Gene that increase in activity after simulated death of brain tissue

In the article by Erin Blakemore it talks about how there is brain tissue that after death is still alive.  The article goes into detail about how the glial cells of the brain increase their genetic activity and increase their size while also growing long arms.  These activities peaked at 12 hours after the simulated death of a brain where as other brain activities would have stopped all together.  This did not surprise the researchers at all but what did is the amount of growth that they observed in the glial cells after.  Brain research is widely used but what is not used is research of a post-mortem brain.  I think this is cool but what if we study this a figure out that it could turn into a zombie apocalypses.

Image of Glial Cell

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A Cure for Parkinson's?


The article "A Cure for Parkinson's? Replacing Damaged Brain Cells Shows Promise" discusses how researchers found that by converting glial cells into dopamine producing cells, decreased the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. In the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease the dopamine producing cells become destroyed or damaged which leads to the motor control symptoms like tremors and balance issues. Researchers have been trying to find a way to replace or repair these dopamine cells. So, Professor Arenas and his colleagues from the Karolinska Instituet in Sweden, focused on transforming cells into dopamine producing cells. They converted glial cells, astrocytes, into dopamine producing cells. Then placed these cells into mice with Parkinson's and the mice showed less symptoms of the disease. This research allows them to possibly find a cure for a disease that many people have been waiting for,

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316896.php

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/basics/definition/con-20028488

A Cure for Parkinson's Disease

A study  focusing on cell programming was recently published. One of the researchers' goals were to find a cure for Parkinson by developing a way of transforming non-neuronal brain cells into dopamine-producing brain cells. People suffering from Parkinson's disease has damaged dopamine-producing cells, thus affecting the transmission of signals accounting for movement and coordination leading to impaired balance. Cell transplantation serves as one of the proposed strategies in curing Parkinson's disease, however, researchers faced difficulties in obtaining fetal tissues. Another researcher focused on cell programming which converts glial cells into dopamine cells. The researchers identified but did not specify the four genes that converted glial cells into cells that resembles the dopamine-producing cells. 

This study brings hope to people suffering from Parkinson's disease. Cell programming - combining the four genes identified by the researchers with transcription factors opens doors to the development of cure to Parkinson's disease; however, one downfall is the difficulty in controlling the transmission of dopamine due to its location in the brain. 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316896.php

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-cell-therapy-offers-hope-for-parkinsons-patients/

A positive outlook for Parkinson's Disease

Researchers have been working on ways cure Parkinson's for years. Recently, a study was published that researchers have transformed non-neuronal brain cells into brain cells that can create and produce dopamine.  Dopamine is important for movement and coordination of the body, and in Parkinson's, dopamine cells become damage and even destroyed. The process f converting the cells is called cell reprograming,  changing glial cells into the dopamine cells.  Within the cell reprogramming, the researchers combined genes, four to be exact, that help create the dopamine cells with the transcription factors. The results have have been remarkably great, and show great hope for the future. As a person that knows someone with Parkinson's disease, I think this article does give great hope to reader that know about Parkinson's. Their testing seemed realistic and had great outcomes, so I hope more research is done and a cure can be found sooner than later!

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More info on Parkinson's Disease