Skip to main content
menu

News

20242023202220202019

Mini Strokes Can Cause Brain Damage, Lead To Dementia And Cognitive Impairment: Study

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Chances are if you're a senior managing your health, you've already had a conversation with your doctor about stroke risk. While many patients know the warning signs of stroke -- slurred speech, weakness on one side of the body, coordination problems, double vision, and headaches -- health care providers often fail to educate patients about their risk for silent or mini-strokes, which can cause progressive, permanent damage and lead to dementia.

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, examined the effects of these so-called mini-strokes. They frequently are not diagnosed or detected by a doctor because a patient does not immediately present with stroke signs. Mini-strokes may lead to permanent neurological damage and increase risk for full blown stroke.

Maiken Nedergaard, MD, lead author of the study and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center, says at least half of individuals over the age of 60 will experience one mini-stroke in their lifetime. She calls the prevalence of mini-strokes "an epidemic."

Read More: Mini Strokes Can Cause Brain Damage, Lead To Dementia And Cognitive Impairment: Study

New Facility Will Bridge Research and Stem Cell Therapies

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

microscopic image of stem cells

The University of Rochester Medical Center has opened the doors on a new facility that will enable researchers to create, study, and ultimately use stem cells and their offspring in early-phase experimental human therapies. The Upstate Stem Cell cGMP Facility – which will be used by academic and private-sector scientists from across the state – was created with $3.5 million in support from the Empire State Stem Cell Board.

“One of the critical barriers to moving cell-based therapies into clinical trials is the requirement that these cells be manufactured in a facility that meets strict federal requirements,” said Steve Dewhurst, Ph.D., chair of the URMC Department of Microbiology and Immunology and principal investigator for the state grant. “Without this resource, much of this science remains stuck in the lab.”

Read More: New Facility Will Bridge Research and Stem Cell Therapies

Study Details Brain Damage Triggered by Mini-Strokes

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A new study appearing today in the Journal of Neuroscience details for the first time how "mini-strokes" cause prolonged periods of brain damage and result in cognitive impairment. These strokes, which are often imperceptible, are common in older adults and are believed to contribute to dementia.

"Our research indicates that neurons are being lost as a result of delayed processes following a mini-strokes that may differ fundamentally from those of acute ischemic events," said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., the lead author of the study and professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "This observation suggests that the therapeutic window to protect cells after these tiny strokes may extend to days and weeks after the initial injury."

Read More: Study Details Brain Damage Triggered by Mini-Strokes

Scientists Create Endless Supply of Myelin-Forming Cells

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Astrocytes in the brain

In a new study appearing this month in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have unlocked the complex cellular mechanics that instruct specific brain cells to continue to divide. This discovery overcomes a significant technical hurdle to potential human stem cell therapies; ensuring that an abundant supply of cells is available to study and ultimately treat people with diseases.

One of the major factors that will determine the viability of stem cell therapies is access to a safe and reliable supply of cells, said University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) neurologist Steve Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study. This study demonstrates that -- in the case of certain populations of brain cells -- we now understand the cell biology and the mechanisms necessary to control cell division and generate an almost endless supply of cells.

Read More: Scientists Create Endless Supply of Myelin-Forming Cells

Researchers at the Doorstep of Stem Cell Therapies for MS, Other Myelin Disorders

Thursday, October 25, 2012

When the era of regenerative medicine dawned more than three decades ago, the potential to replenish populations of cells destroyed by disease was seen by many as the next medical revolution. However, what followed turned out not to be a sprint to the clinic, but rather a long tedious slog carried out in labs across the globe required to master the complexity of stem cells and then pair their capabilities and attributes with specific diseases.

In a review article appearing today in the journal Science, University of Rochester Medical Center scientists Steve Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., Maiken Nedergaard, Ph.D., and Martha Windrem, Ph.D., contend that researchers are now on the threshold of human application of stem cell therapies for a class of neurological diseases known as myelin disorders -- a long list of diseases that include conditions such as multiple sclerosis, white matter stroke, cerebral palsy, certain dementias, and rare but fatal childhood disorders called pediatric leukodystrophies.

Stem cell biology has progressed in many ways over the last decade, and many potential opportunities for clinical translation have arisen, said Goldman. In particular, for diseases of the central nervous system, which have proven difficult to treat because of the brain's great cellular complexity, we postulated that the simplest cell types might provide us the best opportunities for cell therapy.

