Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have discovered a group of neurons in the mouse brainstem that control muscle tone. Inhibiting these neuronal cells caused mice to move during REM sleep, reminiscent of REM sleep behavior disorders. These neurons were also responsible for episodes of cataplexy in a mouse model of narcolepsy; inhibiting them reduced the number of cataplexic bouts. These circuits could thus be a new target for treating these sleep disorders.
Novel compound appears to protect myelin and nerve fibers
A compound developed at Oregon Health & Science University appears to protect nerve fibers and the fatty sheath, called myelin, that covers nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
The discovery, published in the
Journal of Neuroimmunology, could be important in treating or preventing the progression of multiple sclerosis and other central nervous system disorders. The new research in a mouse model advances earlier work to develop the compound - known as sobetirome - that has already showed promise in stimulating the repair of myelin.
Sobetirome and related drugs are effective at stimulating myelin repair after damage has occurred. Our new findings now suggest that these drugs could also prove to be beneficial for preventing damage from occurring. It means that these drugs have a dual effect that we didn t know about before.
January 14, 2021
× Researchers at the Hospital Universitario de La Princes in Madrid, Spain, found that Covid-19 patients who developed headaches as an early symptom of infection had a milder illness and reduced risk of death.
Headache is a common symptom in people infected with SARS-CoV-2, with a prevalence ranging between 13 per cent and 74.6 per cent, according to News Medical and Life Sciences report.
Further, it has been revealed that SARS-CoV-2 has a neuroinvasive potential. However, the degree of it remains unclear. It also remains unknown the real link between Covid-19 and the development of headache.
Hence, the researchers aimed to “identify factors associated with headache in Covid‐19 and headache characteristics.”
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Researchers from the PTSD Systems Biology Consortium, led by scientists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, have identified distinct biotypes for post-traumatic stress disorder, the first of their kind for any psychological disorder. These biotypes can refine the development of screening tools and may explain the varying efficacy of PTSD treatments , said Dr. Marti Jett, leader of the consortium and WRAIR chief scientist.
Publishing their work in
Molecular Psychiatry in a manuscript first authored by WRAIR s Dr. Ruoting Yang, researchers used blood tests from male, combat-exposed veterans across a three year period to identify two PTSD biotypes, G1 characterized by mild, inherent co-morbidities typical of PTSD and G2 which includes more severe symptoms typical of PTSD and report more physical distress with differing genetic markers and underlying mechanisms of disease. Building on previously published work using machine learning, led by Dr. Francis J. Doyl