(Oregon State University) New research has found that elderly people with higher levels of several vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in their blood had better performance on mental acuity tests and less of the brain shrinkage typical of Alzheimer’s disease — while “junk food” diets produced just the opposite result.

(Oregon State University) New research has found that elderly people with higher levels of several vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in their blood had better performance on mental acuity tests and less of the brain shrinkage typical of Alzheimer’s disease — while “junk food” diets produced just the opposite result.

(Brown University) Scientists have determined the structure of an enzyme complex that regulates vital cell functions. Disregulation of such complexes is associated with diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. The new work provides drug developers with a specific and unique new target to consider in their efforts to find new treatments.

(Pew Health Group) Twenty-two of America’s most promising scientists have been named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The 2011 Pew Scholars will join a select community that includes MacArthur Fellows, recipients of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award and three Nobel Prize winners. Research by the new class of Scholars is related to many human diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to diabetes to ocular degeneration.

(Pew Health Group) Twenty-two of America’s most promising scientists have been named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The 2011 Pew Scholars will join a select community that includes MacArthur Fellows, recipients of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award and three Nobel Prize winners. Research by the new class of Scholars is related to many human diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to diabetes to ocular degeneration.

EU-funded researchers have developed an innovative new technique that can for the first time map both the connections and functions of nerve cells in the brain, moving scientists one step closer to the development of a computer model of the brain.

The study, published in Nature, was carried out by a group of neuroscientists from University College London (UCL) and was funded in part by a European Research Council starting grant under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

There are estimated to be 100 billion nerve cells (‘neurons’) in the brain, each connected to thousands of other nerve cells – resulting in an approximate total of 150 trillion connections (or ‘synapses’).

In the same vein as genomics, which maps out our genetic make-up, this new type of research is being labelled ‘connectomics’ as it aims to map out the brain’s synapses. Once scientists have an understanding of these connections, they can see how information flows through the brain’s circuits and begin to understand how our perceptions, sensations and thoughts are generated.

This knowledge would help further our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and strokes.

‘How do we figure out how the brain’s neural circuitry works?’ asks Dr Tom Mrsic-Flogel, one of the researchers from UCL. ‘We first need to understand the function of each neuron and find out to which other brain cells it connects. If we can find a way of mapping the connections between nerve cells of certain functions, we will then be in a position to begin developing a computer model to explain how the complex dynamics of neural networks generate thoughts, sensations and movements.’

The team used a technique developed in mice that enables them to combine information about the function of neurons together with details of their synaptic connections. By using high resolution imaging to look into the visual cortex of the mouse brain, which contains thousands of neurons and millions of different connections, the team managed to detect which of these neurons responded to a particular stimulus, for example a horizontal edge.

The researchers then investigated another subset of neurons to see which neurons responded to the same stimuli, which allowed them to chart whether these neurons were synaptically connected to the first group of neurons.

They found that neurons which responded very similarly to the same visual stimuli, such as edges of the same orientation (i.e. a horizontal edge or a vertical edge) or more complex visual features like faces, tended to connect more to each other than those which responded to different stimuli.

The findings from this study therefore move forward our knowledge of whether local connections between neurons occur sporadically at random and irrespective of function, or whether neurons connect to other neurons after responding to particular stimuli.

‘We are beginning to untangle the complexity of the brain,’ says Dr Mrsic-Flogel. ‘Once we understand the function and connectivity of nerve cells spanning different layers of the brain, we can begin to develop a computer simulation of how this remarkable organ works. But it will take many years of concerted efforts amongst scientists and massive computer processing power before it can be realised.’

Understanding the complex inner workings of the brain has been brought closer thanks to this study and gives neuroscientists a new tool with which they can further explore this most mysterious of human organs. These findings also have positive implications for revealing the functional circuit wiring of regions that underpin touch, hearing and movement.

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University College London

The first pigs containing genes responsible for Alzheimer’s disease will be born in Denmark in August. This event is a landmark achivement in the effort towards finding a cure for the disease.

Pigs with Alzheimer’s

Scientists from the universities of Copenhagen and Århus, Denmark are once again at the cutting edge of biotechnology. This time with cloned pigs that have been genetically modified so that they may function as animal models for the notorious Alzheimer’s disease. In the US alone, 5 million people suffer from this human brain disorder and globally the number is set at approx. 24 million (source: Alzheimer’s Disease International: http://www.alz.co.uk/ )

Models for human diseases

- In the light of the intense focus on medical research at the University of Copenhagen and the continuous expansion of the pharmaceutical industry in Denmark, the ability to produce transgenic pig models for human diseases is a major prerequisite for future progress in this area, says Professor Ingrid Brück Bøgh from the Department of Large Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

- The upcoming birth of these transgenic pig models constitutes a fantastic success for us. It is also a demonstration of the excellent cross-disciplinary collaboration between the experts at both universities, she continues.

- We now have evidence that our system is very well suited for the task of making disease models for human medicine, says Professor Gábor Vajta from the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus.

The research

Associate Professor Arne Lund Jorgensen, Institute of Human Genetics, Aarhus University and his group have made the gene construct with the putative Alzheimer gene and inserted into the somatic cells. These somatic cells were used for the nuclear transfer experiments performed at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University.

Contact:

Professor Ingrid Brück Bøgh, Department of Large Animal Sciences, telephone +45 3533 2981, e-mail: ibb@life.ku.dk

Professor Gábor Vajta, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, telephone: +45 8999 1262, e-mail: Gabor.Vajta@agrsci.dk