Category Health/Medical

A soft, gel-like substance called myelin envelopes the axons of neurons to shield them from damage. In ALS, the protective sheath is gradually stripped off, leaving axons bare, exposed and vulnerable to damage. Harvard Medical School researchers have identified a key instigator of this process.

Scientists have identified a key instigator of nerve cell damage in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Researchers say the findings of their study may lead to new therapies to halt the progression of the uniformly fatal disease that affects more than 30,000 Americans. One such treatment is already under development for testing in humans after the current study showed it stopped nerve cell damage in mice with ALS.

The HMS study reveals that the aberrant behavior of an enzyme called RI...

UT Southwestern researchers (l-r) Dr. Chaofeng Yang, Lisa Hahner, Dr. Perry Bickel, and Dr. Violetta Gallardo Montejano identified a new role for a protein as a promoter of fat breakdown. Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center

A protein often located on the surface of fat droplets within cells – and especially abundant in the muscles of endurance athletes – can kick-start the more efficient and healthful breakdown of fat. More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and it is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Diabetes Association. Almost 26% of Americans age 65 and older have diabetes. The study reports a new role for the protein, Perilipin 5, in the cell nucleus as a regulator of fat metabolism...

neurotransmission

The bioelectronic neural pixel: Chemical stimulation and electrical sensing at the same site. A small device both detects the initial signal of an epileptic attack and doses a substance that effectively stops it. All this takes place where the signal arises – in an area of size 20×20 μm known as a “neural pixel.” According to a recently produced estimate, no less than 6% of the Earth’s population suffers from some type of neurological illness such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s. Some medicines are available, but when these are taken orally or injected into the bloodstream, they also end up where they aren’t needed and may cause serious problems. All medicines have more or less severe side effects.

The small 20×20 μm device developed by the scientists can both capture signal...

Surface reconstruction postnatal CT image obtained one week after delivery at 38 weeks of gestational age in the case of a 24-year-old woman pregnant with twins, with characteristic rash at nine weeks of pregnancy and confirmed Zika virus infection. Credit: Radiological Society of North America

Researchers from the epicenter of the current Zika virus outbreak have released a report on imaging findings in babies and fetuses infected with the Zika virus. In addition to microcephaly, the report identifies a wide array of brain defects, visible on CT, MRI and ultrasound. Zika appears to be most dangerous when transmitted from a pregnant mother to her fetus during the first trimester of pregnancy. Zika has also been linked to eye defects, hearing impairment and stunted growth in babies.

Though ...