Saturday, June 27, 2009

Development of a brief ataxia rating scale (BARS) based on a modified form of the ICARS

Movement Disorders

Jeremy D. Schmahmann, MD *, Raquel Gardner, MD, Jason MacMore, BA, Mark G. Vangel, PhD
Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
email: Jeremy D. Schmahmann (jschmahmann@partners.org)

*Correspondence to Jeremy D. Schmahmann, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Suite 340, Charles River Plaza South, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114

Keywords
ataxia • dysmetria • rating scale • assessment • cerebellum

Friday, June 26, 2009

PGC-1[alpha] AND PGC-1[beta] regulate mitochondrial density in neurons.

J Biol Chem. 2009 Jun 19.

Przemyslaw W, Vaarmann A, Choubey V, Safiulina D, Liiv J, Kuum M, Kaasik A.
Department of Pharmacology, University of Tartu, Estonia.

Link to full text: http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/M109.018911v1?view=long&pmid=19542216

Keywords: PGC-1[alpha], PGC-1[beta, peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1a, mitochondrial biogenesis , cellular energy metabolism , muscle, liver, neurons, activates transcriptional activity of PGC-1[alpha] in neurons, compensate neuronal mitochondrial loss , treating neurodegenerative diseases , mitochondrial dysfunction , oxidative damage.

Antidepressant directly stimulates brain growth factor receptors

PHYSORG.COM, June 25th, 2009

The widely used antidepressant and pain medication amitriptyline--but not other closely related drugs -- can impersonate the brain's own growth factors, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown.

Other sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625133059.htm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/eu-ads062209.php

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Creating zinc monkey wrenches in the treatment of epigenetic disorders.

Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2009 Jun 19

Kalin JH, Butler KV, Kozikowski AP.University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, 833 South Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA

Keywords: suberoylanilide hydroxamic, histone deacetylase inhibitors, HDACIs, neurodegenerative disorders, cancers, bipolar disorder , depression, Friedreich's ataxia, Huntington's


Comment: Revision of the HDACIs, an emerging new generation of drugs for diseases difficult to cure, in which we have great hope.

Monday, June 22, 2009

PGC-1beta: A Co-activator That Sets the Tone for Both Basal and Stress-Stimulated Mitochondrial Activity.

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2009;646:133-9.

Lelliott CJ, Vidal-Puig A.Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QR, UK, christopher.lelliott@astrazeneca.com.

Keywords: PGC, transcriptional coactivators , PGC-1beta, mouse PGC1betaKO, brown adipose tissue (BAT), translates into mitochondrial dysfunction , handle physiological stresses.

Neuronal metabolism: A question of balance

Katherine Whalley

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 472 - 473 (2009) | doi:10.1038/nrn2669.

Mitochondrial membrane permeabilization in neuronal injury

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 481-494 (July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrn2665

Lorenzo Galluzzi1,2, Klas Blomgren3,4 & Guido Kroemer1,2

  1. INSERM, U848, Institut Gustave Roussy, PR1, 39 rue Camille Desmoulins, F-94805 Villejuif, France.
  2. Université Paris-Sud XI, F-94805 Villejuif, France.
  3. Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden.
  4. Department of Pediatric Oncology, The Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, SE-416 85 Gothenburg, Sweden.

Correspondence to: Guido Kroemer1,2 Email: kroemer@orange.fr

Autosomal Recessive Ataxia Caused by Three Distinct Gene Defects in a Single Consanguineous Family

Authors: Yosr Bouhlal a; Mourad Zouari a; Mounir Kefi a; Christiane Ben Hamida a; Fayccedilal Hentati a; Rim Amouri a
Affiliation: a Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Moleacuteculaire et de Neuropathologie, Institut National de Neurologie, Tunisia
DOI: 10.1080/01677060802025233


Published in: journal Journal of Neurogenetics, Volume 22, Issue 2 June 2008 , pages 139 - 148

Structure and Dynamics of the Iron−Sulfur Cluster Assembly Scaffold Protein IscU and Its Interaction with the Cochaperone HscB

Jin Hae Kim§, Anna K. Fzry, Marco Tonelli, Dennis T. Ta@, William M. Westler, Larry E. Vickery@ and John L. Markley*§

§Biophysics Graduate ProgramDepartment of Biochemistry,National Magnetic Resonance Facility at MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706@Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, California 92697

Biochemistry, Article ASAP
DOI: 10.1021/bi9002277
Publication Date (Web): June 3, 2009
Copyright © 2009 American Chemical Society
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Phone: (608) 263-9349. Fax: (608) 262-3759. E-mail: markley@nmrfam.wisc.edu.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

CeNeRx BioPharma Obtains Rights To Novel Drug Candidate For Prevention And Treatment Of Neurodegeneration Disorders

CeNeRx BioPharma Obtains Rights To Novel Drug Candidate For Prevention And Treatment Of Neurodegeneration Disorders

Medical News Today, Article Date: 17 Jun 2009 - 3:00 PDT

Full Text: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154197.php

Keywords: central nervous system , neuropathies, neurodegenerative disorders, CXB909, nerve growth factor (NGF), Phase l trial , blood brain barrier.

Press realease of CeNeRx Biopharma: http://cenerx.com/News/releases/16a-JUN-09.pdf