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Therapeutic hypothermia after resuscitation from cardiac arrest improves survival and functional status

Mayo Clinic researchers confirmed that patients who receive therapeutic hypothermia after resuscitation from cardiac arrest have favorable chances of surviving the event and recovering good functional status.

19 Feb 2011

Scientists discover axons can send signals to cell body

Neurons are complicated, but the basic functional concept is that synapses transmit electrical signals to the dendrites and cell body, and axons carry signals away.

18 Feb 2011

Researchers identify normal movement mechanisms of PrPC in brain

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the motors that move non-infectious prion proteins (PrPC) - found within many mammalian cells - up and down long, neuronal transport pathways.

18 Feb 2011

Statin drug may help prevent blindness in diabetics

New University of Georgia research has found that a statin drug that is often known by the brand-name Lipitor may help prevent blindness in people with diabetes.

17 Feb 2011

Brain enzyme blocks accumulation of tau proteins, slows down progression of neural degeneration

Increasing puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase, the most abundant brain peptidase in mammals, slowed the damaging accumulation of tau proteins that are toxic to nerve cells and eventually lead to the neurofibrillary tangles, a major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, according to a study published online in the journal, Human Molecular Genetics.

17 Feb 2011

First evidence of neurotrophic factors improving status of degenerating dopamine neurons in Parkinson's brains

Ceregene, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, reported today that its scientists and collaborators have published new experimental findings in support of its Parkinson's disease program which appeared as the lead article in the current issue of Movement Disorders. The publication reports the first evidence that gene transfer can provide targeted expression of a neurotrophic factor, i.e., neurturin or NRTN, intended to restore and preserve dying neurons.

17 Feb 2011

CX3CL1 signaling chemical can offer better understanding of Parkinson's disease

Targeting the neuroinflammatory causes of Parkinson's disease with a naturally present brain chemical signal could offer a better understanding of the clinical mechanisms of the disease and open a future therapeutic window, reports a team of researchers from the University of South Florida Department Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and the James A. Haley Veterans' Administration Hospital, Tampa.

14 Feb 2011

Scientists produce SR-3306 compound to protect brain cells from Parkinson's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have produced the first known compound to show significant effectiveness in protecting brain cells directly affected by Parkinson's disease, a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

13 Feb 2011

Researchers find 2 neural pathways that play role in developing phobias

Why do some people fret over the most trivial matters while others remain calm in the face of calamity? Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified two different chinks in our brain circuitry that explain why some of us are more prone to anxiety.

11 Feb 2011

DOPAL plays key role in killing dopamine neurons which trigger Parkinson's disease: Study

In new research from Saint Louis University, investigators have found evidence that a toxin produced by the brain is responsible for the series of cellular events that lead to Parkinson's disease. The study, published in PLoS One, found that the brain toxin DOPAL plays a key role in killing the dopamine neurons which trigger the illness.

10 Feb 2011

Study unveils surprising mechanism that controls brain formation

A study from The Scripps Research Institute has unveiled a surprising mechanism that controls brain formation. The findings have implications for understanding a host of diseases, including some forms of mental retardation, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and autism.

10 Feb 2011

Repligen third quarter total revenue increases 26% to $7,068,000

Repligen Corporation today reported results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, ended December 31, 2010. Total revenue for the quarter was $7,068,000 compared to total revenue of $5,617,000 for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 ended December 31, 2009, an increase of $1,451,000 or 26%.

9 Feb 2011

CeNeRx announces FDA approval of CXB909 IND for neuroprotection and neurodegenerative disorders

CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing and commercializing innovative treatments for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), today announced FDA approval of its IND and reported the first clinical results in humans for CXB909, a novel agent that has demonstrated utility in preclinical models of neuroprotection and neurodegenerative disorders.

9 Feb 2011

TREK1 activity offers a key target for fluoxetine and other antidepressant drugs

Using a unique and relatively simple cell-based fluorescent assay they developed, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley have identified a means by which fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, suppresses the activity of the TREK1 potassium channel.

8 Feb 2011

Researchers trace scent signals from nose to higher centers of mouse brain

Mice know fear. And they know to fear the scent of a predator. But how do their brains quickly figure out with a sniff that a cat is nearby?

5 Feb 2011

Merck announces publication of GARDASIL pivotal Phase III study data in NEJM

Merck announced today that data from the pivotal Phase III study with GARDASIL in males were published in the February 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 Feb 2011

Cell Press launches new iPhone application for downloading research articles

Cell Press is delighted to announce the launch of its new iPhone app - Cell Alerts, available to download for free at www.cell.com/iphone or http://bit.ly/fw9pbx.

2 Feb 2011

Walk briskly to boost memory

Researchers have found that older adults who took a brisk walk three times a week did better on memory tests and increased the size of their hippocampus, a portion of the brain involved with memory formation.

1 Feb 2011

Venture philanthropist invests $3.5 million to thwart Alzheimer's disease

Retired San Francisco real estate developer Douglas Rosenberg says he has a new job - helping to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. Through the Ellen and Douglas Rosenberg Foundation, the venture philanthropist is betting at least $3.5 million that Buck faculty Dale Bredesen, MD has the correct take on how to thwart the memory robbing disease that affects over 5 million Americans.

31 Jan 2011

Research shows nestin regulates formation of neuromuscular junction

In a study published in the Jan. 30, 2011, advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, Salk Institute of Biological Studies investigators led by Kuo-Fen Lee, PhD., show that nestin has reason for being in a completely different cell type--muscle tissue.

30 Jan 2011