Currently, there are no drugs available to treat TBI: a variety of single drugs have failed clinical trials, suggesting a possible role for drug combinations. Testing this hypothesis in an animal model, researchers tested five drugs in various combinations. Their observations suggest a potentially valuable role for minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine to treat TBI.
8 Vote(s)
September 18, 2010
Drug combination may treat traumatic brain injury
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June 30, 2010
Can you make a snail forget?
Scientists have identified which environmental stress conditions encourage pond snails to remember and which make them forget. Following training, predator scent super-sensitised the snails whilst overcrowding and reduced calcium blocked memory formation. Understanding when stress blocks or enhances memory in a simple animal model may help elucidate mechanisms in more complex animals, like humans
17 Vote(s)
17 Vote(s)
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June 16, 2010
Sleep Markers Support New Animal Model of Depression
By Hannah Dunbar(Hannah Dunbar is an Oral Roberts University student providing a guest post reviewing a study of a mouse model of depression.) Sleep disturbances are one of the most common clinical features in major depression. Patients commonly report problems with insomnia and daytime fatigue and sleepiness. These sleep symptoms have been the source of study in sleep laboratories. Several
10 Vote(s)
10 Vote(s)
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June 4, 2010
Reducing Alzheimer’s-related protein in young brains improves learning in Down syndrome animal model
Reducing a protein called beta-amyloid in young mice with a condition resembling Down syndrome improves their ability to learn, researchers have found.
10 Vote(s)
10 Vote(s)
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May 20, 2010
New role for zebrafish in human studies
A researcher has discovered that zebrafish -- an important animal model in disease and environmental studies -- could provide the means to help scientists eventually reveal the function of a mysterious enzyme linked to the steroid cortisol, and found in the human brain.
10 Vote(s)
10 Vote(s)
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December 18, 2009
Chemo’s toxicity to brain revealed, possible treatment identified
Researchers have developed a novel animal model showing that four commonly used chemotherapy drugs disrupt the birth of new brain cells, and that the condition could be partially reversed with the growth factor IGF-1.
16 Vote(s)
16 Vote(s)
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December 3, 2009
New Role For Fruit Flies In The Search For Addiction Treatments
Fruit flies may seem like unlikely heroes in the battle against drug abuse, but new research suggests that these insects - already used to study dozens of human disease - could claim that role. Scientists are reporting that fruit flies can be used as a simpler and more convenient animal model for studying the effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse on the brain...
9 Vote(s)
9 Vote(s)
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August 12, 2009
Oxygen Treatment Hastens Memory Loss In Alzheimer’s Mice
Researchers suspect the culprit precipitating Alzheimer's disease in some elderly patients may be high concentrations of oxygen administered during or after major surgery -- a hypothesis borne out in a recent animal model study.
14 Vote(s)
14 Vote(s)
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June 16, 2009
An Animal Model For Schizophrenia Identifies A Novel Approach For Treating Cognitive Impairments Associated With Schizophrenia
Researchers have been seeking a safe and effective way to treat cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia by enhancing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors. Functional deficits in NMDA receptors may contribute to the underlying neurobiology of this disorder. The first generation of studies trying to stimulate NMDA receptors administered large amounts of substances, like glyc
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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May 19, 2009
Biological Link Established Between Tumors And Depression
In a study that could help explain the connections between depression and cancer, researchers have used an animal model to find, for the first time, a biological link between tumors and negative mood changes. The team determined that substances associated with depression are produced in increased quantities by tumors and are transmitted to the brain. Additionally, pathways that normally moderate
7 Vote(s)
7 Vote(s)
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