Read More: Researchers at the Doorstep of Stem Cell Therapies for MS, Other Myelin Disorders

Scientists Discover Previously Unknown Cleansing System in Brain

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A previously unrecognized system that drains waste from the brain at a rapid clip has been discovered by neuroscientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The findings were published online August 15 in Science Translational Medicine.

The highly organized system acts like a series of pipes that piggyback on the brain's blood vessels, sort of a shadow plumbing system that seems to serve much the same function in the brain as the lymph system does in the rest of the body -- to drain away waste products.

"Waste clearance is of central importance to every organ, and there have been long-standing questions about how the brain gets rid of its waste," said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., senior author of the paper and co-director of the University's Center for Translational Neuromedicine. "This work shows that the brain is cleansing itself in a more organized way and on a much larger scale than has been realized previously.

"We're hopeful that these findings have implications for many conditions that involve the brain, such as traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and Parkinson's disease," she added.

Read More: Scientists Discover Previously Unknown Cleansing System in Brain

URMC Neurology Chair Returns to Research Lab; Acting Chair Appointed

Thursday, July 19, 2012

After four years as chair of the Department of Neurology, Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., is stepping down to resume research duties full time as Co-Director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine.

Dr. Goldman will remain an active member of the Neurology faculty, increasing his research focus and commitment, while Robert G. Holloway Jr., M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Neurology, will serve as Acting Chair of the Department as a national search for permanent leadership is launched.

Read More: URMC Neurology Chair Returns to Research Lab; Acting Chair Appointed

Once Considered Mainly ‘Brain Glue,’ Astrocytes’ Power Revealed

Thursday, March 29, 2012

A type of cell plentiful in the brain, long considered mainly the stuff that holds the brain together and oft-overlooked by scientists more interested in flashier cells known as neurons, wields more power in the brain than has been realized, according to new research published today in Science Signaling.

Neuroscientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center report that astrocytes are crucial for creating the proper environment for our brains to work. The team found that the cells play a key role in reducing or stopping the electrical signals that are considered brain activity, playing an active role in determining when cells called neurons fire and when they don't.

That is a big step forward from what scientists have long considered the role of astrocytes -- to nurture neurons and keep them healthy.

"Astrocytes have long been called housekeeping cells -- tending to neurons, nurturing them, and cleaning up after them," said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., professor of Neurosurgery and leader of the study. "It turns out that they can influence the actions of neurons in ways that have not been realized."

Read More: Once Considered Mainly ‘Brain Glue,’ Astrocytes’ Power Revealed

Precision with Stem Cells a Step Forward for Treating M.S., Other Diseases

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Mouse cells coated in myelin

Areas in red indicate mouse brain cells coated with myelin, a crucial substance lacking in patients with M.S.

A diverse group of scientists -- experts in cardiology, neurology, immunology, microbiology and chemistry -- are teaming up to study drugs that show promise in the treatment of dementia for the treatment of an equally debilitating disease -- heart failure. In this case, the connection between the head and the heart lies in a particular enzyme that they believe plays a role in the development of both conditions.

The team, headed by Burns C. Blaxall, Ph.D., Harris A. "Handy" Gelbard, M.D., Ph.D., and Stephen Dewhurst, Ph.D., recently won the largest grant awarded to date by the University's Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) -- $250,000 over two years. The grant, part of the CTSI's newly initiated Incubator Program, is larger than most awarded by the Medical Center.

Thomas Pearson, M.D., Ph.D., who heads the CTSI and helped develop the new program, says tremendous weight was given to forming new teams that had never worked together before, and for these teams to study things they had never addressed before. The Blaxall/Gelbard/Dewhurst team fit the bill on both counts.

Read More: Precision with Stem Cells a Step Forward for Treating M.S., Other Diseases

Stem Cell Efforts to Treat Neurological Disease Bolstered With $4.5 Million

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Human Oligodendrocytes and Astrocytes from Progenitor Cells

Human oligodendrocytes and astrocytes generated from human neural progenitor cells.

