Autoimmune antibodies can ravage the body – or not: Many individuals have measurable autoantibodies for years before the onset of clinical symptoms, and even once clinical disease is present, antibody titers do not correlate with disease severity.
Currently, standard antidepressants – the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) – target serotonin. But serotonin is far from the only transmitter that is out of balance in depression.
By targeting a so-called auxiliary protein, researchers have selectively inhibited specific neural circuits whose malfunction underlies one form of epilepsy.
"The average scientist thinks of estrogen as largely mediating gene expression," Eric Prossnitz told BioWorld Today. Estrogen is a steroid hormone, and its classical receptor is a nuclear hormone receptor that acts as a transcription factor once it is activated by estrogen binding.
After injury, zebrafish can send axons across severed spinal cords and regenerate neural connections. Now, researchers from Duke University have identified a molecule that is important for enabling them to do so.
