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The mystery of the mole does not feel the pain

Nessun commento December 19, 2011 No comments

The naked mole-rat, a native of East Africa, in addition to unique scientific name ( Heterocephalus glaber ), there is no lack of extravagant biological characteristics: living underground in conditions of semi-darkness, is hairless, has a life expectancy of more than twenty 'year, more unique than rare among rodents, and you do not hardly ever get sick of cancer .

It has recently been unveiled yet another one of his characteristic, ie insensitivity to pain caused by acid: this type of adaptation allows moles to thrive in the underground tunnels that form their colonies, despite the presence of high levels of acidity due to ' accumulation of carbon dioxide emitted to the death of the animals.

A better understanding of how the pathways of pain is a key step in the development of new ways to treat pain

Ewan Smith says St. John, the head of the new study, neuroscientist at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin.

First floor of the curious (how ugly) naked mole-rat

Smith and his colleagues had previously discovered that injecting small amounts of hydrogen in the paw of a mole-rat is not had no reaction from the animal. In contrast, mice receiving the same treatment immediately portrayed his paw and began to lick, just enough to get an idea of ​​the given type of pain, think of what a man can feel if you pour some lemon juice on a wound.

And 'well known that the acid is perceived through nociceptors, a particular class of receptors present on nociceptive neurons, namely those sensors deputies to collect external stimuli potentially harmful to the body and to transmit to the central nervous system to initiate the response of pain. These receptors are ion channels that "feel" the presence of acids through a response to high concentrations of protons (which are derived from acidic conditions) by opening up and stimulating the neuron. Smith was expected therefore that analysis of the neurons of the mole would not find the receptors for the acid, or would have found a non-functional but showed that the naked mole-rat nociceptors has the same mice, and with the same functionality.

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Categories: Biology , Neuroscience

Prozac works by controlling the levels of microRNAs

Nessun commento September 20, 2010 No comments

The time of response to antidepressants such as Prozac, is around 3 weeks.

Why? The adaptation mechanism operated by neurons in response to antidepressants has long remained enigmatic, but a new study published in Science of September 17, 2010 sheds new light on the mechanisms of action of this class of drugs in use for over 30 years around the world (even in a sometimes quite heavy).

Fluoxetine hydrochloride, trade name Prozac

The research team of Odile Kellermann and Jean-Marie Launay, has revealed (for the first time) a sequence of reactions caused by Prozac at the neuronal level, which adds to the level, often impaired in depressed individuals, serotonin, a " messenger "essential chemical for the brain.

Serotonin (abbreviated as 5-HT, 5-hydroxy-tryptamine) is a neurotransmitter essential for communication between neurons, and is involved specifically in the food and sexual behavior in sleep-wake cycle, pain, anxiety and Overall, the regulation of mood.

Depressive states are associated with a deficiency of serotonin right: since the '60s, the strategies for the synthesis of antidepressant drugs have aimed to 'increase the amount of serotonin released into the synaptic space, or space between two neurons, through which it has chemical mediation (by the neurotransmitter, then 5-HT) of the electrical impulse from dall'assone.

Despite knowing for several years that antidepressants like Prozac can increase the concentration of serotonin in the synapse by blocking the serotonin transporter (SERT), which mediates the reuptake of the neurotransmitter in the presynaptic terminal, was still far unexplained delay of 3 weeks in the beginning of their effectiveness.

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Categories: Neuroscience

Obsessive compulsive disorder: a study in 2007 revealed a possible hereditary factor

2 commenti May 17, 2010 2 comments

Define uniquely the OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Obsessive-compulsive disorder), is not an easy task, as this mental disorder presents with symptoms varied and articulated.

In general, is associated with obsessive thoughts and repetitive actions, rituals or formulas to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessions. It is a disorder that affects 2-3% of the population of which recently hereditary and are finding a biological basis.

Brain activity in patients with OCD and their close relatives

One of the studies on this subject, in 2007, comes from 'University of Cambridge, published in the journal Brain. As is well known that the most related individuals may suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, has not yet been discovered a genetic pattern linked, the idea of researchers from Cambridge to the possibility that these genes may influence the amount of gray matter in certain brain areas.

Using a test of response to auditory and visual stimuli, in which subjects had to respond with a press of a button to the right or left, the research team has tried to monitor the ability to control compulsive behaviors in a group of two people with OCD, a group of their close relatives and a group of healthy people. The three groups were also subjected to magnetic resonance imaging to obtain images of various brain areas.

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Categories: Neuroscience

Endometrial stem cells to repair the damage of Parkinson's disease

1 commento May 7, 2010 a comment

According to a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, stem cells derived from 'endometrium (the lining of the inner cavity of the uterus) and transplanted into the brains of laboratory rats with Parkinson's disease appear to restore the functionality of nerve cells damaged by disease.

Neurons developed from stem cells of the endometrial tissue

The results of the research were published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and although the data are preliminary, "however, makes likely the hypothesis that endometrial tissue can be extracted from women with Parkinson's disease and therefore can be used to regrow brain areas damaged by the disease "as claimed by the team leader, Hugo S. Taylor, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine.

Because of their ability to give rise to new cell types, stem cells may hold the key to treat many different types of diseases (such as in this case the disease), in which the body's own cells are damaged or completely dead.

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Category: Medicine and Health , Neuroscience

The dark chocolate helps prevent brain damage from ischemic stroke

1 commento May 6, 2010 a comment
A study by the Johns Hopkins reveal the positive effects of epicatechin, the study begins with observations of a population on the coast of Panama.

Chocolate strikes again. In this case it would be dark chocolate, or rather of epicatechin, a compound present in the very popular food. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have performed a series of experiments in which, by inducing an ischemic mouse brain due to lack of blood flow, they found less brain damage in mice that consumed epicatechin ninety minutes before.

Structure of epicatechin

The most interesting aspect of the effects of epicatechin is that it seems to limit the brain damage even if taken 3.5 hours after stroke, unlike other treatments that must be implemented within three hours after ischemic stroke. However, it is noteworthy that, when administered six hours after the stroke, the epicatechin did not show any positive effect.

According to Sylvain Dore, an associate professor of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, epicatechin stimulates neuronal two-way protection, which prepares the brain to react against.

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Category: Medicine and Health , Neuroscience

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