When it comes to raising teenagers, parents have an ally — laminin alpha 5, a molecule crucial to the maturing of the adolescent brain — a Yale-led study published Oct. 31 in the journal Cell Reports suggests. For a decade, the Yale team had sought answers to a fundamental question: How does the brain, marked by frantic growth of synaptic connections between cells, grow up and mature?
Scientists have uncovered two closely related cytokines — molecules involved in cell communication and movement — that may explain why some people develop progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), the most severe form of the disease. The findings, authored by researchers at Yale University, Oregon Health & Science University, and the University of California point the way toward developing a novel treatment to prevent progressive forms of the disease.
Computational modeling and neuroimaging could help differentiate people with psychosis from those who experience auditory hallucinations without the disorder.