The endeavor to find better treatments or perhaps even one day a cure for a host of debilitating and fatal neurological diseases has been bolstered by an influx of funding from a mix of private and public sources.

he laboratory headed by Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, has received $4.5 million in new funding to further its efforts to use stem cells and related molecules to treat several feared disorders for which there are currently no cures – including multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and fatal childhood diseases known as pediatric leukodystrophies.

Read More: Stem Cell Efforts to Treat Neurological Disease Bolstered With $4.5 Million

Two Rochester Scientists among Top Parkinson Researchers

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Two scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center are among the world’s top researchers in the area of Parkinson disease, according to a recent study.

Karl Kieburtz, M.D., M.P.H., and Kim Tieu, Ph.D., are among the researchers cited in a recent study published last month in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. The study was done by Aaron Sorensen of GE Healthcare and publishing consultant David Weedon.

The study analyzed the number of times a scientist’s work has been cited by other scientists, the amount of new research that the person has published, and the ripple effect of the work in Parkinson disease as well as other areas.

Both Kieburtz and Tieu are among the 100 scientists whose work has been cited most during the last decade by other scientists doing research on the disease. Also on the list is Ira Shoulson, M.D., a former University of Rochester neurologist who is now at Georgetown. Altogether, research by the three was cited more than 6,500 times during the last decade by other scientists.

Read More: Two Rochester Scientists among Top Parkinson Researchers

NSC Graduate Student Awarded NIH Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Crystal McClain, a graduate student in Neuroscience, was awarded an NIH Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award. Crystal currently works in the Goldman Lab and studies the signaling pathways of both fetal and adult glial progenitor cells, and the molecular bases for the fate decisions that determine whether progenitors become oligodendrocytes or astrocytes, a key determinant of both remyelination and gliosis after injury.

Acupuncture’s Molecular Effects Pinned Down

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Scientists have taken another important step toward understanding just how sticking needles into the body can ease pain.

In a paper published online May 30 in Nature Neuroscience, a team at the University of Rochester Medical Center identifies the molecule adenosine as a central player in parlaying some of the effects of acupuncture in the body. Building on that knowledge, scientists were able to triple the beneficial effects of acupuncture in mice by adding a medication approved to treat leukemia in people.

The new findings add to the scientific heft underlying acupuncture, said neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., who led the research. Her team is presenting the work this week at a scientific meeting, Purines 2010, in Barcelona, Spain.

URMC Receives $4.5 Million in NYS Stem Cell Grants

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has received a total of $4.5 million in funding from the Empire State Stem Cell Board for research in neurological disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and bone repair.

“Stem cell and regenerative medicine represents one of the scientific foundations of the Medical Center’s strategic plan for growth in biomedical research,” said Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of URMC. “These grants represent critical resources necessary to advance our understanding of stem cells and bring these discoveries into new therapies for a host of diseases.”

Berk is also a member of Funding Committee of the Empire State Stem Cell Board.

The awards to URMC were part of $34.7 million in grants recently announced by Governor David Paterson. To date, URMC scientists have received $8.1 million in research grants from the Empire State Stem Cell Board.

Read More: URMC Receives $4.5 Million in NYS Stem Cell Grants

Blue Dye May Hold Promise in Treating Spinal Cord Injury

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A compound strikingly similar to the common food additive that gives M&Ms and Gatorade their blue tint may offer promise for preventing the additional – and serious – secondary damage that immediately follows a traumatic injury to the spinal cord. In an article published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that the compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) stops the cascade of molecular events that cause secondary damage to the spinal cord in the hours following a spinal cord injury, an injury known to expand the injured area in the spinal cord and permanently worsen the paralysis for patients.

This research builds on landmark laboratory findings first reported five years ago by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In the August 2004 cover story of Nature Medicine, scientists detailed how ATP, the vital energy source that keeps our body’s cells alive, quickly pours into the area surrounding a spinal cord injury shortly after it occurs, and paradoxically kills off what are otherwise healthy and uninjured cells.

This surprising discovery marked a milestone in establishing how secondary injury occurs in spinal cord patients. It also laid out a potential way to stop secondary spinal injury, by using oxidized ATP, a compound known to block ATP’s effects. Rats with damaged spinal cords who received an injection of oxidized ATP were shown to recover much of their limb function, to the point of being able to walk again, ambulating effectively if not gracefully.

