national institute of neurological disorders

(NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Brain tumors called gliomas are often associated with seizures, but why the seizures occur and how to effectively treat them have been elusive.

An NIH-funded team has found that human gliomas implanted in mice release excess levels of the brain chemical glutamate, overstimulating neurons near the tumor and triggering seizures.

Sulfasalazine, a drug on the market for treating certain inflammatory disorders, reduced seizures in the mice.

(NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) By isolating cells from patients' spinal tissue within a few days after death, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new model of the paralyzing disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

They found that during the disease, cells called astrocytes become toxic to nerve cells - a result previously found in animal models but not in humans.

The new model could be used to investigate many more questions about ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

(NIH/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Three grants totaling more than $4.5 million, from agencies of the National Institutes of Health, will be used to explore novel treatment strategies for muscular dystrophy.

The grants were awarded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for year one of five-year cooperative agreements.

(NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Mutations in a single gene can cause several types of developmental brain abnormalities that experts have traditionally considered different disorders.

With support from the National Institutes of Health, researchers found those mutations through whole exome sequencing -- a new gene scanning technology that cuts the cost and time of searching for rare mutations.

(NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Scientists have developed a brain implant that essentially melts into place, snugly fitting to the brain's surface.

The technology could pave the way for better devices to monitor and control seizures, and to transmit signals from the brain past damaged parts of the spinal cord.

(NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Investigators studying the toxic protein at the root of Huntington's disease have found that small biochemical changes to the protein have a large effect on its toxicity.

These changes could be exploited or mimicked to develop a drug treatment for Huntington's. The findings appear in two new studies supported by the National Institutes of Health.

(NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that the activity of a protein in brain cells helps stimulate the spread of an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

In a move toward therapy, the researchers showed that a small designer protein can block this activity and reduce the spreading of GBM cells grown in the laboratory.

Headaches affect millions of Americans. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 45 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches.

Tension-type headaches (or tension headaches)—characterized by pain or discomfort from tense or constricted muscles in the head, neck, or scalp—are one of the most common forms of headaches.

In most patients, tension headaches occur infrequently and can be treated with over-the-counter pain medicine.