Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a devastating fatal disease of the nervous system that kills two to five Canadians every day. On September 19th and 20th, the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), at ۲ݮƵ University and the ۲ݮƵ University Health Centre will host the 10th Annual ALS Symposium of the Fondation André-Delambre. Nearly one hundred researchers and clinicians from several countries will come together to discuss recent progress in ALS research.
Dr. Peter McPherson, James ۲ݮƵ Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Montreal Neurological Institute, ۲ݮƵ University has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).
Dr. Alan Evans, a pioneering scientist who has helped map the human brain, has been awarded the Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize by the University of British Columbia. Dr. Evans is a researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute and the James ۲ݮƵ Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering at ۲ݮƵ University.
Scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, ۲ݮƵ University and ۲ݮƵ University Health Centre have shown that a member of the protein family known as SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) is a key to why tumour cells multiply uncontrollably, especially in the case of glioblastoma. The SUMO family proteins modify other proteins and the SUMOylation of proteins are critical for many cellular processes. Identifying SUMO’s role in the cancer cell growth will lead to a new strategy for glioblastoma treatment.
An international team of researchers has discovered a significant genetic component of Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy (IGE), the most common form of epilepsy. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by sudden, uncontrolled electrical discharges in the brain expressed as a seizure. The new research, published in this week’s issue of EMBO Reports, implicates a mutation in the gene for a protein, known as cotransporter KCC2.
Dr. Brenda Milner, an active researcher at the age of 95 at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, ۲ݮƵ University, is a recipient of The 2014 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience.
In a new study, published in this week’s issue of the journal Science, researchers show for the first time how the brain re-wires and fine-tunes its connections differently depending on the relative timing of sensory stimuli. In most neuroscience textbooks today, there is a widely held model that explains how nerve circuits might refine their connectivity based on patterned firing of brain cells, but it has not previously been directly observed in real time.
Dr. Guy Rouleau, Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, at ۲ݮƵ University and ۲ݮƵ University Health Centre, is being awarded the Prix d’excellence 2014 by the Collège des médecins du Québec, for his outstanding contributions to neurogenetics and medicine. Dr. Rouleau accepts the award today at a ceremony at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.
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What’s new at The Neuro
Research: B cell study may lead to treatment options for MS
Dr. Michael Petrides is a co-recipient of one of only 24 Program Grants awarded worldwide by the Human Frontier Science Program, an international organization that supports new research in complex biological systems. Dr. Petrides is a researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, as well as Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Psychology at ۲ݮƵ University.
People with schizophrenia often misinterpret what they see and experience in the world. New research provides insight into the brain mechanisms that might be responsible for this misinterpretation.
The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, ۲ݮƵ University and the ۲ݮƵ University Health Centre, is at the forefront of Parkinson’s research and clinical care.Parkinson’s patients are seen at The Neuro’s Movement Disorders Clinic and the Montreal General Hospital. Approximately 100,000 Canadians have Parkinson’s disease.
New Rapid-Access Clinic at The Neuro reduces wait time
The Neuro has been at the forefront of epilepsy treatment and research for over half a century. The “Montreal Procedure” developed by Dr. Wilder Penfield and colleagues revolutionized the surgical treatment for epilepsy, allowing thousands of patients to start new lives free of seizures. The use of electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the study and treatment of epilepsy was pioneered at The Neuro.
More than eighty researchers from France and Quebec met March 20 – 21, 2014 at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, ۲ݮƵ University and the ۲ݮƵ University Health Centre – for the second France-Quebec scientific workshop on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with frontotemporal dementia. The first edition was held in Paris in June 2012 at the Brain and Spine Institute (ICM). This meeting is co-organized by Professor Heather Durham (The Neuro) and Dr. Edor Kabashi (ICM).