Category Health/Medical

This image shows reduced levels of BRCA1 (red) in neurons (blue). Amyloid-beta plaques in the brain can deplete neurons of BRCA1, potentially contributing to cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease. Credit: Elsa Suberbielle

Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes have shown for the first time that the protein BRCA1 is required for normal learning and memory and is depleted by Alzheimer’s disease. BRCA1 is a key protein involved in DNA repair, and mutations that impair its function increase the risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The new study shows Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a depletion of BRCA1 in neurons and that BRCA1 depletion can cause cognitive deficits.

“BRCA1 has so far been studied primarily in dividing (multiplying) cells and in cancer, which is characterized by a...

Elders contribute to the fitness of younger individuals by caring for grandchildren and passing down important cultural knowledge. Credit: USDA

Many human gene variants have evolved specifically to protect older adults against neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, thus preserving their contributions to society, report researchers. “We unexpectedly discovered that humans have evolved gene variants that can help protect the elderly from dementia,” said Prof Ajit Varki, MD. “Such genes likely evolved to preserve valuable and wise grandmothers and other elders, as well as to delay or prevent the emergence of dependent individuals who could divert resources and effort away from the care of the young.”

The standard model of natural selection predicts that once the age of reproduction en...

Neural cell adhesion molecule 2 in PDB entry 2v5t

UNSW scientists have discovered how connections between brain cells are destroyed in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease – work that opens up a new avenue for research on possible treatments for the degenerative brain condition. “One of the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease is the loss of synapses ” says Dr Vladimir Sytnyk, of the UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences. “Synapses are required for all brain functions, and particularly for learning and forming memories. In Alzheimer’s disease, this loss of synapses occurs very early on, when people still only have mild cognitive impairment, and long before the nerve cells themselves die.

The team studied a protein in the brain called neural cell adhesion molecule 2, or

The brain’s white matter seen from the front as obtained by diffusion tensor imaging. Photograph: Institute of Psychiatry

Smoking high potency ‘skunk-like’ cannabis can damage a crucial part of the brain responsible for communication between the two brain hemispheres, according to a new study by scientists from King’s College London and Sapienza University of Rome.

Researchers have known for some time that long-term cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis, and recent evidence suggests that alterations in brain function and structure may be responsible for this greater vulnerability. However, this new research is the first to examine the effect of cannabis potency on brain structure.

Exploring the impact of cannabis potency is particularly important since today’s high potency ‘skunk-...