Could make early Alzheimer’s diagnosis, treatment accessible to more people
Category: Neurodegeneration/HPAN
Zipfel receives Dacey award for cerebrovascular research
Honor named after mentor, former head of neurosurgery department
Clues to preventing Alzheimer’s come from patient who, despite genetics, evaded disease
Breaking link between early, late stages of disease may prevent dementia
Team to develop breathalyzer test for COVID, RSV, influenza A
Chakrabarty, Cirrito to develop test with $3.6 million grant from Flu Lab
Timing matters: Condensates’ composition determined by when RNA is added
Rohit Pappu, collaborators from Duke University make discovery with model fungus
Lowering a form of brain cholesterol reduces Alzheimer’s-like damage in mice
Targeting cholesterol potentially could help treat Alzheimer’s, related dementias
Ashrafi receives Ben Barres Early Career Acceleration Award
Grant to support research on neurodegenerative disorders
Three named 2023 Young Investigator grantees
Sarah D. Ackerman, PhD, Gabor Egervari, MD, PhD and Tao Xie, PhD, all of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have been named 2023 Young Investigator grantees by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. This year’s funding will support 150 promising early-career scientists across the field of neuropsychiatry with innovative ideas in mental health research. The two-year grant […]
RNA’s solo act on the ever-changing stage of cellular dynamics
Rohit Pappu, collaborators find networking afforded by interactions among RNA molecules can enable different phase behavior when heating or cooling
Mapping the cell’s membrane-less compartments
WashU and St. Jude groups uncover the rules for organization of cellular condensates implicated in ALS
Pappu installed as Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Rohit V. Pappu, PhD, an internationally renowned researcher in biomolecular condensates and intrinsically disordered proteins, was installed Oct. 9 as the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Pappu is a professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Center for Biomolecular Condensates at the McKelvey School of […]
Advanced imaging may shed light on mechanisms behind Alzheimer’s disease
Song Hu plans to develop deep-brain fiber-optic techniques to investigate the cause of memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease
Avidan, England, Miller elected to National Academy of Medicine
Membership is one of highest U.S. honors in health and medicine
How do toxic proteins accumulate in Alzheimer’s and other diseases?
Key steps leading to such accumulation identified; could inform new therapeutic approaches
Podcast: Newly approved drug may slow progression of Alzheimer’s
This episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ focuses on approval of a drug that attacks a key protein that contributes to dementia from Alzheimer’s disease
Scientists develop breath test that rapidly detects COVID-19 virus
Test results available in less than a minute
NIH funds study of ultrasound with genetics to treat brain disorders
Researchers have developed methods to study and manipulate areas of the brain, though many of those methods are restricted by the limited depth that light can reach within the brain. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis plans to overcome that limitation by integrating ultrasound with genetics to precisely modify neurons in the […]
Tau-based biomarker tracks Alzheimer’s progression
Two pathologies drive the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Early on, amyloid beta plaques lead the way, but around the time cognitive symptoms arise, tau tangles take over as the driving force and cognition steadily declines. Tracking the course of the disease in individual patients has been challenging because there’s been no easy way to measure […]
Air monitor can detect COVID-19 virus variants in about 5 minutes
Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of […]
Diagnosis of rare, genetic muscle disease improved by new approach
Accurate diagnosis is a crucial step toward appropriate treatment
Altered gut bacteria may be early sign of Alzheimer’s disease
People in the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease — after brain changes have begun but before cognitive symptoms become apparent — harbor an assortment of bacteria in their intestines that differs from the gut bacteria of healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings, […]
Induction of a torpor-like state with ultrasound
Some mammals and birds have a clever way to preserve energy and heat by going into torpor, during which their body temperature and metabolic rate drop to allow them to survive potentially fatal conditions in the environment, such as extreme cold or lack of food. While a similar condition was proposed for scientists making flights […]
Pappu to explore ways in which charge contributes to diverse states of proteins
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are defined by structural diversity, and the determinants of this diversity are an important area of biophysical investigation. IDPs are involved in a range of important biological processes, including cell signaling and regulation, that allow healthy cells to respond to environmental factors appropriately, but they are also associated with human diseases […]
Bateman to receive lifetime achievement award
Recognized for contributions to Alzheimer’s disease research
Stress increases Alzheimer’s risk in female mice but not males
Alzheimer’s proteins rise sharply in response to stress in female mice
Drug for rare form of ALS, based in part on WashU research, approved by FDA
A new drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a rare, inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a paralyzing neurological disease. Known as tofersen, the drug has been shown to slow progression of the deadly disease. International clinical trials of tofersen, developed by the global biotechnology company Biogen Inc., […]
Sleeping pill reduces levels of Alzheimer’s proteins
More research needed to determine if sleep medications prevent, delay Alzheimer’s
Discovery of T cells’ role in Alzheimer’s, related diseases, suggests new treatment strategy
Findings, in mice, open up drug development possibilities for brain diseases linked to tau protein
Miller receives Rainwater Prize for Brain Research
Honored for work developing new kind of therapy for neurodegenerative diseases
Jackrel awarded grant to study proteins linked to ALS and frontotemporal dementia
Funding from the National Institutes of Health will help Jackrel and her team study Matrin-3, a poorly understood protein linked to several neurodegenerative disorders.
