Study ties 'new' cell-death mechanism to developmental and degenerative brain disorders
...sium channel, part of a biochemical mechanism that regulates the electrical impulses of bursting neurons. Although potassium channel mutations have previously been linked to episodic disorders such as seizures, this is the first time they have been identified as causative factors and potentially therapeutic t...Animal models show that anabolic steroids flip the adolescent brain's switch for aggression
...he aggressive behavior. The anterior hypothalamus regulates aggression and social behavior. Thus, vasopressin already known to stimulate that area appears to fuel the engine of aggression. And, says Melloni, "Steroids step on the gas for agression." Thus, the neuroscientists conclude that the aggressivene...Researchers find molecule that may hold key to learning and memory
...cience (Feb 17), identifies a central protein that regulates the growth and pruning of neurons throughout life in response to environmental stimuli. This protein, and the molecular pathway it guides, could help investigators understand the process of learning and memory, as well as lead to new therapies for d...OHSU research reveals the complexities of obesity/cortisol interactions
...e pituitary, a gland at the base of the brain that regulates the secretion of cortisol from the adrenal glands, but not in the central portions of the brain. The second method was to directly replace glucocorticoids in POMC-lacking mice through their drinking water. "In both cases, the mice lacking POMC in th...Yale findings hold promise for stopping progression of bipolar disorder
...onance imaging to measure a part of the brain that regulates emotions, the ventral prefrontal cortex, that lies above the eyes. The changes in persons with bipolar disorder were not prominent until young adulthood, suggesting that the illness progresses during the teenage years. Bipolar disorder is also known ...BRCA1 gene found to inhibit two sex hormones, not just one
...n that the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 regulates use of estrogen in breast and other cells, but now researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have discovered that it also controls activity of a second sex steroid hormone, progesterone. The findings, conducted in cell culture and in mice a...Study by Einstein researchers could lead to a novel strategy for treating obesity
...ng this information into account, the hypothalamus regulates our energy intake and metabolism. In a study publ...olleagues showed how the hypothalamus monitors and regulates glucose levels in the body. The present study shows that this brain region also monitors fatty acid ...Researchers discover new way to stimulate brain to release antioxidants
...e damage by activating the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway that regulates the production of antioxidants which relieve cells...xcitotoxicity. This pathway, known as Keap1/NrF2, regulates the production of natural antioxidants, such as bilirubin, that can protect against oxidative stress...New insight into machinery of immune cells' 'tentacles'
...ied new molecular components of the machinery that regulates formation of the tentacle-like filaments by which immune system T cells grasp other cells. This embrace by such filaments is critical for the T cell to establish communication with cells called "antigen presenting cells" (APCs). Such communication en...Taking an alternative approach to HIV vaccination
...en and colleagues studied a molecule, SOCS1, which regulates how antigens (small parts of proteins from microbes or tumour cells, which trigger an immune response) are handled by dendritic cells. They have previously found that dendritic cells in which the SOCS1 was turned off were more efficient at stimulatin...Artificial light at night stimulates breast cancer growth in laboratory mice
...ircadian rhythm, an internal biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycle, body temperature, endocrine functions, and a number of disease processes including heart attack, stroke and asthma. "Evidence is emerging that disruption of one's circadian clock is associated with cancer in humans, and that interfe...What can change in the brain? Electrical synapses, research shows
...better understand, in a basic sense, how the brain regulates behavioral states." Carole Landisman, currently a neurobiology researcher at Harvard Medical School, is the lead author of the paper. Landisman was an investigator in Connors' lab at Brown, where the experiments were conducted. To better understand h...Chemical used in food containers disrupts brain development
...Because estrogen normally increases the growth and regulates viability of developing neurons, he said, these results support the idea that BPA may harm developing brain cells. In fact, Dr. Belcher said, while high doses cause little effect, analysis of cellular and molecular markers of estrogen signaling revea...UCSD research may lead to targeted treatment for asthma sufferers
...s on the transcription factor NF-kB, IKK beta also regulates the expression of many additional genes important to the induction of airway inflammation in asthma. Using gene-targeting strategies, the UCSD team selectively inactivated the IKK beta gene only in the mouse airway membrane-lining cells, called epith...MIT researcher presents new view of how the cortex forms
...protein that binds DNA at a specific site where it regulates transcription, or the process of copying genetic material. In the brain's early prenatal development, transcription factors control the birth and growth of new neurons, neurons' movement and connectivity within the brain, and which ones live and whi...Bacterium present in eyes with 'wet' age-related macular degeneration
...ent Factor H (CFH). This gene makes a protein that regulates the immune and inflammatory responses of the body. "Our hypothesis is that C. pneumoniae may be the key link between CFH and AMD," Kalayoglu said. "That is, patients with CFH variations may be particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of chron...A recipe for overeating: Studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods
...he interplay between internal and external factors regulates food intake, at least in mammals. Although much has been learned about human overeating, it is easier to untangle and verify the different variables involved in controlled animal studies. Working with laboratory rats, the researchers tested three a...Novel treatment target for deadly brain tumors identified
...kin 13 (IL 13), a naturally occurring protein that regulates the immune system in the body. Normal cells do not have these same receptors. Debinski developed a drug that combines a form of IL-13 with a toxin that kills cancer cells. By targeting the therapy to these receptors, the drug finds and kills the canc...New clues into causes of scleroderma
...eta (TGF-beta), a substance called a cytokine that regulates the intensity and duration of the immune response. Too much TGF-beta activity can occur in the presence of destabilized microtubules, which give structural support to cells and are involved in the movement of genetic material during cell division. Wh......volves a cell-surface protease called ADAM 10 that regulates the signals that promote tumour growth and motility of cancer cells. Understanding the structure of the ADAM 10 molecule provides the basis for developing pharmaceutical drugs to inhibit tumour growth and metastasis - the spreading of cancerous tumou...