists say, for treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and disorders, including epilepsy.
UCSF Lecture on Sugar & Obesity Goes Viral as Experts Confront Health Crisis
People are paying close attention to pediatric endocrinologist Robert Lustig’s message that the obesity epidemic can be blamed on a marked increase in the consumption of a type of sugar called fructose.