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Cognitive and Psychosocial Function in Retired Professional Hockey Players was published in the  Journal of Neurology , Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry . The ongoing study, which began in 2010, is led by Dr. Brian Levine, neuropsychologist and senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute and professor of Psychology and Medicine (Neurology) at the University of Toronto. It focuses on retired professional ice hockey players' cognitive and behavioural functioning in relation to their age, concussion history, and genetic risk. "There has been a lot of attention on repeated concussions  and neurodegenerative disease, particularly in post-mortem samples of ex-athletes," says Dr. Levine. "There is a need for more comprehensive assessment of mental and behavioral changes during life. This longitudinal study will allow us to track changes over time to better understand aging and brain health in retired professional athletes." Thirty-three retired professional ...

Ayala and her lab study TDP-43, a protein that binds to RNA and plays a role in gene expression. In 2006, researchers discovered that TDP-43 was the main feature of neurological disorders like ALS and frontotemporal dementia. TDP-43 is an important protein tied to cell survival, metabolism and function that has been conserved by evolution in animals from flies to humans. Without TDP-43, scientists see animals develop locomotive defects and shortened lifespans. Mice that lack this protein do not survive beyond the embryonic stage. It regulates many genes and controls the processing of messenger RNA. When TDP-43 builds up in cells, it causes damaging plaque to accumulate; this is a hallmark of ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. It also is present in other types of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Devastating Diseases ALS is a late onset disease; the average age of diagnosis is 55. A devastating illness with no cure, most people die within ...

First comprehensive map "Previous research examined transport processes in small areas of the axon, such as the very beginning or the very end. This left it unclear how the movement of molecules through the axon was regulated over long distances. In our study, we provide the first comprehensive map of transport in mammalian axons," says Casper Hoogenraad, Professor of Cell Biology at Utrecht University, explaining the relevance of this study. Stumped In most neurons, an area between the cell body and the axon called the 'axon initial segment' serves as a checkpoint: only some molecules can pass through it. This area has stumped scientists for more than a decade. Why should one type of molecule be able to pass through this area, while others cannot? The answer is to be found in the traffic regulator, a protein called MAP2. "With this discovery, we have answered a fundamental question about the unique  functioning of nerve cells that has occupied scientist...

Tangles of the mind protein tau are related to neurological ailments comparable to Alzheimer's. A brand new research exhibits that antibodies can seize tau within the blood, facilitating efforts to measure ranges of the damaging protein and paving the best way towards a noninvasive take a look at for tau. Credit score: Sara Moser Damaging tangles of the protein tau dot the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's and lots of different neurodegenerative ailments, together with persistent traumatic encephalopathy , which plagues skilled boxers and soccer gamers. Such tau-based ailments can result in reminiscence loss, confusion and, in some, aggressive habits. However there isn't any straightforward technique to decide whether or not individuals's signs are linked to tau tangles of their brains. Now, nevertheless, a crew led by scientists at Washington College College of Medication in ...

About 500 million people worldwide suffer from these diseases, which cause millions of deaths each year. Co-lead researcher, ANU Professor John Carver, said that two unrelated proteins aggregate in UHT milk over a period  of months to form clusters called amyloid fibrils, which cause the milk to transform from a liquid into a gel. He said the same type of protein clusters are found in plaque deposits in cases of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. "Parkinson's, dementia and type 2 diabetes are big problems for the ageing population in Australia and many other countries around the world," said Professor Carver from the ANU Research School of Chemistry. "Our interest in milk proteins led to a discovery of the reason for this gelling phenomenon occurring in aged UHT milk." "The research does not suggest UHT milk can cause these age-related diseases ." Professor Carver said milk proteins changed structurally when heated briefly to around 14...

A crew of College of Pennsylvania neuroscientists confirmed for the primary time stimulation delivered when reminiscence is predicted to fail can enhance reminiscence perform within the human mind. Right here, the blue dots point out total electrode placement; the yellow dot (top-right nook) signifies the electrode used to stimulate the topic's mind to extend reminiscence efficiency. Credit score: Picture courtesy of College of Pennsylvania A crew of neuroscientists on the College of Pennsylvania has proven for the primary time stimulation delivered when reminiscence is predicted to fail can enhance reminiscence perform within the human mind. That very same stimulation typically turns into disruptive when electrical pulses arrive during times of efficient reminiscence perform. The analysis crew included Michael Kahana, professor of psychology and principal investigator of the Protection Superior ...

Matthew Pase is lead creator on two research that hyperlink larger consumption of each sugary and artificially sweetened drinks to adversarial mind results. Credit score: Cydney Scott Individuals love sugar. Collectively we consumed almost 11 million metric tons of it in 2016, in keeping with the US Division of Agriculture, a lot of it within the type of sugar-sweetened drinks like sports activities drinks and soda. Now, new analysis means that extra sugar -- particularly the fructose in sugary drinks -- would possibly harm your mind. Researchers utilizing information from the Framingham Coronary heart Examine (FHS) discovered that individuals who drink sugary drinks steadily usually tend to have poorer reminiscence, smaller total mind quantity, and a considerably smaller hippocampus -- an space of the mind necessary for studying and reminiscence. However earlier than you chuck your candy tea and a...

The new research, published in  Lancet Neurology , is a first step to identifying red flags to help doctors screen for the disease and start interventions earlier. This could point researchers in a new direction for finding the root cause of the disease. "Proving that people with multiple sclerosis have already changed their behaviour in the five years before even the earliest medical recognition of the condition is very important because it means we have to look beyond those five years to understand how it is caused," said Helen Tremlett, senior author of the study and a professor in the department of medicine at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. Multiple sclerosis is thought to be an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the protective coating, known as myelin, around brain cells. Once a person is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a physician will try to pinpoint the onset of the disease, sometimes known as the patient's first demyelinating even...

"There seem to be two separate conditions and pathologies involved here," says Pashtun Shahim, a doctor and researcher of neurology and physiology. He himself has met the 28 sportspeople who were the subjects of the research, the majority of whom were elite ice hockey players from Sweden (both male and female). All of them had experienced long-term problems after suffering concussion on multiple occasions, with complaints including sensitivity to noise and light, irritability, depression, difficulty concentrating and memory problems. No Plaque Formation "You can experience a lot of problems following a concussion, but these usually resolve within a few days or weeks; this group, though, experienced the problems for more than three months," Pashtun Shahim tells us. The research indicates that there is a general change in the metabolism or processing of a protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP), from which Alzheimer-related beta-amyloids are excrete...

After a head injury, the brain can show enhanced connectivity by using alternative routes between two previously connected regions of the brain that need to communicate, as well as make stronger connections, said Frank G. Hillary, associate professor of psychology, Penn State. These new connections between damaged areas are often referred to as hyperconnections, he added. "Hyperconnectivity has been called a compensatory reaction to brain injury and it's a little counterintuitive because it implies that the brain can increase its functional response when you take away physical resources," said Hillary. "If the axon -- the physical connection -- between brain areas is removed, the brain can retain that connection functionally by using alternative routes. So what we're seeing is there are all sorts of ways in which the brain can adapt and one way is to heighten the response, but the question is what does that do for you in the short term and what are the poten...