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Public transit may not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think about the brain, but it’s a great way to understand how all the parts of the central nervous system work together. Nutrients, hormones, and other important molecules (the passengers) need to get on and off Read More…
Written by Dr. Ambika Tewari Edited by Dr. Hayley McLoughlin Lentiviral expression of an shRNA against ataxin-3 was well-tolerated and produced no measurable adverse effects in wild-type mice. Evaluating the safety profile is a necessary and crucial step in qualifying a therapy for use in patients. Gene therapy is an Read More…
Location: University of Minnesota, MN, USA Year Research Group Founded: 2008 What disease areas do you research? Ataxia (SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, Friedreich Ataxia) Multiple System Atrophy – Cerebellar Ataxia Huntington’s Disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis Alzheimer’s disease Parkinson’s disease Traumatic Brain Injury Diabetes What models and techniques do you Read More…
Principal Investigator: Dr. Sheng-Han Kuo Location: Columbia University, New York, NY, United States Year Founded: 2012 What disease areas do you research? SCA1 SCA2 SCA3 SCA6 Tremor Essential Tremor What models and techniques do you use? Mouse models Post-mortem patient tissue Optogenetics Human physiology EEG (electroencephalogram) Neuromodulation Research Focus What is your Read More…
Principal Investigator: Dr. Huda Zoghbi Location: Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA Year Founded: 1988 What disease areas do you research? SCA1 Rett Syndrome MeCP2 duplication syndrome Alzheimer’s disease Parkinson’s disease Brain development What models and techniques do you use? Mouse models Human cell biology Molecular biology Read More…
Neurons are the cells that serve as building blocks of the nervous system. The brain contains an enormous variety of neurons, and they all need to get a start somewhere. The process by which neurons are formed is called neurogenesis. When does neurogenesis happen? Nearly all neurogenesis occurs before the Read More…
Written by Dr. Hannah Shorrock Edited by Dr. Hayley McLoughlin Nitschke and colleagues identify a microRNA that regulates ataxin-1 levels and rescues motor deficits in a mouse model of SCA1 What if you could use systems already in place in the cell to regulate levels of toxic proteins in disease? Read More…
Written by Dr Hannah Shorrock Edited by Dr. Larissa Nitschke Pastor and colleagues identify FDA-approved small molecules that selectively reduce the toxic polyglutamine-expanded protein in SCA6. Selectively targeting disease-causing genes without disrupting cellular functions is essential for successful therapy development. In spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6), achieving this selectivity is Read More…
A key role of the cerebellum is to control and fine-tune coordinated movement such as walking. Although walking is an unconscious behaviour, it is actually very complex and requires many systems to work together. The specific mannerisms and patterns of coordinated movement that make up how an individual walks are Read More…
Written by Dr. Marija Cvetanovic Edited by Dr. Larissa Nitschke Expanded CAG repeats are the cause of Huntington’s disease (HD) and several spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). Longer inherited CAG expansions correlate with the earlier disease onset and worse symptoms. We know from past research that these expansions are unstable and become longer Read More…
