neural communication and plasticity tagged posts

After treatment with riluzole, the brains of old rats showed more of a transporter molecule that removes excess glutamate, (green fluorescence, right) as compared to untreated rats (left). Credit: Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University/Molecular Psychiatry

In new research a drug, riluzole, is capable of reversing key genetic changes associated with these conditions. “In aging and Alzheimer’s, the chemical signal glutamate can accumulate between neurons, damaging the circuitry,” Pereira says. “When we treated rats with riluzole, we saw a suite of changes. Perhaps most significantly, expression of molecules responsible for clearing excess glutamate returned to more youthful levels...