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Alzheimer's disease is the most common and best known of the tauopathies, a set of neurodegenerative brain diseases caused by toxic tangles of the protein tau. A study has shown that targeting astrocytes—an inflammatory cell in the brain—reduces tau-related brain damage and inflammation in mice. The findings highlight the pivotal role of astrocytes in driving brain damage in tauopathies, and open up new avenues toward better therapies for the group of devastating and difficult to treat conditions. "Brain inflammation is emerging as a contributor to the development of Alzheimer's disease, and that inflammation is driven by non-neuronal cells in the...

http://cbs11tv.com Step Towards Type 1 Diabetes Cure Jun 3, 2003 10:41 am US/Central There is good news for the estimated one million American sufferers of type 1 diabetes. Researchers have announced an important step toward a cure of the disease. The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains that type 1 diabetes is a disease where a person lacks the insulin-producing cells, or islets cells, in the pancreas that regulate sugar. People who suffer with the type 1 diabetes must inject insulin on a daily basis for their whole lives. Now, researchers are testing a new treatment for...