Tag: neuroscience

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Science

Stony Brook researchers build on U of R Alzheimer’s research

Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/edkohler/2712742904/sizes/l/">edkohler</a> @ Flickr.com

In August of last year, we reported on the recent discovery of a “Glymphatic Pathway,” which is essentially a waste-disposal system for the brain. This system, discovered by Jeffrey Iliff and Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester, mirrors the role of the lymphatic system in other organs of the body. The system removes waste proteins from the brain and the effective running of this system, scientists believe, is the difference between a healthy brain and one with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Building on that research, boffins at the University of Stony Brook used tracing elements and MRI scanning to trace the entire glymphatic system, from the back of the brain to the nasal cavity, to better understand the pathway and what a damaged one might look like:

This advanced imaging technique has the potential to be used as a way to monitor the human brain to map brain waste clearance and access (sic) disease susceptibility. Theoretically, if clinicians were able to capture a defect in the glymphatic system where certain channels are malfunctioning, plaque formation would likely accelerate, Benveniste says.

This plaque buildup may be an early sign of disease susceptibility before evidence of any cognitive changes. Though there is no known way to repair malfunctions in the glymphatic system, the research team is investigating ways to repair or open malfunctioning channels.

Mapping out this system is part of a wider effort to understand “white matter” in the neurological system.

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Science

UofR researchers demonstrate potential MS cure using skin cells

Photo: Digital Shotgun @ Flickr.com

Myelin is the sheathing that surrounds each and every nerve cell, allowing their electrochemical signals to correctly pass through the cell to their intended targets. Without this shielding, signals get lost and that leads to all sorts of neurological disorders. The most common of these is Multiple Sclerosis, or MS.

Photo courtesy the University of Rochester

The University of Rochester is doing a lot of work with myelin, including recently proving that stem cells found within the “white matter” part of the brain are responsible for creating myelin naturally. But today, boffins announce that they’ve been able to produce myelin by converting skin cells into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) cells capable of producing myelin and repairing damage to brains. At least, in mice, that is. Why couldn’t the white matter cells have been used in the same fashion? It turns out, that gets more complicated than they anticipated:

The source of the myelin cells in the brain and spinal cord is cell type called the oligodendrocyte. Oligodendrocytes are, in turn, the offspring of another cell called the oligodendrocyte progenitor cell, or OPC.  Myelin disorders have long been considered a potential target for cell-based therapies. Scientists have theorized that if healthy OPCs could be successfully transplanted into the diseased or injured brain, then these cells might be able to produce new oligodendrocytes capable of restoring lost myelin, thereby reversing the damage caused by these diseases.

However, several obstacles have thwarted scientists. One of the key challenges is that OPCs are a mature cell in the central nervous system and appear late in development.

“Compared to neurons, which are among the first cells formed in human development, there are more stages and many more steps required to create glial cells such as OPCs,” said Goldman. “This process requires that we understand the basic biology and the normal development of these cells and then reproduce this precise sequence in the lab.”

The secondary problem of using either this type of “tissue specific” or even embryonic stem cells is that, once cell therapy becomes a common practice, either type of cell can be guaranteed available in the quantities that may be required. By contrast, every patient is going to have an ample supply of skin cells that are just ready, willing and able to be reprogrammed  back into stem cells and implanted where they’re needed.

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Science

Being a loner may be bad for your brain. Like, really bad.

Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/optikfluffel/8032232683/sizes/l/">optikfluffel</a> @ Flickr.com

Blah, blah, blah. I like my stoically private nature. It helps me think.

That may seem true, but research out of the University of Buffalo may prove otherwise. A new study shows that social isolation arrests the healthy development of myelin in the brains of mice, both reinforcing the behavior and also leaving the loner open to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

The brain is essentially made up of two types of “matter,” white and grey. You’ve heard the phrase “grey matter” in the past, when discussing how smart a person is. White matter is made up of myelin sheaths around brain cells, astrocytes that run between cells and more. Up until recently, the white matter of the brain has largely been ignored as unimportant.

Research into neuroplasticity – the relatively novel scientific concept that the brain actually regrows and rewires brain cells according to the needs of the moment – is showing that not only grey matter but white matter as well is affected by changes in behavior.

