Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Excitotoxicity and cell damage
Excitotoxicity is the pathological process by which neurons are damaged and killed by the overactivations of receptors for the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, such as the NMDA receptor and AMPA receptor. Excitotoxins like NMDA and kainic acid which bind to these receptors, as well as pathologically high levels of glutamate, can cause excitotoxicity by allowing high levels of calcium ions to enter the cell. Ca++ influx into cells activates a number of enzymes, including phospholipases, endonucleases, and proteases such as calpain. These enzymes go on to damage cell structures such as components of the cytoskeleton, membrane, and DNA.
Excitotoxicity may be involved in stroke, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Other common conditions that cause excessive glutamate concentrations around neurons are hypoglycemia and status epilepticus.
Related Stories
1
2
Health & Medicine News
June 2, 2026
June 2, 2026 A newly identified protein may be one of the biggest obstacles holding CAR T-cell therapy back. Researchers found that NFIL3 causes these engineered immune cells to become exhausted and lose their cancer-fighting power over time. When NFIL3 was ...
June 2, 2026 A major study suggests that some of the groundwork for brain development may be shaped before birth through a surprising partnership between a baby’s genes and gut microbes. Researchers found that ...
June 2, 2026 A surprising new study suggests that when it comes to pancreatic cancer, the kind of fat you eat may matter more than how much. Researchers found that oleic acid—the main fat in olive oil and several other common foods—sped up tumor growth in ...
June 1, 2026 A Salk Institute study found that a simple dietary amino acid, methionine, dramatically improved survival in mice facing severe infections and inflammatory conditions. Rather than directly targeting the immune system, methionine boosted kidney ...
June 1, 2026 A promising new study suggests rheumatoid arthritis may not be as inevitable as once thought for people at high risk. Researchers found that just one year of treatment with the immune-targeting drug abatacept delayed the onset of rheumatoid ...
June 1, 2026 A long-overlooked organ may hold surprising clues to healthy aging and cancer survival. Researchers at Mass General Brigham used AI to analyze CT scans from tens of thousands of adults and found that people with healthier thymuses—a small ...
May 31, 2026 Scientists at Scripps Research have uncovered a molecular “switch” that appears to fuel the damaging brain inflammation seen in Alzheimer’s disease. They found that a protein called STING becomes chemically altered in a way that keeps the ...
May 31, 2026 Melanoma may not become steadily more dangerous with age as scientists once assumed. In a surprising discovery, researchers found that cancer spread was lowest in young mice, surged in middle-aged mice, and then dropped again in very old mice. The ...
May 31, 2026 Losing weight may involve rewiring the gut and the brain at the same time. In a study of obese adults, an intermittent fasting-style diet led to significant weight loss, healthier metabolic markers, and notable shifts in gut bacteria. Brain scans ...
May 31, 2026 A new study suggests fish oil may help reduce insulin resistance even in people who aren't obese. In diabetic rats, omega-3 supplementation improved blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and inflammation by shifting immune cells into a more ...
May 30, 2026 A new study suggests melatonin supplements may help night shift workers boost their body's DNA repair processes, potentially offsetting some of the damage linked to working overnight. The findings ...
May 30, 2026 A specially formulated tomato-soy juice packed with natural plant compounds may help calm inflammation linked to obesity, according to a new clinical study. Healthy adults with obesity who drank the juice daily for four weeks saw significant ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
May 29, 2026 Scientists at Stanford may have uncovered a hidden reason our brains decline with age. Studying the ultra-short-lived turquoise killifish, researchers discovered that the cellular machinery ...
May 29, 2026 Using cannabis edibles and alcohol together may make drivers far more impaired than either substance alone, according to new research from Johns Hopkins. Even more concerning, common field sobriety ...
May 29, 2026 A sweeping global study found that chronic kidney disease now affects nearly 800 million people and has become one of the world's leading causes of death. Often silent in its early stages, the ...
May 28, 2026 Feeling constantly drained might not just be about poor sleep or working too hard. Researchers in Japan found that low levels of key vitamins — especially vitamin B12 and folate — may quietly ...
May 28, 2026 Cambridge researchers created miniature brain-and-spinal-cord systems in the lab that can send signals and even trigger tiny muscle contractions. They discovered that human neurons gradually lose ...
May 28, 2026 CBD may be doing far more than just easing pain or anxiety — new research suggests it could help fight Alzheimer’s disease by calming the brain’s runaway immune response. In experiments using ...
May 28, 2026 Researchers are developing a futuristic alternative to LASIK that reshapes the eye without lasers or incisions. Using mild electrical pulses and platinum contact lenses, they temporarily soften the ...
May 28, 2026 A newly identified protein called GPNMB may play a major role in helping Parkinson’s disease spread through the brain. Researchers discovered that ...
May 28, 2026 A new brain imaging study has found no evidence of widespread brain inflammation in patients suffering from prolonged symptoms after COVID-19 ...
May 28, 2026 A surprising new approach to depression treatment is showing early promise — not by targeting brain chemicals, but by calming the immune system. In a small clinical trial, researchers found that an ...