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Home / 2018 / August / 27 / UBC study raises the standard for measuring nerve cell death
Research

UBC study raises the standard for measuring nerve cell death

August 27, 2018

Postdoctoral fellow Aaron Johnstone.

Postdoctoral fellow Aaron Johnstone.

Research improves screening of experimental therapies for neurodegenerative disease

Researchers at UBC’s Okanagan campus have developed a new and improved method to judge the effectiveness of experimental therapies for neurodegeneration—the progressive loss of neurons.

“Neurons—or nerve cells—are hugely important to our daily lives,” says postdoctoral fellow Aaron Johnstone and study lead author. “These specialized cells collect and process the large amounts of information that enter our bodies via our senses, control our muscles and organs, and form our thoughts and memories. When these cells become unhealthy, it leads to diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, ALS, glaucoma and chronic pain.”

Healthy neurons visualized using fluorescent microscopy.

Healthy neurons visualized using fluorescent microscopy.

Johnstone says his study uses the first automated test specifically designed for measuring degeneration of sensory neurons grown in a lab.

“The variability in nerve cell lengths, densities and shapes have traditionally made it difficult to reliably analyze their health,” says Johnstone. “This, in turn, has generated confusion about the effectiveness of potential pharmacological or genetic treatments.”

Using the new approach, which is software-assisted, the research team were able to measure nerve cell densities more accurately.

To do this the team grew nerve cells in a lab environment, and after establishing healthy neurons researchers mimicked the conditions that cause neurodegeneration. Neuron loss was then captured using fluorescent microcopy—a process that makes the tiny cells easier to see—and analyzed using a computer algorithm.

Johnstone suggests that objective measurement is essential to the process of developing new medicines.

“This procedure makes evaluating new treatment options, like drugs or gene therapies, far more accurate and trustworthy,” Johnstone adds.

The study is a collaboration between UBC Okanagan Vice Principal of Research Phil Barker’s lab and Robin Hallett, research fellow at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital.

The study, published in PLoS One was supported by funds from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Health Research Fund of Quebec.

About neurodegenerative disease

Neurodegenerative disease is an umbrella term for a range of conditions, which primarily affect the neurons of the brain, the sensory system, muscles and organs. Neurons are the building blocks of the nervous system. Neurodegenerative diseases are incurable and debilitating—dementia being the most common. More specific conditions include Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Media Contact

Christine Zeindler
Communications Specialist
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250 807 8470
E-mail: christine.zeindler@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Irving K Barber School of Arts and Sciences (prior July 2020), Research and Innovation (Office of the Vice-Principal)

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About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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