Mice were isolated in a lab for a period of time to observe the changes in their brain structures. The scientists found that the isolated mice, when put in contact with a normally-socialized mouse, actively avoided contact. That is: the mice who would normally be hugely social creatures suddenly became intentional introverts when given a period of forced isolation.

Even more interesting: studying the brains of the isolated mice, they discovered that myelin production had been slowed down. Myelin is a fatty sheath that surrounds brain cells, acting as insulators and preventing the signals (which are just electro-chemical jolts, you might say) from being leached out of the brain cell and away from their intended targets. Lack of myelin has been blamed for a host of neurological disorders.

The good news is that none of the effects of neuroplasticity are irreversible. The scientists in this particular study showed that reintegrating the mice into their social communities reversed all the negative trends of isolation.

So, as my parents used to say, “get out there and blow the stink off!” Stop watching The Secret of NIHM and heed the lesson of actual lab rats. That smell might just be your brain mouldering.

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Science

U of R researchers’ myelin breakthrough may have gotten us one step closer to a cure for MS, Alzheimer’s.

Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/6260781967/sizes/l/">Oregon State University</a> @ Flickr.com

So who has actually heard anything about stem cell research lately? I know that there was a ton of controversy around the moral aspect of it a few years ago, but has anybody really been bringing it up? Really. I would like to know.

At any rate, no matter what one’s moral views are (or were, since not many still actively have an opinion), there’s really no arguing the fact that myelin-based stem cell research is probably one of the largest potentially disease-curing gold mines in the medical community.

The key to finding out the true benefit of stem cell research, however, is a safe & stable amount of healthy cells to utilize, which has been hard to come by until very recently.

A study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center focuses on cells called “glial progenitor cells,” or GPCs. GPCs are stem cells that are found in the white matter of the brain, and, long story short, yield two crucial body cells, both of which are necessary for a functional central nervous system.

If it’s a disease that’s rooted in myelin deficiency, you’ve probably heard of it; multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy are just two on the list, and have probably affected whoever is reading this article at one point or another.

Alzheimer’s disease victims and their families are also among the many who would benefit from this. Stem cell research is key in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, and with this new breakthrough, the process that is used is going to be a much more reliable one. This discovery could lead to something remarkable.

So yes, to put it simply, this is a big breakthrough. The thing to keep your eye on is exactly where doctors are going to be able to go with it. A cure for MS? Fantastic. Ridding the world of cerebral palsy? Magnificent. Hopefully we can knock Alzheimer’s out in the future.

We’ll see what happens. Miracle cures definitely don’t happen over night, but right now, we can see the start of something significant, right here in Rochester.

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Science VIDEO

Clean behind your ears. The glymphatic system will clean between them.

Photo: <a href="http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=3584">URMC</a>

Sometimes, there’s nothing more cathartic than taking out the garbage – even for your brain.

Neuroscientists at University of Rochester Medical Center have discovered a previously unrecognized system that drains waste from the brain. Dubbed the “glymphatic system” due to its similarities with the lymphatic system, but instead managed by brain cells known as glial cells, this new-found system brings hope for many brain conditions, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, stroke, and traumatic brain injuries, which are all attributed in some way to waste protein build up on the brain.

Here’s how it works – the highly organized system acts as a series of pipes, piggybacking off of the brain’s blood vessels to drain away waste products. Think of it as if the brain has two big garbage cans; the first one collecting waste through a gradual trickle, the second one under much more pressure, pushing large volumes daily to carry waste away more forcefully.

That’s a lot going on in our brains on a daily basis – so how were we unaware of all of this until now? According to scientists, the system only works when it’s intact and operating in a living brain, which had previously been extremely difficult. To study the living, whole brain, the team at U of R used a technology known as two-photon microscopy, which allows scientists to look at the flow of blood and other substances in the brain of living animals – in this case, mice.

This is not the first discovery to stem from this research at U of R.  Back in the spring, a similar study found that parts of the brain that were not cleaning properly could be to blame for ADHD.  This is all great news, though. Once a definitive  biological cause has been pinned down with certainty, then medicines can be created to treat the problem.

See? Your mom wasn’t kidding when she told you it’s important to clean!