Monthly Archives: April 2017

Pediatric Brain Tumor Mutations are Detectable in Cerebrospinal Fluid

Diffuse midline glioma

Diffuse midline gliomas are the most common solid tumors in children, and they are difficult to detect and treat. Molecular tools are needed to aid diagnosis and treatment. Here, Dr Saratsis discusses her research, published in Acta Neuropathologica Communications, examining if tumor-associated DNA could be isolated in CSF from children with brain tumors and sequenced for the presence of histone H3 mutations.

Biology Health Medicine

Sleep deficits in autism spectrum disorders and the role of neuroligin gene mutation

Tired student sleeping in classroom640

Despite sleep impairments occurring in all subtypes in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), their causes still remain unclear. In a study published today in Molecular Brain researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) to examine whether a gene mutation coding for neuroligin affected sleep pattern and quality in mice. Here an author of the study, Jackie J. Liu tells us more.

Biology