New model system for the development of potential active substances used in condensate modifying drugs

Model system can break down fibrils into their constituent single units or liquid droplets for the first time

18-Nov-2024 - The origin of many diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's can be found at the molecular level in our body, in other words, in proteins. In a healthy system, these proteins are responsible for numerous physiological functions. In order to carry out certain tasks, they may also assemble in ...

Parkinson's disease - New test procedure enables early detection in patients at risk

Up to seven years before the onset of typical motor symptoms

21-Jun-2024 - In an international cooperation project, researchers from the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), the Paracelsus-Elena-Klinik Kassel and University College London (UCL) have developed a test procedure that makes it possible to predict the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in at-risk ...

How old is your brain, really?

AI-powered analysis accurately reflects risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease based on brain age

11-Jan-2023 - The human brain holds many clues about a person’s long-term health — in fact, research shows that a person’s brain age is a more useful and accurate predictor of health risks and future disease than their birthdate. Now, a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that analyzes magnetic resonance ...

Drug Testing with Artificial Brain Vessels

Screening method simulates filter effect of the “blood-brain barrier”

05-Sep-2022 - In the journal “Biomaterials”, DZNE researchers present a novel method for testing chemical agents that could help in the development of drugs against neurodegenerative diseases. This analytical technique allows to study in the laboratory whether new drug candidates have a realistic chance of ...

Study identifies new dementia risk genes through novel testing approach

Mass screening of genetic variants in a single experiment

25-Aug-2022 - A new UCLA-led study has identified multiple new risk genes for Alzheimer’s disease and a rare, related brain disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) by using a combination of new testing methods allowing for mass screening of genetic variants in a single experiment. The study, ...

The Retina as a Potential Biomarker for Reduced Brain Matter

“There is evidence that the retina can serve as a window into the brain”

17-Mar-2022 - Researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) have found a close connection between the dimensions of retinal structures and those of the brain. They report on this in the journal “Scientific ...

In neurodegenerative diseases, brain immune cells have a “ravenous appetite” for sugar

The interpretation of certain brain scans needs rethinking

15-Oct-2021 - At the beginning of neurodegenerative disease, the immune cells of the brain – the “microglia” – take up glucose, a sugar molecule, to a much greater extent than hitherto assumed. Studies by the DZNE, the LMU München and the LMU Klinikum München, published in the journal Science Translational ...

Healthy organelles, healthy cells

02-Oct-2019 - It has recently become clear just how important membraneless organelles are for cells. Now biochemists at ETH Zurich have discovered a novel mechanism that regulates the formation of these organelles. This has laid the foundation for more targeted research into diseases such as Alzheimer’s or ...

How CRISPR can help fight against neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists listed ways of applying genetic engineering to treat Parkinson's disease

12-Sep-2019 - Researchers of Sechenov University and University of Pittsburgh described the most promising strategies in applying genetic engineering for studying and treating Parkinson's disease. This method can help evaluate the role of various cellular processes in pathology progression, develop new drugs ...

Assemblies of proteins relevant not only for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

23-Aug-2019 - Amyloid fibrils play a crucial role in neurodegenerative illnesses. Scientists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and Forschungszentrum Jülich have now been able to use cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to decode the spatial structure of the fibrils that are formed from PI3K SH3 ...