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Category: neuroscience – Page 8

Electrotherapy using injectable nanoparticles offers hope for glioblastoma treatment

Electrotherapy using injectable nanoparticles delivered directly into the tumor could pave the way for new treatment options for glioblastoma, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden.

Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive form of brain tumor among adults. Even with intensive treatment, the average survival period is 15 months. The tumor has a high genetic variation with multiple mutations, which often makes it resistant to radiation therapy, chemotherapy and many targeted drugs. The prognosis for glioblastoma has not improved over the past few decades despite extensive research.

Switching risk and protective alleles improves Alzheimer’s-disease-like signatures and disruptions in mice

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive degradation of brain cells, as well as an associated decline in memory and other mental functions. Earlier research found that different forms (i.e., alleles) of a gene known as apolipoprotein E (APOE) are associated with an increased or decreased risk of developing AD.

The APOE gene can be mutated into different variants (i.e., alleles), including APOE2, APOE3 and APOE4. Past studies have linked the presence of two APOE4 alleles to a higher risk of developing AD, while two APOE2 alleles were linked to a significantly lower risk of AD.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky and other institutes genetically engineered a type of mouse that carries a genetic “switch” that can be activated with a drug and that converts the harmful APOE4 allele into the protective APOE2 allele.

Natural language found more complex than it strictly needs to be—and for good reason

Human languages are complex phenomena. Around 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, some with only a handful of remaining speakers, while others, such as Chinese, English, Spanish and Hindi, are spoken by billions. Despite their profound differences, they all share a common function: they convey information by combining individual words into phrases—groups of related words—which are then assembled into sentences. Each of these units has its own meaning, which in combination ultimately form a comprehensible whole.

“This is actually a very complex structure. Since the natural world tends toward maximizing efficiency and conserving resources, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask why the brain encodes linguistic information in such an apparently complicated way instead of digitally, like a computer,” explains Michael Hahn.

Hahn, Professor of Computational Linguistics at Saarland University, has been examining this question together with his colleague Richard Futrell from the University of California, Irvine. The paper is published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

Switch Turns Brain’s Defenses Into Protectors Against Alzheimer’s

Specific immune cells in the brain may play a crucial role in preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study – a discovery that could lead to new therapies that try to coax cells into this protective state.

Earlier studies have shown that immune cells in the brain called microglia can effectively tackle the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, but also make them worse through inflammation.

Here, an international team of scientists took a detailed look at how microglia switch between those two helpful and harmful modes.

Ethics of neurotechnology: UNESCO adopts the first global standard in

Today UNESCO’s Member States took the final step towards adopting the first global normative framework on the ethics of neurotechnology. The Recommendation, which will enter into force on November 12, establishes essential safeguards to ensure that neurotechnology contributes to improving the lives of those who need it the most, without jeopardizing human rights.

New theory proposes that consciousness is the universe’s foundation, not atoms

Maria Strømme, a materials science professor at Uppsala University, outlines a new theoretical model in AIP Advances that begins with a central claim: consciousness is fundamental field, and time, space, and matter develop from it.

Her paper treats conscious experience not as a late add-on, but as the basic “stuff” that reality is made of. In that picture, your brain, your body, and even space and time grow out of a deeper kind of “mind” that fills the whole universe.

Most neuroscientists still ask, “How does the brain produce consciousness?”

Perfusion-Weighted Imaging: The Use of a Novel Perfusion Scoring Criteria to Improve the Assessment of Brain Tumor Recurrence versus Treatment Effects

Introduction: Imaging surveillance of contrast-enhancing lesions after the treatment of malignant brain tumors with radiation is plagued by an inability to reliably distinguish between tumor recurrence and treatment effects. Magnetic resonance perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI)—among other advanced brain tumor imaging modalities—is a useful adjunctive tool for distinguishing between these two entities but can be clinically unreliable, leading to the need for tissue sampling to confirm diagnosis. This may be partially because clinical PWI interpretation is non-standardized and no grading criteria are used for assessment, leading to interpretation discrepancies. This variance in the interpretation of PWI and its subsequent effect on the predictive value has not been studied. Our objective is to propose structured perfusion scoring criteria and determine their effect on the clinical value of PWI. Methods: Patients treated at a single institution between 2012 and 2022 who had prior irradiated malignant brain tumors and subsequent progression of contrast-enhancing lesions determined by PWI were retrospectively studied from CTORE (CNS Tumor Outcomes Registry at Emory). PWI was given two separate qualitative scores (high, intermediate, or low perfusion). The first (control) was assigned by a neuroradiologist in the radiology report in the course of interpretation with no additional instruction. The second (experimental) was assigned by a neuroradiologist with additional experience in brain tumor interpretation using a novel perfusion scoring rubric. The perfusion assessments were divided into three categories, each directly corresponding to the pathology-reported classification of residual tumor content. The interpretation accuracy in predicting the true tumor percentage, our primary outcome, was assessed through Chi-squared analysis, and inter-rater reliability was assessed using Cohen’s Kappa. Results: Our 55-patient cohort had a mean age of 53.5 ± 12.2 years. The percentage agreement between the two scores was 57.4% (κ: 0.271). Upon conducting the Chi-squared analysis, we found an association with the experimental group reads (p-value: 0.014) but no association with the control group reads (p-value: 0.734) in predicting tumor recurrence versus treatment effects. Conclusions: With our study, we showed that having an objective perfusion scoring rubric aids in improved PWI interpretation. Although PWI is a powerful tool for CNS lesion diagnosis, methodological radiology evaluation greatly improves the accurate assessment and characterization of tumor recurrence versus treatment effects by all neuroradiologists. Further work should focus on standardizing and validating scoring rubrics for PWI evaluation in tumor patients to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Immunological Biomarkers in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Role of TNF-Alpha and Dependent Trends in Serum IL-6 and CXCL8

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has seen a rise in prevalence, and the immune system’s role in brain development is increasingly recognized. This study investigates the relationship between immune dysregulation and ASD by examining serum concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (CXCL8), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in children. Methods: Serum samples from 45 children with ASD and 30 controls, aged 2 to 12 years, were analyzed using electrochemiluminescence, chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay, and chemiluminescent immunoassay. ASD symptoms were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) and Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). Results: No significant correlation was observed between CXCL8 levels and ASD. IL-6 levels showed a trend toward elevation in boys with ASD.

Engineered immune cells target and destroy glioblastoma in animal models

With a five-year survival rate of less than 5%, glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive types of brain cancer. Until now, all available treatments, including immunotherapy—which involves strengthening the immune system to fight cancer—have proved disappointing. CAR-T cells are genetically modified immune cells manufactured in the laboratory and designed to identify and destroy cancer cells.

By targeting a protein present in the tumor environment, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospital (HUG) has developed CAR-T cells capable of destroying glioblastoma cells. Their efficacy in an animal model of the disease paves the way for clinical trials in humans.

The results are published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.

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