RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-20 Research News Papers in press in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and PNAS explore the relationship between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and nicotine. In the June 11 JBC Papers in Press, principal author Daniel Lee and colleagues at Biogen Inc., Cambr
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-20 Research News The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given approval for the drug Stalevo-a cocktail of levodopa (L-dopa), carbidopa, and entacapone-to be marketed in the United States for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, according to a press
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-19 Research News The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is cropping up with increasing frequency in discussions of Alzheimer's disease therapy. It is an ever-present concern for researchers hoping to introduce therapies-whether drugs, a vaccine, or stem cells-to
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-17 Research News The not-for-profit Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-Therapy Development Foundation (ALS-TDF), based in Newton, Massachusetts, has entered into a collaboration with University of Chicago stem cell researcher Kimonobu Sugaya. Announced last week,
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-13 Research News Two in-press papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reveal the crystal structure of DJ-1, a protein of unknown function that was recently implicated in the etiology of familial Parkinson's disease (see ARF related news story). Wo
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-12 Research News In last week's PNAS online, researchers reported that murine embryonic stem cells exposed to pyrrolpyrimidines differentiate into neurons. This result raises hope that the fate of stem cells in vivo may one day be controlled by the use
CONFERENCE COVERAGE 2003-06-09 Conference Coverage Are you intrigued by the rapidly unfolding progress of basic RNAi research? Do you wonder how early attempts to develop therapeutics out of this field are shaping up, and where the technical barriers lie? If so, you might enjoy an onli
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-06 Research News Mutations in the enzyme Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) have been linked to about 20 percent of familial cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but there is no explanation yet for how the mutations contribute to ALS pathology. An ext
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-05 Research News Both selective (COX-2 inhibitor, rofecoxib) and nonselective (COX-1/COX-2 inhibitor, naproxen) nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) fail to slow the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This is the conclus
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-03 Research News Dopaminergic neurons in the mouse substantia nigra are replenished throughout the life of the animal, according to a report in the June 2 early online edition of PNAS. Moreover, the rate of neurogenesis can be experimentally stimulated, sugg
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-06-03 Research News Antibodies can be raised that specifically target misfolded prion proteins, leaving native proteins free to carry on their normal functions. This is the conclusion of a paper which appeared in yesterday's Nature Medicine online. Misfold
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-05-30 Research News Embryonic stem (ES) cells have the ability to divide ad infinitum. In today's Cell, two independent research groups report that a key to this "eternal youth" is the protein Nanog, which appears essential not only for cellular
RESEARCH NEWS 2003-05-28 Research News In sharp contrast to prevailing hypotheses, taking combination hormone replacement actually doubles a woman’s risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, when the therapy is begun at age 65 or older, according to a study
CONFERENCE COVERAGE 2003-05-28 Conference Coverage Tobias Hartmann and Dora Kovacs Report from Spain Organized by Israel Hanin, Abraham Fisher, and Ramon Cacabelos, the 6th International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases was a great success. The number of registered pa