Read More: Blue Dye May Hold Promise in Treating Spinal Cord Injury

Neurologists Establish Professorship in Honor of Robert J. Joynt

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Colleagues and friends in the Department of Neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center are more than halfway toward their goal of raising $1.5 million to honor the physician who founded the department.

The professorship will honor neurologist Robert J. Joynt, M.D., Ph.D., one of the most influential neurologists of the last half century, who is now Distinguished University Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Joynt founded the University’s Department of Neurology in 1966 and guided the department for 18 years, laying the foundation for what is today one of the nation’s leading neurology departments.

The professorship, to be known as the Robert J. Joynt Chair in Experimental Therapeutics in Neurology, is designed to further development of treatments to treat neurological diseases. The Joynt Chair will support research to treat disorders like Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases. Friends, alumni, colleagues and grateful patients have contributed to the fund thus far.

Read More: Neurologists Establish Professorship in Honor of Robert J. Joynt

Astrocytes Help Separate Man from Mouse

Monday, March 23, 2009

A type of brain cell that was long overlooked by researchers embodies one of very few ways in which the human brain differs fundamentally from that of a mouse or rat, according to researchers who published their findings as the cover story in the March 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that human astrocytes, cells that were long thought simply to support flashier brain cells known as neurons that send electrical signals, are bigger, faster, and much more complex than those in mice and rats.

"There aren’t many differences known between the rodent brain and the human brain, but we are finding striking differences in the astrocytes. Our astrocytes signal faster, and they’re bigger and more complex. This has big implications for how our brains process information," said first author Nancy Ann Oberheim, Ph.D., a medical student who recently completed her doctoral thesis on astrocytes.

Read More: Astrocytes Help Separate Man from Mouse

Neurologist to Discuss Pioneering Stem Cell Research

Friday, October 3, 2008

Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Neurology, will discuss his pioneering efforts to use stem cells to treat human disease as part of a lecture series highlighting biological and biomedical research at the University of Rochester.

Goldman will speak at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, in the Class of 1962 Auditorium at the Medical Center. It's the latest installment of the Second Friday Science Social lecture series geared mainly to faculty, staff and students at the University, though the general public is welcome as well.

Goldman, who is also professor of Neurosurgery, is internationally recognized for advancing our understanding of stem cells and their use to treat human disease. He began his studies of the brain's stem cells more than 25 years ago, and his doctoral thesis in 1983 was the first report of neurogenesis -- the production of new brain cells -- in the adult brain and opened the door to the idea of neural stem cells as the source.

Read More: Neurologist to Discuss Pioneering Stem Cell Research

Rochester Neuroscientist Honored By Danish Academy

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., has been elected a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences, the premier scientific society in Denmark. The society elects only six new members worldwide every other year.

Nedergaard has been a pioneer in brain research, demonstrating that brain cells known as astrocytes play a role in a host of human diseases. For decades, much of the attention of neuroscientists had been focused on brain cells known as neurons, which send electrical signals. Astrocytes were long considered cells whose primary function was to support the neurons.

Nedergaard has turned that notion on its head, showing that astrocytes themselves play an important role in epilepsy, spinal cord disease, migraine headaches, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease.

Read More: Rochester Neuroscientist Honored By Danish Academy

Steven Goldman to Lead University’s Department of Neurology

Thursday, September 4, 2008

After an extensive national search, a neurologist who is a leading international figure in efforts to use stem cells to treat human disease has been tapped to lead the Department of Neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of Neurology who has been with the University since 2003, will become the Edward A. and Alma Vollertsen Rykenboer Professor of Neurophysiology Chair, Department of Neurology within the School of Medicine and Dentistry beginning October 1. He will lead a department known nationally for its research and the education it provides its students and young doctors.

Dr. Goldman’s efforts will be central to the advancement of the field of neuromedicine, an area we’ve targeted in our strategic plan for significant growth and future investment in faculty and resources, said Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Center CEO. His experience as an outstanding researcher and clinician is a perfect fit for the position.

Read More: Steven Goldman to Lead University’s Department of Neurology

Human Stem Cells Show Promise Against Fatal Children’s Diseases

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Scientists have used human stem cells to dramatically improve the condition of mice with a neurological condition similar to a set of diseases in children that are invariably fatal, according to an article in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

With a one-time injection of stem cells just after birth, scientists were able to repair defective wiring throughout the brain and spinal cord – the entire central nervous system – of mutant shiverer mice, so called because of the way they shake and wobble. The work marks an important step toward the day when stem cells become an option for the treatment of neurological diseases in people.

Neuroscientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center injected a type of fetal human stem cell known as glial stem cells into newborn mice born with a condition that normally claims their lives within about 20 weeks of birth, after a lifetime of seizures and other serious consequences. While most of the 26 mice that received transplanted glial stem cells still died, a group of six lived far beyond their usual lifespan, and four appeared to be completely cured – a first for shiverer mice. The scientists plan to gather more evidence before trying the approach in sick children.

It’s extremely exciting to think about not only treating but actually curing a disease, particularly an awful disease that affects children, said neurologist Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., a leader in manipulating stem cells to treat diseases of the nervous system.

Read More: Human Stem Cells Show Promise Against Fatal Children’s Diseases

Conference to Highlight Rochester Stem Cell Research

Monday, May 12, 2008

A half-day symposium showcasing research in the field of stem cell biology at the University of Rochester will be held on May 23. The symposium, titled Frontiers in Stem Cell Medicine, is being sponsored by the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute.

Speakers at the symposium include: biomedical geneticist Mark Noble, Ph.D., director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute; neurologist Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Division of Cell and Gene Therapy; cancer researcher Craig Jordan, Ph.D., director of Translational Research for Hematologic Malignancies at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center; Edward Puzas, Ph.D., with the Department of Orthopaedics, and Rocky Tuan, Ph.D., chief of the Cartilage Biology and Orthopaedics Branch of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Read More: Conference to Highlight Rochester Stem Cell Research

Sleep Chemical Central to Effectiveness of Deep Brain Stimulation

Monday, December 24, 2007

A brain chemical that makes us sleepy also appears to play a central role in the success of deep brain stimulation to ease symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders. The surprising finding is outlined in a paper published online Dec. 23 in Nature Medicine.

The work shows that adenosine, a brain chemical most widely known as the cause of drowsiness, is central to the effect of deep brain stimulation, or DBS. The technique is used to treat people affected by Parkinson's disease and who have severe tremor, and it's also being tested in people who have severe depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Patients typically are equipped with a "brain pacemaker," a small implanted device that delivers carefully choreographed electrical signals to a very precise point in the patient's brain. The procedure disrupts abnormal nerve signals and alleviates symptoms, but doctors have long debated exactly how the procedure works.

"Certainly the electrical effect of the stimulation on neurons is central to the effect of deep brain stimulation," said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., Ph.D., the neuroscientist and professor in the Department of Neurosurgery who led the research team. "But we also found a very important role for adenosine, which is surprising."

Read More: Sleep Chemical Central to Effectiveness of Deep Brain Stimulation

Commonly Used Drug Offers Promise for Premature Babies

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Scientists have found evidence that the cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib, a common pain reliever used to treat arthritis, may offer a new way to reduce the risk of the most common cause of brain damage in babies born prematurely.

The work involves shoring up blood vessels in a part of the brain that in premature infants is extremely fragile and vulnerable to dangerous bleeding, which affects an estimated 12,000 children a year, leaving many permanently affected by cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and seizures.

The laboratory research was done primarily in a laboratory at New York Medical College led by neonatologist Praveen Ballabh, M.D. Ballabh's team worked with Rochester neuroscientists including Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., and Nanhong Lou, B.M.

Speedsters’ Traffic Fines Fund New Research on Spinal Cord Injury

Friday, August 25, 2006

More than a dozen Rochester scientists seeking ways to reverse or lessen the effects of paralysis and other effects of spinal cord injury will begin new projects and continue promising research, thanks to motorists in New York State who push the gas medal a little too far.

Three research projects at the University of Rochester Medical Center are among the programs funded this year through the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program run by the New York State Department of Health. The program, created in 1998, uses fines paid by speeding motorists to fund research into spinal cord injury, whose number-one cause nationwide is motor vehicle accidents. In Rochester this year the grants are going to Roman Giger, Ph.D.; Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., Ph.D.; and Mark Noble, Ph.D.

