Neurodegeneration

Neurons are not the only cells that occupied the central nervous system (CNS). In fact, neurons are outnumbered by supportive non-excitable cells, collectively called neuroglia (a.k.a. glia). The term glia was coined by Rudolph Virchow in 1859 to indicate the “connective tissue” surrounding the neurons (glia came from Greek meaning glue). However, the combination of the activities of glial cells and neurons is crucial for brain functions (Steward 2000). There are three types of glial cells in…

Football is something that is learned at a young age. It starts out as flag and then progressively turns to contact. When we start the contact portion of it, we are taught how to tackle correctly, how to do it without hurting ourselves or the other player. But what happens when we do not tackle correctly? We can get broken bones, bruises, or concussions. What Happens when you receive a lot of concussions? You can develope a CTE over time. What exactly is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)?…

Atrophy of the brain that potentially leads to neurodegeneration in the basal ganglia can be caused by a magnitude of diseases and disorders (text book p 782).These disorders include progressive supra-nuclear palsy, Shy- Drager syndrome, and diffuse Lewy body disease to name few. Another neurodegenerative disorder that affects the central nervous system, is more commonly known, and affects approximately 800,000 adults just in the United States is Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s normally affects…

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a gradually progressive brain disorder that deteriorates the cognitive, behavior, and functioning status affecting more than 5.4 million people in America (Ehret & Chamberlin, 2015). The real cause of AD is unknown, but several studies are leaning toward genetic and environmental factors (Ehret & Chamberlin, 2015). However, these patients suffer from non-reversible conditions that gradually deteriorate until their death. An important concept will be to understand what…

evolutionary important because it allows the yeast to have a high degree of biodiversity (Mitrikeski 2013). Other studies have also used budding yeast to test for antibiotics; prions are one of this study. Prions are misfolded proteins that can cause neurodegeneration; in a study they used budding yeast to identify compounds that can fight these proteins by transforming budding yeast into PSI+ and URE3 and testing them. The use of the cassette ADE2 was used to replace DAL5 gene to screen for the…

Pollution has become one of the greatest issues facing the world today, causing irreparable damage to the environment and human quality of life. Recent studies show, pollution kills roughly nine million people a year and affects the health of more than 200 million people worldwide. Defined as the contamination of air, water, or soil by substances that are harmful to living organisms, pollution is at an all-time high. There are several types of pollution from various sources each having…

JNK is one of the three branches of MAPK superfamily of serine/threonine protein kinases. Other members of this superfamily are p38 kinases and the ERKs (Kyriakis and Avruch, 2012). In mammals, there are 3 JNK genes: Jnk1, Jnk2, and Jnk3 on 3 different chromosomes, and each mammalian JNK gene has alternative splicing forms (Derijard et al., 1994). JNK is involved in many physiological and pathological processes. The JNK pathway plays a major role in apoptosis. JNK pathway is required for…

D128N Mutation in GFAP gene As it has already been studied that mutation occur at various locations on the GFAP gene, it depends on the specific point where it occurs that could result in severe consequential neurodegeneration. The mutations on the GFAP gene has already contributed for about 96% of all the cases of Alexander’s. Various other side effects that could be seen with the onset of Alexzander’s disease are GFAP aggregation, astrocyte degradation, glial injury etc. This specific…

An Athlete’s Worst Enemy What can paralyze and kill an otherwise healthy athlete with in 2 to 5 years? Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE. It is a neurodegenerative disease which causes your brain matter to slowly break down. When your brain breaks down it can cause many symptoms that make everyday tasks difficult to complete. ALS, also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is a very deadly disease. It causes the nerves in your body to stop functioning correctly therefore…

Inquiry Statement Methamphetamine or METH is a highly addictive psychostimulant that has neurodegenerative effects on the human brain (Krasnova & Cadet 2009)(Krasnova and Cadet, 2009). METH abuse in Hawaii is one of the highest in the nation (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Oct/12/ln/ln02a.html). METH is also commonly used by HIV-infected individuals(Cadet & Krasnova 2007). Drug use in the presence of HIV-infection increases the severity of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder…