Category Health/Medical

Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson’s disease medications have distinct signatures of the gut microbiome. Movement Disorders, 2017; DOI: 10.1002/mds.26942

A new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that Parkinson’s disease, and medications to treat Parkinson’s, have distinct effects on the composition of the trillions of bacteria that make up the gut microbiome. At this point, researchers do not know which comes first. Does having Parkinson’s cause changes in an individual’s gut microbiome, or are changes in the microbiome a predictor or early warning sign of Parkinson’s? What is known is that the first signs of Parkinson’s often arise as gastrointestinal symptoms such as inflammation or constipation.

“The human gut hosts tens of trillions of microorganisms...

A blood clot forming in the carotid artery. Credit: copyright American Heart Association

P7C3 compound protects mature and newborn neurons in rats, and also improves physical and cognitive outcomes, following stroke. Researchers from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown a neuroprotective compound tested in rats provides two-pronged protection for brain cells during stroke and improves physical and cognitive outcomes in the treated animals.

Every year, nearly 800,000 Americans have a stroke and almost 130,000 die. When a stroke interrupts the brain’s blood supply, neurons die. In addition, reestablishing blood flow, ie reperfusion, also leads to processes that cause cell death...

Treating postoperative and chronic inflammatory pain should now be possible without causing side effects. Doing so would substantially improve patient quality of life. (Stock image) Credit: © imacoconut / Fotolia

Researchers discover new mechanism of action. Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered a new way of developing painkillers. The team of researchers used computational simulation to analyze interactions at opioid receptors. When used in an animal model, their prototype of a morphine-like molecule was able to produce substantial pain relief in inflamed tissues. However, healthy tissues remained unaffected, suggesting the severe side effects might be avoided.

“By analyzing drug-opioid receptor interactions in damaged tissues, as opposed to healthy tiss...

Different Sst interneurons, or type of nerve cell (colored red), in the outer shell, or cerebral cortex, of the mouse brain are shown. Credit: Courtesy of Science

Specialized nerve cells, somatostatin-expressing (Sst) interneurons, in the cerebral cortex – play a key role in controlling how information flows in the brain when it is awake and alert. In experiments in mice, they found that the activity of Sst interneurons changes when the animal goes from not moving its whiskers (in a resting state) to moving them (in an active state), a process known as whisking. Specifically, the team discovered that the cortex contains a diverse set of Sst interneuron subtypes that reach into different layers of the cortex. Some of the subtypes turn on while others turn off during whisking...