Neurological discovery made

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 07, 2003

Neurological discovery made

A team of Shanghai scientists yesterday announced a new discovery, saying that people's memory and excessive passions may be controlled by a glue-like material that exists plentifully in the brain.

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A team of Shanghai scientists announced on December 5 a new discovery, saying that people's memory and excessive passions may be controlled by a glue-like material that exists plentifully in the brain.

The scientists published their findings in the latest issues of "Neuron" and "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" - two of the world's authoritative scientific journals - on Thursday.

"I hope our discovery will eventually lead to some effective therapies for people battling with strokes or loss of memory," Duan Shumin, a researcher of Institute of Neuroscience - an arm of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

Over the past four years, Duan and his eight fellow researchers conducted numerous experiments on mice brains. Finally, they concluded that the glue-like material in the brain, called glia, can release chemical transmitters to counteract over-indulgent excitement and helps with the memory process.

Duan's discovery in mice could be replicated in human beings because of the biological similarities between mice and humans, researchers said.

"If people get excited too much, they can suffer diseases such as epilepsy and stroke," said Duan.

Glia, which comprises some 90 percent of the human brain, is the delicate network of branched cells and fibers that supports the tissue of the central nervous system.

The other 10 percent of the brain mainly consists of neurons.

Since most scientists believe it is the neurons that control the brain's various key functions, such as the formation of memory and feelings, the study of glia has been neglected.

Reacting to Duan's research, Philip Haydon, a neuroscientist from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, commented: "This and other recent studies have turned on a new beam."

He also said Duan's work, as well as those by other laboratories, have proved that astrocytes (the cells of glia) are more than just "glue" and they play a vital role in nervous system development and functioning.

For scientists, the mystery behind the human brain is the "last fortress in biotechnology" because of its immense complexity and significance.

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