Read More: Speedsters’ Traffic Fines Fund New Research on Spinal Cord Injury

Flick of Whiskers Helps Tease Out Brain’s ‘Shadow’ Signaling System

Monday, May 15, 2006

By blowing gentle puffs of air onto a mouse's whiskers and watching how its brain reacts, scientists are discovering that a long-overlooked signaling system in the brain is crucial to our everyday activity.

The work is the latest in a growing body of evidence that star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes aren't simply support cells but are stars of the brain in their own right, say researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center who did the study. The work will be reported in a paper in the June issue of Nature Neuroscience and is now available online.

"Now people have to take astrocytes seriously," said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and a member of the Center for Aging and Developmental Biology, whose team did the research. In the past few years she has found that the cells, long thought to simply nourish other cells and clean up their wastes, are central to diseases like epilepsy, spinal cord injury, and maybe even Alzheimer's disease.

Read More: Flick of Whiskers Helps Tease Out Brain’s ‘Shadow’ Signaling System

Blood Flow in Brain Takes a Twist, Affecting Views of Alzheimer’s

Friday, January 6, 2006

New findings that long-overlooked brain cells play an important role in regulating blood flow in the brain call into question one of the basic assumptions underlying today's most sophisticated brain imaging techniques and could open a new frontier when it comes to understanding Alzheimer's disease.

In a paper to appear in the February issue of Nature Neuroscience and now available on-line, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrate that star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes play a direct role in controlling blood flow in the brain, a crucial process that allows parts of the brain to burst into activity when needed. The finding is intriguing for a disease like Alzheimer's, which has long been considered a disease of brain cells known as neurons, and certainly not astrocytes.

"For many years, astrocytes have been considered mainly as housekeeping cells that help nourish and maintain a healthy environment for neurons. But it's turning out that astrocytes may play a central role in many human diseases," said neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., Ph.D., who has produced a string of publications fingering astrocytes in diseases like epilepsy and spinal cord injury.

Read More: Blood Flow in Brain Takes a Twist, Affecting Views of Alzheimer’s

Roots of Epilepsy May Lie in Oft-Ignored Brain Cells

Monday, August 15, 2005

Star-shaped brain cells that are often overlooked by doctors and scientists as mere support cells appear to play a key role in the development of epilepsy, researchers say in a study published on-line August 14 in Nature Medicine. It's one of the first times scientists have produced firm evidence implicating the cells, known as astrocytes, in a common human disease.

Scientists found that astrocytes can serve as ground zero in the brain, setting off a harmful cascade of electrical activity in the brain by sending out a brain chemical that triggers other brain cells to fire out of control.

While it's impossible to tell at this early stage what effect the finding will have on treatment, the investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center are hopeful the results will give doctors and pharmaceutical firms a new target in efforts to treat and prevent the disease.

"This opens up a new vista in efforts to treat epilepsy. It might be possible to treat epilepsy not by depressing or slowing brain function, as many of the current medications do, but by targeting brain cells that have been completely overlooked," says Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and a researcher in the Center for Aging and Developmental Biology, who led the research. "We are hopeful that someday, this will be very beneficial to patients."

Read More: Roots of Epilepsy May Lie in Oft-Ignored Brain Cells

Scientists Finger Surprise Culprit in Spinal Cord Injury

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

ATP, the vital energy source that keeps our body's cells alive, runs amok at the site of a spinal cord injury, pouring into the area around the wound and killing the cells that normally allow us to move, scientists report in the cover story of the August issue of Nature Medicine.

The finding that ATP is a culprit in causing the devastating damage of spinal cord injury is unexpected. Doctors have known that initial trauma to the spinal cord is exacerbated by a cascade of molecular events over the first few hours that permanently worsen the paralysis for patients. But the finding that high levels of ATP kill healthy cells in nearby regions of the spinal cord that were otherwise uninjured is surprising and marks one of the first times that high levels of ATP have been identified as a cause of injury in the body.

While the work opens up a promising new avenue of study, the work is years away from possible application in patients, cautions Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., Ph.D., the researcher who led the study. In addition, the research offers promise mainly to people who have just suffered a spinal cord injury, not for patients whose injury is more than a day old. Just as clot-busting agents can help patients who have had a stroke or heart attack who get to an emergency room within a few hours, so a compound that could stem the damage from ATP might help patients who have had a spinal cord injury and are treated immediately.

Read More: Scientists Finger Surprise Culprit in Spinal Cord Injury