PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Rebuilding the brain after stroke

2014-02-14
(Press-News.org) DETROIT – Enhancing the brain's inherent ability to rebuild itself after a stroke with molecular components of stem cells holds enormous promise for treating the leading cause of long-term disability in adults. Michael Chopp, Ph.D., Scientific Director of the Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute, will present this approach to treating neurological diseases Thursday, Feb. 13, at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference in San Diego. Although most stroke victims recover some ability to voluntarily use their hands and other body parts, half are left with weakness on one side of their body, and a substantial number are permanently disabled. No treatment currently exists for improving or restoring this lost motor function in stroke patients, mainly because of mysteries about how the brain and nerves repair themselves. But Dr. Chopp and other Henry Ford scientists may have solved some of these mysteries through experiments at the molecular level identifying and testing components of stem cells. "Even in older people, the central nervous system is highly plastic, meaning it has a unique ability to change and rebuild itself," Dr. Chopp explains. "We have demonstrated that this plasticity can be stimulated to promote neurological recovery after a stroke." One such therapy involves proteins that shape the developing brain, specifically a type that releases tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, which causes axons and dendrites – the brain's neural cables and communications network – to rewire. "We have shown that administering tPA in a nasal spray promotes this rewiring and significantly enhances neurological recovery," Dr. Chopp says. Dr. Chopp will also speak at the AHA conference about other microscopic material in stem cells called exosomes that offer a "robust" treatment for stroke's crippling effects. These blister-like microscopic "bubbles" were once were thought to carry and get rid of "old" proteins that were no longer needed by the body. However, exosomes were recently found to provide an essential form of "communication" between brain cells using "packages" sent out by stem cells with vital directions for gene regulation. This is done through microRNA, master molecular switches that alter brain cells and promote recovery from trauma. Dr. Chopp and his team have shown and confirmed that stem cell therapy works by firing off these "information bullets." But they have also shown that neurological diseases can be treated with exosomes alone, separate from stem cells. "This approach may be a revolutionary way to successfully treat stroke and many other diseases," Dr. Chopp says.

INFORMATION: END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Amidst bitter cold and rising energy costs, new concerns about energy insecurity

2014-02-14
February 13,2014 --With many regions of the country braced by an unrelenting cold snap, the problem of energy insecurity continues to go unreported despite its toll on the most vulnerable. In a new brief, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health paint a picture of the families most impacted by this problem and suggest recommendations to alleviate its chokehold on millions of struggling Americans. The authors note that government programs to address energy insecurity are coming up short, despite rising energy costs. Energy Insecurity (EI) is ...

Harvard scientists find cell fate switch that decides liver, or pancreas?

2014-02-14
Harvard stem cell scientists have a new theory for how stem cells decide whether to become liver or pancreatic cells during development. A cell's fate, the researchers found, is determined by the nearby presence of prostaglandin E2, a messenger molecule best known for its role in inflammation and pain. The discovery, published in the journal Developmental Cell, could potentially make liver and pancreas cells easier to generate both in the lab and for future cell therapies. Wolfram Goessling, MD, PhD, and Trista North, PhD, both principal faculty members of the Harvard ...

Arctic biodiversity under serious threat from climate change according to new report

Arctic biodiversity under serious threat from climate change according to new report
2014-02-14
Unique and irreplaceable Arctic wildlife and landscapes are crucially at risk due to global warming caused by human activities according to the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA), a new report prepared by 253 scientists from 15 countries under the auspices of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council. "An entire bio-climatic zone, the high Arctic, may disappear. Polar bears and the other highly adapted organisms cannot move further north, so they may go extinct. We risk losing several species forever," says ...

Pregabalin effectively treats restless leg syndrome with less risk of worsening symptoms

2014-02-13
A report in the Feb. 13 New England Journal of Medicine confirms previous studies suggesting that long-term treatment with the type of drugs commonly prescribed to treat restless leg syndrome (RLS) can cause a serious worsening of the condition in some patients. The year-long study from a multi-institutional research team found that pregabalin – which is FDA-approved to treat nerve pain, seizures, and other conditions – was effective in reducing RLS symptoms and was much less likely to cause symptom worsening than pramipexole, one of several drugs that activate the dopamine ...

Environment change threatens indigenous know-how

Environment change threatens indigenous know-how
2014-02-13
The way indigenous cultures around the globe use traditional medicines and pass on knowledge developed over centuries is directly linked to the natural environment, new research has found. This makes indigenous cultures susceptible to environmental change, a threat that comes on top of the challenges posed by globalisation. "Traditional medicine provides health care for more than half the world's population, with 80 per cent of people in developing countries relying on these practices to maintain their livelihood. It is a very important part of traditional knowledge," ...

Understanding the basic biology of bipolar disorder

2014-02-13
Scientists know there is a strong genetic component to bipolar disorder, but they have had an extremely difficult time identifying the genes that cause it. So, in an effort to better understand the illness's genetic causes, researchers at UCLA tried a new approach. Instead of only using a standard clinical interview to determine whether individuals met the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder, the researchers combined the results from brain imaging, cognitive testing, and an array of temperament and behavior measures. Using the new method, ...

Most people have access to stroke care, but few get recommended treatment

2014-02-13
Four out of five people in the United States live within an hour's drive of a hospital equipped to treat acute stroke — yet very few get recommended treatment, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014. Of the more than 370,000 Medicare stroke claims for 2011 that researchers examined: Only 4 percent received tPA, a drug that can reduce disability if given intravenously within three to four hours after the first stroke symptoms. Only 0.5 percent had endovascular therapy to reopen clogged arteries. These ...

Common infections may increase risk for memory decline

2014-02-13
Exposure to common infections is linked to memory and brain function — even if the infections never made you ill, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014. Researchers found an index of antibody levels caused by exposure to Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 was associated with worse cognitive performance, including memory, speed of mental processing, abstract thinking, planning and reasoning ability. "We were very interested in what were the risk ...

Blood clot risk remains higher than normal for at least 12 weeks after women deliver babies

2014-02-13
Women's blood clot risk remains elevated for at least 12 weeks after delivering a baby — twice as long as previously recognized, according to a large study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014. The chance of a blood clot rises during pregnancy, when platelets and other blood-clotting factors increase. The risk peaks around the time of delivery, but researchers found that afterwards it remained: 10.8 times higher during weeks 0-6; 2.2 times higher during weeks 7-12; and 1.4 times higher (a non-significant rise) during ...

Moderate exercise cuts women's stroke risk, helps offset increase risk from hormone thep

2014-02-13
Women don't need to run marathons or do intense aerobics to reduce their stroke risk. Moderate-intensity exercise — such as brisk walking or playing tennis -- may do the trick, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2014. "I was surprised that moderate physical activity was most strongly associated with a reduced risk of stroke," said Sophia Wang, Ph.D., the study's lead author and professor in the department of population sciences within the Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope in Duarte, Calif. "More ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AASM Foundation partners with Howard University Medical Alumni Association to provide scholarships

Protective actions need regulatory support to fully defend homeowners and coastal communities, study finds

On-chip light control of semiconductor optoelectronic devices using integrated metasurfaces

America’s political house can become less divided

A common antihistamine shows promise in treating liver complications of a rare disease complication

Trastuzumab emtansine improves long-term survival in HER2 breast cancer

Is eating more red meat bad for your brain?

How does Tourette syndrome differ by sex?

Red meat consumption increases risk of dementia and cognitive decline

Study reveals how sex and racial disparities in weight loss surgery have changed over 20 years

Ultrasound-directed microbubbles could boost immune response against tumours, new Concordia research suggests

In small preliminary study, fearful pet dogs exhibited significantly different microbiomes and metabolic molecules to non-fearful dogs, suggesting the gut-brain axis might be involved in fear behavior

Examination of Large Language Model "red-teaming" defines it as a non-malicious team-effort activity to seek LLMs' limits and identifies 35 different techniques used to test them

Most microplastics in French bottled and tap water are smaller than 20 µm - fine enough to pass into blood and organs, but below the EU-recommended detection limit

A tangled web: Fossil fuel energy, plastics, and agrichemicals discourse on X/Twitter

This fast and agile robotic insect could someday aid in mechanical pollination

Researchers identify novel immune cells that may worsen asthma

Conquest of Asia and Europe by snow leopards during the last Ice Ages uncovered

Researchers make comfortable materials that generate power when worn

Study finding Xenon gas could protect against Alzheimer’s disease leads to start of clinical trial

Protein protects biological nitrogen fixation from oxidative stress

Three-quarters of medical facilities in Mariupol sustained damage during Russia’s siege of 2022

Snow leopard fossils clarify evolutionary history of species

Machine learning outperforms traditional statistical methods in addressing missing data in electronic health records

AI–guided lung ultrasound by nonexperts

Prevalence of and inequities in poor mental health across 3 US surveys

Association between surgeon stress and major surgical complications

How cryogenic microscopy could help strengthen food security

DNA damage can last unrepaired for years, changing our view of mutations

Could this fundamental discovery revolutionise fertiliser use in farming?

[Press-News.org] Rebuilding the brain after stroke