Category: Disease Discoveries
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Drug Protects Neurons in Parkinson’s Disease
Treating mice with isradipine, a calcium channel blocker, prevented formation of toxic compounds that can cause Parkinson’s disease symptoms, according to a recent Northwestern Medicine study.
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New Technique Helps Uncover Changes in ALS Neurons
Northwestern Medicine scientists used an innovative technique to measure electrical activity in ALS neurons, finding changes in excitability that indicated disease, according to a study published in Stem Cell Reports.
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Common Antimicrobial May Raise Risk of Colon Disease
Triclosan, a common antimicrobial used in toothpastes and other products, may raise the risk of gut inflammation and colorectal cancer, according to a preliminary animal study.
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Mitochondrial Dysfunction Contributes to Kidney Disease
Lack of a receptor regulating mitochondrial metabolism was linked with kidney dysfunction including kidney disease, according to a recent study.
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New Clues Found in Cause of Early Lung Transplant Failure
A team of scientists has uncovered the precise cells that flow into and harm the lung soon after a transplant. The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, may lead to drug therapies that target the destructive cells.
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Investigating Family Genetics of Severe Epilepsy
A team of scientists has discovered that in children with epilepsy thought to be caused by a spontaneous mutation, about 10 percent of parents in fact carry the same variant in a small proportion of their own cells.
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Early Synaptic Dysfunction Found in Parkinson’s Disease
Genetic mutations dysregulating synapse function contribute to a toxic cascade that leads to neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease, according to a Northwestern Medicine study.
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Genetic Mutation Linked to Viral Brain Infections
Mutations in a gene called DBR1 may increase patients’ susceptibility to brain infection, according to a study published in Cell.
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Enzyme Blocker Stops Growth of Deadly Brain Tumor
Scientists discovered the regulatory role of the enzyme CDK5 in an aggressive form of brain cancer and successfully halted tumor growth by inhibiting it.
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Drug May Reverse Imbalance Linked to Autism Symptoms
Northwestern scientists restored chemical balance to certain brain cells in mouse models, reversing mechanisms that may be responsible for sensory hypersensitivity in patients with autism.
