Australian researchers have devised an animal model for neurodegenerative diseases. For the first time Parkinsonism has been introduced in mice.
At present neither Alzheimer's disease (AD) nor Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can be cured. Therefore, it is important to model the human diseases in animals to determine what is causing them and to develop a cure for these debilitating diseases.
Alzheimers Disease
Alzheimer''s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting memory and thinking and making the person increasingly dependent on others.
Advertisement
Dr Lars Ittner and Professor Jürgen Götz from the University's Brain and Mind Research Institute, Sydney have made a breakthrough on developing an animal model. Their work is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, goes some way to providing an answer to these problems.
The paper describes a novel mouse strain of Pick's disease, a form of Frontotemporal dementia, which reproduces, for the first time, Parkinsonism (resting tremor, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability) in a mouse model.
![Nuns to Leave Behind Their Brains for Age-related Disorder Study]( "Nuns to Leave Behind Their Brains for Age-related Disorder Study")
Participants are 678 American members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame religious congregation who are 75 to 106 years of age.
"The mice even show a reduced footstep length that is reminiscent of Parkinson's disease," said Professor Götz. The researchers could also show that a single dose of L-Dopa (which is used to treat Parkinson's patients) caused a marked improvement in the transgenic mice.
The researchers, who are based at the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Laboratory of the Brain and Mind Research Institute of the University of Sydney, could show that it is impaired transport along the long axons of nerve cells, which causes the observed phenotype.
"Specifically, we could show that transport is not generally impaired but rather that specific types of cargoes are not transported properly from the cell body to the synapses," said Professor Götz.
Ittner and Götz are now in the process of developing strategies to overcome the transport impairment in their mice. The researchers are convinced that with their unique model of Pick's disease, FTD-associated Parkinsonism and memory impairment, they will be able to contribute to the finding of a cure of these diseases.
Source: Medindia
GPL/S
Nuns to Leave Behind Their Brains for Age-related Disorder Study
Participants are 678 American members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame religious congregation who are 75 to 106 years of age.
Advertisement
"The mice even show a reduced footstep length that is reminiscent of Parkinson's disease," said Professor Götz. The researchers could also show that a single dose of L-Dopa (which is used to treat Parkinson's patients) caused a marked improvement in the transgenic mice.
The researchers, who are based at the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Laboratory of the Brain and Mind Research Institute of the University of Sydney, could show that it is impaired transport along the long axons of nerve cells, which causes the observed phenotype.
"Specifically, we could show that transport is not generally impaired but rather that specific types of cargoes are not transported properly from the cell body to the synapses," said Professor Götz.
Ittner and Götz are now in the process of developing strategies to overcome the transport impairment in their mice. The researchers are convinced that with their unique model of Pick's disease, FTD-associated Parkinsonism and memory impairment, they will be able to contribute to the finding of a cure of these diseases.
Source: Medindia
GPL/S
Misconceptions About Alzheimer's Vary With People of Different Races
Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health have found that a lot of misconceptions exist about Alzheimer's among people of different races.
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Research News
Researchers found that treatments helping to repair nerve damage in neurons in a near-embryonic state might potentially restore sight and movement.
Tobacco smoke contains toxic chemicals which damage lungs, weaken the immune system and cause tuberculosis.
Identifying an unappreciated relationship between brain shape and activity overturns the century-old paradigm emphasizing the importance of complex brain connectivity.
Decoding the eight factors affecting Black adults' life expectancy.
Sobering truth about foot travel in the United States emerges from international statistics, highlighting the prevalence of walking on the Blacksburg campus.