Scientists are heralding a major leap forward in dementia treatment after transforming skin cells into brain cells. The pioneering study raises the hope that doctors could create nerve cells to inject into the brains of Alzheimer’s patients to repair damage. The researchers, who report their breakthrough in the journal Nature, used just three genes to transform mouse skin cells into nerve cells, called neurons. The converted skin cells could also be used to treat Parkinson’s disease or heal damaged spinal cords, it is hoped.

Dr Irving Weissman, from Stanford University in California, said: ‘This study is a huge leap forward.’

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Researchers from the University of British Columbia and Harvard University have co-developed a system that captures on video and barcodes the behavioral responses of zebrafish to chemical compounds on a large scale. The approach could dramatically speed up the discovery of new psychiatric drugs. It can track the behavioral effects of up to 14,000 chemicals at a time and has already identified new chemicals that affect behaviour in fish.

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A new research study led by a team of University of North Carolina researchers shows that choline plays a critical role in helping fetal brains develops regions associated with memory. Choline is found in meats, including pork, as well as chicken eggs. Two groups of pregnant mice were fed different diets during the window of time when a fetus develops its hippocampus, that part of the brain responsible for memory.

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The new lab testing of the drug vorinostat indicated that the medication is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and reduce the occurrence of metastatic tumors in mice. The study, published in the September 29 online issue of Clinical Cancer Research, demonstrated that vorinostat reduced the development of large metastatic tumors in mice by 62% as compared a group of mice that did not receive the drug. Although vorinostat has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, it has only been used experimentally as a treatment for other cancers.

Neuralstem Inc has received approval from the US health regulators to start an early-stage human trial of its spinal cord stem cells in Lou Gehrig’s disease, a fatal neuromuscular condition. The trial, which will test the safety of the cells and the surgery procedure, will ultimately consist of 18 patients suffering from the disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the company said.

A new research showed that surgery is safer and more effective than balloon angioplasty for preventing strokes. The investigations showed worse outcomes in patients who have balloon angioplasty to clear clogged neck arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to the brain. The findings can significantly affect clinical practice, especially in the US where balloon angioplasty is now performed far more often than surgery to open blocked or narrowed carotid arteries.

A recent study reflected that the brain activity networks of those with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was more random and unstructured, which was a deviation from the optimal balance between local specialization and global integration seen in individuals without dementia. The study was conducted by applying the network mapping technique described in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience to the EEG data obtained from patients with AD and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD, a less common type of dementia with more prominent behavioral symptoms). The researchers claim that these results support the ‘disconnection syndrome’ hypothesis of AD; deterioration of cognition due to loss of functional connectivity and organization.

Scientists at University of California have discovered the first human gene linked to regulation of how much time we sleep. The discovery explains why some people can thrive on six hours of sleep a day rather than the recommended eight to eight-and-a-half hours. “Short term and chronic disruptions in the length of optimal sleep can have serious consequences on cognition, mood and physical health, including cancer and endocrine function,” said Ying-Hui Fu, the lead researcher.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS), which involves the insertion of electrodes into the brain to send small electric charges to it and alter the dieter’s perception on fullness and even attitude to food altogether, can be used to tackle the obesity problem. A three-year trial is currently underway in the US, with two volunteers having already undergone the procedure. Should the surgery be approved by the US Government at the end of the trial period, Dr. Donald Whiting, a neurosurgeon at West Virginia University Hospital that has performed two such interventions, says, other countries will also consider allowing it to be performed on patients who have tried it all and failed to lose weight.