(Press-News.org) LIVERPOOL, UK – 17 July 2014: An untreatable and deadly neurodegenerative disease has been modelled and treated in worms by University of Liverpool researchers, suggesting a cure could be found for humans.
The scientists studied adult onset neuronal lipofuscinosis (ANCL) which usually strikes around 1 in 100,000 people in Europe and North America in their 30s and results in death by the mid-40s. There is currently no known treatment for this disease, though it has recently been identified as being caused by mutations in the gene called DNAJC5.
For the first time scientists, from the University's Institute of Translational Medicine, have replicated the disease in nematode worms and successfully treated it with a drug called resveratrol.
The worms have a gene called dnj-14 which is their version of the human DNAJC5. Since the worms lifespan is normally only a few weeks, the symptoms of the disease show within a few days and this opens up the possibility of testing thousands of new compounds for treatment within a short period of time – hastening the development of a cure.
One compound, resveratrol, has already been shown by the research team to be effective in treating the disease and in a way not previously seen – without the need to act through an enzyme produced in the body called SIR-2.1.
Physiologist, Professor Alan Morgan led the study. He said: "ANCL is fortunately rare but it is currently untreatable. This research allows us to quickly test compounds which could be used for treatment. Of the first batch of compounds we used in testing our model, one has already shown encouraging effects."
Professor Morgan and his colleagues Professor Bob Burgoyne and PhD student, Sudhanva Kashyap now plan to test more compounds with the model and to explore how nematode worms can be used to study more neurodegenerative diseases.
Professor Morgan concluded: "As we face an increasingly ageing population, having treatments for these conditions becomes ever more critical. Studying how these diseases work in a simple organism which is easy and cheap to breed, can speed up the process of developing effective drugs."
INFORMATION:
The paper 'Caenorhabditis elegans dnj-14, the orthologue of the DNAJC5 gene mutated in adult onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, provides a new platform for neuroprotective drug screening and identifies a SIR-2.1- independent action of resveratrol,' was published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.
http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/07/02/hmg.ddu316.long
The study was funded by grants from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Wellcome Trust and the Research into Ageing Fund, a fund set up and managed by Age UK.
Worm study provides hope for deadly disease of the brain
2014-07-16
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Cholesterol-lowering drugs may reduce cardiovascular death in Type 2 diabetes
2014-07-16
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 16, 2014 – Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death and disability among people with Type 2 diabetes. In fact, at least 65 percent of people with diabetes die from some form of heart disease or stroke, according to the American Heart Association.
However, a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center suggests that the use of cholesterol-lowering statins may help prolong the lives of people with diabetic cardiovascular disease.
The study is published in the current online edition of Diabetes Care.
"Although ...
Recommendations prioritize strategies to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia
2014-07-16
CHICAGO (July 16, 2014) – Thousands of critically ill patients on life support develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) each year. A new document released today by a consortium of professional organizations helps prioritize strategies to prevent this potentially fatal infection.
This guidance, featured in the update of the Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals, is published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and was produced in a collaborative effort led by the Society for Healthcare ...
Business groups, capital market participation have complementary effects for Indian companies
2014-07-16
HOUSTON – (July 16, 2014) – Being a part of a business group and participating in capital markets can have a significant positive impact on an Indian company's performance in the stock market, according to a new study on Indian entrepreneurship by emerging-economy experts at Rice University, the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India, and the graduate business school INSEAD Singapore.
The findings contradict prior research that suggests business groups in developing economies act mainly as substitutes to poorly developed economic institutions in these countries. ...
Does practice really make perfect?
2014-07-16
Does practice really make perfect? It's an age-old question, and a new study from Rice University, Princeton University and Michigan State University finds that while practice won't make you perfect, it will usually make you better at what you're practicing.
"This question is the subject of a long-running debate in psychology," said Fred Oswald, professor and chair of psychology at Rice and one of the study's co-authors. "Why do so few people who are involved in sports such as golf, musical instruments such as the violin or careers such as law or medicine ever reach an ...
Cases of drug-resistant superbug significantly rise in southeastern US
2014-07-16
CHICAGO (July 16, 2014) – Cases of the highly contagious, drug-resistant bacteria, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), have increased fivefold in community hospitals in the Southeastern United States, according to a new study published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
"This dangerous bacteria is finding its way into healthcare facilities nationwide. Even this marked increase likely underestimates the true scope of the problem given variations in hospital surveillance ...
Making a mental match: Pairing a mechanical device with stroke patients
2014-07-16
The repetitive facilitation exercise (RFE) is one of the most common rehabilitation tactics for stroke patients attempting to regain wrist movement. Stroke hemiparesis individuals are not able to move that part of their body because they cannot create a strong enough neural signal that travels from the brain to the wrist.
With RFE, however, patients get a mental boost. They are asked to think about moving. At the same time, a practitioner flexes the wrist. The goal is to send a long latency response from the stretch that arrives in the brain at the exact time the thought ...
Poor sleep quality linked to lower physical activity in people with PTSD
2014-07-16
DARIEN, IL – A new study shows that worse sleep quality predicts lower physical activity in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Results show that PTSD was independently associated with worse sleep quality at baseline, and participants with current PTSD at baseline had lower physical activity one year later. Further analysis found that sleep quality completely mediated the relationship between baseline PTSD status and physical activity at the one-year follow-up, providing preliminary evidence that the association of reduced sleep quality with reduced physical ...
MedDiet has varied effects on cognitive decline among different races -- Ben-Gurion University researcher
2014-07-16
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL July 16, 2014... While the Mediterranean diet may have broad health benefits, its impact on cognitive decline differs among race-specific populations, according to a new study published in the Journal of Gerontology.
The team of researchers, including Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU Prof. Danit R. Shahar RD, Ph.D, analyzed an NIH/NIA prospective cohort study [Health ABC] conducted over eight years in the U.S. to measure the effects of adherence to a Mediterranean diet. Prof. Shahar is affiliated with the BGU S. Daniel Abraham International Center ...
Chinese researchers describe impaired self-face recognition in those with major depressive disorder
2014-07-16
Neuropsychological impairment has long been established as a fundamental characteristic of depression, but a specific pattern of impairment that is widely recognized has not been summarized. Professor Jia Hongxiao and his group from the Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, explore major depressive disorder (MDD) from the perspective of neuropsychology. They found that the self-serving bias and self-recognition bias were impaired in individuals suffering from MDD compared with a control group. This research lays the groundwork for further study on the etiology ...
People in leadership positions may sacrifice privacy for security
2014-07-16
People with higher job status may be more willing to compromise privacy for security reasons and also be more determined to carry out those decisions, according to researchers.
This preoccupation with security may shape policy and decision-making in areas ranging from terrorism to investing, and perhaps cloud other options, said Jens Grossklags, assistant professor of information sciences and technology, Penn State.
"What may get lost in the decision-making process is that one can enhance security without the negative impact on privacy," said Grossklags. "It's more ...