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IMAGE: A new study from UCLA and Stanford University researchers finds that three-dimensional human stem cell-derived mini brain organoids can mature in a manner that is strikingly similar to human brain. view more
Credit: UCLA Health
A new study from UCLA and Stanford University researchers finds that three-dimensional human stem cell-derived organoids can mature in a manner that is strikingly similar to human brain development.
For the new study, published in
Nature Neuroscience February 22, senior authors Dr. Daniel Geschwind of UCLA and Dr. Sergiu Pasca of Stanford University conducted extensive genetic analysis of organoids that had been grown for up to 20 months in a lab dish. They found that these 3D organoids follow an internal clock that guides their maturation in sync with the timeline of human development.
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WASHINGTON (Feb. 22, 2021) - People living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who have a history of severe immunosuppression and at least one copy of the Alzheimer s disease-related gene variant APOE4, might see a compounded adverse effect on the circuitry that impacts memory. This could eventually lead to an increased risk for dementia after age 65, according to Georgetown University Medical Center investigators and colleagues.
The researchers used MRI scans to examine the brain, with a focus on two regions - the hippocampus, which is critical for memory and is often affected in Alzheimer s disease, and the caudate nucleus, which sits deep in the center of the brain and is often affected in people with HIV. Based on the MRI images, they found that connectivity between the two regions was affected by APOE4 in people with HIV. A history of severe immunosuppression further exacerbated the impact of APOE4.
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IMAGE: Dwight E. Bergles, Ph.D., a leading neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is the winner of the 2020 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research. Bergles has pioneered. view more
Credit: Courtesy Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
NEW YORK, February 18, 2021 Dwight E. Bergles, Ph.D., a leading neuroscientist at The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience and the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is the winner of the 2020 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research.
Bergles has pioneered the study of immature cells in the brain that can regenerate myelin-making cells after myelin is destroyed in MS. These cells, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), hold the key to finding ways to promote myelin repair and restore function for people living with multiple sclerosis.
Understanding the dynamics of brain blood flow could hold key for treating neurologic conditions
While the human brain has over 400 miles of total vasculature, little is known about the tiny capillaries that make up much of this intricate labyrinth of blood vessels critical for delivering oxygenated blood and nutrients to billions of brain cells.
According to Dr. Andy Shih, a principal investigator in the Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Seattle Children s Research Institute, understanding how this vast network regulates blood flow in the brain could hold the key to new treatments for neonatal and childhood neurologic conditions, such as stroke and hypoxia, and issues of aging like dementia and Alzheimer s disease.