Researchers have found evidence that a therapeutic strategy which makes the brain work more efficiently to learn and recall memories may in fact help to target compromised brain activity in Alzheimer’s disease.

The study led by University of Galway focused on nerve cells which routinely limit or restrict activity and messages being sent by the brain, rather than the more conventional approach of therapy for nerve cells which stimulate activity.

Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disorder with clinical symptoms including diminished memory and cognitive function. It is the most prevalent cause of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases. Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are among the top 10 causes of death globally.

A research paper by scientists from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China developed a water-responsive self-curling adhesive conduit to achieve adaptive wrapping and suture-free repair for peripheral nerve injury (PNI).

The new research paper, published on Mar. 27 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, developed an innovative water-responsive self-curling adhesive conduit inspired by pinecone scale deformation, offering a transformative suture-free solution for PNI repair.

Researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine have discovered that if animal cells gain an extra set of chromosomes, a condition known as polyploidy, they activate a stress signaling pathway that causes them to become more mobile and capable of engulfing neighboring cells with normal chromosome numbers. The study, to be published April 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), could provide new ways to target polyploid cancer cells, which are thought to promote tumor aggressiveness and therapy resistance.