Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Fall-induced traumatic brain injury is major cause of disability and death among older adults, says research

"Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of hospitalization, disability, and death-worldwide, and among older adults, falling is the most common cause of TBI," writes Niina Korhonen, B.M., of the Injury and Osteoporosis Research Center, Tampere, Finland, and colleagues in a Research Letter.

8 May 2013

Antidepressants can increase risk of C. difficile infection in depressed patients

Adults with depression and who receive certain types of anti-depressants have an increased risk of developing Clostridium difficile, a costly and serious hospital-associated infection, according to a new University of Michigan Health System study.

8 May 2013

Scientists identify TR4 protein that drives the formation of pituitary tumors in Cushing's disease

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a protein that drives the formation of pituitary tumors in Cushing's disease, a development that may give clinicians a therapeutic target to treat this potentially life-threatening disorder.

8 May 2013

Memory problems in older adults may stem from inability to process everyday events

Some memory problems common to older adults may stem from an inability to segment daily life into discrete experiences, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

8 May 2013

Heart Rhythm Society launches Citywide Awareness Campaign in Denver about cardiac arrhythmia

Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper has proclaimed May to be Cardiac Arrhythmia Awareness Month (#RhythmAwareness), calling attention to the need for greater public awareness throughout the State about two serious heart rhythm disorders, atrial fibrillation (also known as AF or AFib) and sudden cardiac arrest (also known as SCA).

8 May 2013

Researchers evaluate differences between leather and modern football helmets

Researchers at the Center for Injury Biomechanics at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia compared the relative safety afforded by two 1930-vintage leather football helmets and 10 modern football helmets during impacts to players' heads.

8 May 2013

IDIBELL signs patent licensing agreement with Minoryx

The Bellvittge Biomedical Research Institute has signed a licensing agreement with the Spanish biotechnology company Minoryx of a patent for the treatment of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare serious neurodegenerative disease which has no effective treatment.

8 May 2013

New guidelines to help health care professionals improve care near the end of life

People with chronic or life-threatening illnesses often experience problems with their care, including confusion and conflict over how to make good decisions, poor communication with care providers, inadequate pain and symptom relief, and treatments with little or no benefit. Poor care decreases patients' quality of life, increases family stress, and adds cost but not value to health care, often with heartbreaking financial consequences for families.

8 May 2013

Taking strong anticholinergic doubles risk of developing cognitive impairment in older adults

Research from the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and Wishard-Eskenazi Health on medications commonly taken by older adults has found that drugs with strong anticholinergic effects cause cognitive impairment when taken continuously for as few as 60 days.

8 May 2013

Scientists discover how Alzheimer's pharmaceuticals sharpen the brain's performance

Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have discovered how the predominant class of Alzheimer's pharmaceuticals might sharpen the brain's performance.

8 May 2013

Brain scan studies may provide clues about how the device improves depression

For nearly a decade, doctors have used an implanted electronic stimulator to treat severe depression in people who don't respond to standard antidepressant therapy.

8 May 2013

Research discovery may lead to effective new treatments for neurodegenerative disease

UCLA researchers led by Drs. Peiyee Lee and Richard Gatti at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have used induced pluripotent stem cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, Ataxia Telangiectasia.

8 May 2013

Restless legs syndrome and insomnia: a possible explanation

Johns Hopkins researchers believe they may have discovered an explanation for the sleepless nights associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS), a symptom that persists even when the disruptive, overwhelming nocturnal urge to move the legs is treated successfully with medication.

7 May 2013

Complex network of molecules controls formation and activity of neuronal connections

Environment moulds behaviour - and not just that of people in society, but also at the microscopic level. This is because, for their function, neurons are dependent on the cell environment, the so-termed extracellular matrix.

7 May 2013

New gene implicated in Parkinson can delay onset of aging, extend life span

UCLA life scientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans.

7 May 2013

Kinase inhibitors: an interview with Jan Hoflack, CSO of Oncodesign

Kinase inhibitors are molecules that block the activity of kinases. Kinases are a specific class of enzymes. They are extremely important in signal transduction processes in the human body meaning that they actually regulate most of the physiological processes that take place in the body.

7 May 2013

New form of electroconvulsive therapy could prevent adverse cognitive side effects

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective acute treatment for severe major depression. However, even with newer forms of ECT, there remains a significant risk of adverse cognitive effects, particularly memory problems.

7 May 2013

Study; Media reports about supposedly hazardous substances may trigger nocebo effect in some people

Media reports about substances that are supposedly hazardous to health may cause suggestible people to develop symptoms of a disease even though there is no objective reason for doing so.

7 May 2013

TBI in older adults presents special diagnostic, management and treatment challenges

Each year more than 1.7 million people in the United States sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The incidence of TBI in older adults poses special diagnostic, management and treatment challenges, say experts in a special collection of papers on TBI in the elderly in NeuroRehabilitation: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

7 May 2013

Neuroperspective reviews status and prospects of therapeutics for Parkinson's disease

NI Research, the leading publisher of independent research on the neurotherapeutics industry, has released the May issue of NeuroPerspective, which reviews the status and prospects of therapeutics for Parkinson's.

7 May 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Fall-induced traumatic brain injury is major cause of disability and death among older adults, says research

Antidepressants can increase risk of C. difficile infection in depressed patients

Scientists identify TR4 protein that drives the formation of pituitary tumors in Cushing's disease

Memory problems in older adults may stem from inability to process everyday events

Heart Rhythm Society launches Citywide Awareness Campaign in Denver about cardiac arrhythmia

Researchers evaluate differences between leather and modern football helmets

IDIBELL signs patent licensing agreement with Minoryx

New guidelines to help health care professionals improve care near the end of life

Taking strong anticholinergic doubles risk of developing cognitive impairment in older adults

Scientists discover how Alzheimer's pharmaceuticals sharpen the brain's performance

Brain scan studies may provide clues about how the device improves depression

Research discovery may lead to effective new treatments for neurodegenerative disease

Restless legs syndrome and insomnia: a possible explanation

Complex network of molecules controls formation and activity of neuronal connections

New gene implicated in Parkinson can delay onset of aging, extend life span

Kinase inhibitors: an interview with Jan Hoflack, CSO of Oncodesign

New form of electroconvulsive therapy could prevent adverse cognitive side effects

Study; Media reports about supposedly hazardous substances may trigger nocebo effect in some people

TBI in older adults presents special diagnostic, management and treatment challenges

Neuroperspective reviews status and prospects of therapeutics for Parkinson's disease

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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