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The growth factor IGF-2 can prevent the death of human nerve cells in the incurable disease ALS, according to a study by researchers at Sweden´s Karolinska Institutet and the University of Milan in Italy. The study, which is published in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrates that degeneration-resistant oculomotor neurons can be used as a tool to identify factors able to prevent the degeneration of vulnerable neurons caused by this deadly disease.

The spinal cord has its own system for sensing changes in pH, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The new findings, which are published in Current Biology, show that cells in the central canal of the spinal cord detect and regulate pH, if it deviates from normal levels. Such changes may in turn impair the function of the neural networks of the nervous system.