Category Health/Medical

TA-treatment enhanced neurogenesis and increased numbers of DCX positive cell numbers in the dentate gyrus of APP/PS1 mice. A: control group; B: APP/PS1 group; C: APP/PS1+TA group. Scale bar in image A: 100 μm. *** = P < .001 compared with the control group; ### = P < .001 compared with the APP/PS1 group. One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni repeated measures post hoc tests. N = 6 per group.

A drug developed for diabetes could be used to treat Alzheimer’s after scientists found it “significantly reversed memory loss” in mice through a triple action. The research, published in Brain Research, could bring substantial improvements in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease through the use of a drug originally created to treat type 2 diabetes...

Immunofluorescence images of spinal cord tissues stained with CD11c-GFP (green), ERβ (red) and nuclear stain DAPI (blue) with merged images for co-localization (yellow) on right. Top row: CD11c-cre-GFP+ control mice showed co-localization (white arrows) of CD11c-GFP and ERβ. Bottom row: CD11c-cre-GFP+;ERβfl/fl CKO mice did not show co-localization (white arrows). Orange arrows represent other cells in the CNS expressing ER&beta. NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Kim et al./Brain.

UCLA researchers reveal the mechanism behind how estrogen can protect CNS system damage in people with MS. The researchers report estrogen treatments have positive effects on immune cells in the brain and oligodendrocytes. Complementary actions on these two types provide protection from disease.

Multipl...

This image shows the shapes made of living tissue made by the researchers. By patterning mechanically active mouse or human cells to thin layers of extracellular fibers, the researchers could create bowls, coils, and ripple shapes. Credit: Alex Hughes

Many of the complex folded shapes that form mammalian tissues can be recreated with very simple instructions, UC San Francisco bioengineers report December 28 in the journal Developmental Cell. By patterning mechanically active mouse or human cells to thin layers of extracellular matrix, ECM fibers, the researchers could create bowls, coils, and ripples out of living tissue. The cells collaborated mechanically through a web of these fibers to fold themselves up in predictable ways, mimicking natural developmental processes.

“Development is st...

Concept illustration of microneedle device for type 2 diabetes treatment. Credit: Chen lab, NIBIB.

Researchers have devised a biochemically formulated patch of dissolvable microneedles for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The biochemical formula of mineralized compounds in the patch responds to blood chemistry to manage glucose automatically. In a proof-of-concept study performed with mice, the researchers showed that the chemicals interact in the bloodstream to regulate blood sugar for days at a time. “This experimental approach could be a way to take advantage of the fact that persons with type 2 diabetes can still produce some insulin,” said Richard Leapman, Ph.D., NIBIB scientific director...