Focused ultrasound technique leads to release of neurodegenerative disorders biomarkers
Research could facilitate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Interfaces play important role in condensate behavior
Research from labs of Rohit Pappu, collaborators sheds light on condensate characteristics
Gut bacteria affect brain health, mouse study shows
Findings suggest new approach to treating Alzheimer’s, other neurodegenerative diseases
Future Thoughts and Reason for Excitement in ALS: Timothy Miller, MD, PhD
“These trials don’t go without huge input and commitment from the participants and of course, their caregivers, and the clinical trial sites. I have the privilege of speaking to you about the trial as the lead author of this paper, but this is a team effort and includes a large group of people from multiple […]
Study yields clues to why Alzheimer’s disease damages certain parts of the brain
Findings could help explain rare symptoms such as problems with language, vision
Rejuvenated immune cells can improve clearance of toxic waste from brain
Findings in mice suggest new therapeutic approach to Alzheimer’s, other age-related diseases
Center for Biomolecular Condensates launches
Symposium brings together key leaders in the field
What causes Alzheimer’s? Study puts leading theory to ‘ultimate test’
An idea that has propelled Alzheimer’s research for more than 30 years is approaching its day of reckoning. Scientists are launching a study designed to make or break the hypothesis that Alzheimer’s is caused by a sticky substance called beta-amyloid. The study will give an experimental anti-amyloid drug to people as young as 18 who […]
Cellular housekeeping process implicated in fatal neurological disorder
Neurons made from Huntington’s disease patients’ skin cells shed light on cognitive decline
Multi-scale imaging technique may enable objective assessment of myofascial pain
Song Hu, Yong Wang team up to find quantitative biomarkers for clinical pain management
$9 million to fund study of ‘jumping genes’ in Alzheimer’s
Researchers from several labs to study role of transposable elements
Scientists ID pathway that triggers mice to scratch when they see others do the same
Behavior surprisingly does not require brain’s visual cortex
Investigational drug for genetic form of ALS improves disease’s molecular signs
Extended use of tofersen may help stabilize muscle strength, control
How do cells take out the trash?
Research uncovers how unfolded proteins are discarded, and how a perfectly good protein can wind up in the trash
High-tech imaging focuses on oxygen metabolism in newborn brain
Our brains consume huge amounts of energy and rely on oxygen supplied by blood vessels. When the brains of infants are deprived of oxygen for any reason, it can lead to brain injury that causes cerebral palsy, epilepsy or cognitive impairment. Song Hu, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering […]
Study points to new approach to clearing toxic waste from brain
Could aid efforts to find treatments for Alzheimer’s, other diseases
A one-two punch for photoacoustic imaging
Song Hu combines hardware and machine learning for precision imaging technique
New center’s aim: To ID biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases
A new center established at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis aims to accelerate research into biomarkers of neurodegenerative conditions such as Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS) and the so-called tauopathies, a group that includes Alzheimer’s disease along with rarer diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, corticobasal syndrome […]
New structure found in cells
Every cell contains millions of protein molecules. Some of them have the ability to phase-separate to form non-membrane-bound compartments, called biomolecular condensates, inside a cell. It has long been assumed that there was no further structure underlying these condensates, only solution-soluble proteins. A research group led by Rohit Pappu, PhD, the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor […]
Gut bacteria mine dietary fiber to release beneficial nutrients
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis demonstrates that certain human gut microbes can mine dietary fiber to extract nutrients that otherwise would remain inaccessible to the human body. The study, published June 27 in the journal Cell, illustrates how the fiber byproducts of food production — such as rinds, peels […]