Proteins Archives

Brain-based immune proteins may regulate sleep

February 5, 2017 SrijitaBrain-based, immune, May, Proteins, regulate, Sleep

Sleep may be regulated in parts by several brain-based immune proteins, says a study that could pave the way for new therapies to treat chronic sleepdisorders and sleep disturbances secondary to other diseases. The immune proteins — collectively called inflammasome NLRP3 — recruit a sleep-inducing molecule to trigger somnolence following sleep deprivation and exposure to a bacterial toxin, showed results of the study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Animals lacking genes for this protective immune complex showed profound sleep aberrations. “Our research points, for the first time,…

Alzheimer’s Proteins Behind Vision Loss in Elderly: Study

November 27, 2016 SrijitaAlzheimer's, behind, elderly, In, Loss, Proteins, Study, vision

Researchers have found a group of proteins — known to be the likely cause ofAlzheimer’s disease — that get accumulated in the ageing retina causing damage to it and are also the key reason behind a vision loss condition among individuals aged 50 and older. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) — a leading cause of vision loss among people aged 50 and older — is a progressive disease that causes the death of the retinal photo receptors, the light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye. The most severe damage occurs…

Proteins Can Warn of Diabetes Risk in Children

November 11, 2016 SrijitaCan, Children, Diabetes, In, of, Proteins, Risk, Warn

Certain proteins in the blood of children have the potential to predict the development of Type 1 diabetes even before the first symptoms appear, a study has found. The researchers studied children who have a first-degree relative with Type 1 diabetes and who consequently have an increased risk of developing the disease due to the familial predisposition. Scientists, from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen in Germany, analysed blood samples from 30 children with auto-antibodies who had developed Type 1 diabetes either very rapidly or with a very long delay. They then compared…