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A key enzyme in brain function shuts off randomly, study reveals

The finding could have implications on drug development beyond neuroscience.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen has found that V-ATPase, an enzyme thought to be a key component of brain function, switches off randomly, even for hours at a time. This discovery has the potential to change our understanding of how our brain functions, according to a press release.

V-ATPase is an enzyme that can break down ATP molecules, the cell’s energy currency, as they pump protons across cellular membranes.


Evgenil Kovalev/iStock.

Simply put, the enzyme is responsible for providing energy to fill up the membrane bladders between neighboring neurons with chemicals that are needed to transfer a message between them. Therefore, the enzyme is quite crucial for neuronal communication, or that’s what researchers have thought so far.

FDA just approved the world’s most expensive drug that costs $3.5 million

It could actually be cheaper than other treatment options.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a new drug Hemgenix, to be used in patients with hemophilia B, a blood clotting disorder. Since the condition is rare, it will be used only in a small group of patients worldwide.


Motortion/iStock.

Since Hemophilia patients lack enough clotting factor, so they are at risk of complications of prolonged bleeding that can also affect joints, internal organs, and the brain, an FDA document said. Treatment for such individuals constitutes intravenous infusions of clotting Factor IX to prevent bleeding episodes, which must be conducted over the patient’s lifetime.

Dynamic molecular switches with hysteretic negative differential conductance emulating synaptic behaviour

To realize electronic operations beyond the von Neumann bottleneck, a new type of switch that can mimic self-learning is needed. Here, the authors demonstrate all-in-one-place logic and memory operations based on dynamic molecular switch that can emulate brain-like synaptic and Pavlovian response, bringing the field a step closer to molecular-scale hardware.

Study sheds new light on the link between oral bacteria and diseases

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified the bacteria most commonly found in severe oral infections. Few such studies have been done before, and the team now hopes that the study can provide deeper insight into the association between oral bacteria and other diseases. The study is published in Microbiology Spectrum.

Previous studies have demonstrated clear links between and , such as cancer, , diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. However, there have been few identifying which occur in infected oral-and maxillofacial regions. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now analyzed samples collected between 2010 and 2020 at the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden from patients with severe oral infections and produced a list of the most common bacteria.

This was a collaborative study that was performed by Professor Margaret Sällberg Chen and adjunct Professor Volkan Özenci’s research groups.

Study: MRI scans show widespread brain changes in children with ADHD

Nov. 23 (UPI) — Researchers said Wednesday they found changes in almost all the regions of the brain they investigated via MRI scan data of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Children with ADHD had abnormal connectivity in the brain networks involved in memory processing and auditory processing, a thinning of the brain cortex, and significant white matter microstructural changes, especially in the frontal lobe of the brain.

The results of the new research on brain biomarkers of ADHD — based on analysis of data from MRI exams of 7,805 children — is scheduled to be presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

Mapping the effects of pregnancy on resting state brain activity, white matter microstructure, neural metabolite concentrations and grey matter architecture

Animal studies have shown that pregnancy is associated with unique changes in the mammalian brain and behaviour, although pregnancy-associated changes in the human brain are less well studied. Here the authors show that pregnancy is associated with changes in resting state brain activity and brain anatomy which are most pronounced in the default mode network.

Building NeuroTech Minimally Invasive Human Machine Interfaces | Dr. Connor Glass

Neuralink’s invasive brain implant vs phantom neuro’s minimally invasive muscle implant. Deep dive on brain computer interfaces, Phantom Neuro, and the future of repairing missing functions.

Connor glass.
Phantom is creating a human-machine interfacing system for lifelike control of technology. We are currently hiring skilled and forward-thinking electrical, mechanical, UI, AR/VR, and Ai/ML engineers. Looking to get in touch with us? Send us an email at [email protected].

Phantom Neuro.
Phantom is a neurotechnology company, spun out of the lab at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, that is enabling lifelike control of robotic orthopedic technologies, such as prosthetic limbs and exoskeletons. Phantom’s solution, the Phantom X, consists of low-risk implantable sensors, AI, and enabling software. By providing superior control of robotic orthopedic mechanisms, the Phantom X will drastically improve the lives of individuals with limb difference who have yet to see a tangible improvement in quality of life despite significant advancements in the field of robotics.

Links:
[email protected].
https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-glass-md-010124141/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/phantomneuro/

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