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.

Stroke specialists offer guidance on questions about thrombolytic therapy use

One of the most challenging issues in stroke care involves the use of clot-busting drugs such as tPA. When given quickly enough and to the right patient, such drugs can minimize stroke damage by dissolving blood clots that cause most strokes. But these blood-thinning drugs also increase the risk of brain hemorrhages and other complications.

16 Feb 2013

'Primitive' reflexes may involve more sophisticated brain function than previously thought

Supposedly 'primitive' reflexes may involve more sophisticated brain function than previously thought, according to researchers at Imperial College London.

16 Feb 2013

Study identifies regions of genes linked to Beh-et's disease

Researchers don't know the exact cause of Beh-et's disease, a chronic condition that leads to oral and genital sores and serious complications such as blindness, but new research brings better understanding to what makes some people more susceptible to being affected.

16 Feb 2013

MSU to launch levetiracetam clinical trial for treatment of African children with epilepsy

Determined to bring relief to seizure victims, a Michigan State University research team this month begins a groundbreaking clinical drug trial that could help prevent a quarter-million African children from developing epilepsy each year.

16 Feb 2013

Positive new data from Genzyme’s eliglustat tartrate Phase 3 studies on Gaucher disease type 1

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, today announced positive new data from the Phase 3 ENGAGE and ENCORE studies of eliglustat tartrate, its investigational oral therapy for Gaucher disease type 1.

15 Feb 2013

VNI cures both acute and chronic forms of Chagas disease

Chagas disease, a deadly tropical infection caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by biting insects called "kissing bugs," has begun to spread around the world, including the U.S. Yet current treatment is toxic and limited to the acute stage.

15 Feb 2013

Pairing Avastin with dasatinib can stop lethal spread of glioblastoma multiforme

The drug bevacizumab, also known by the trade name Avastin, shrinks tumors briefly in patients with an aggressive brain cancer known as glioblastoma multiforme, but then they often grow again and spread throughout the brain for reasons no one previously has understood. Now, Mayo Clinic researchers have found out why this happens.

15 Feb 2013

New research focuses on rapid identification of disease outbreaks

EcoHealth Alliance, the nonprofit organization that focuses on local conservation and global health issues, announced new research focused on the rapid identification of disease outbreaks in the peer reviewed publication, Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

15 Feb 2013

Genes activated for human speech are similar to ones used by singing songbirds

The genes activated for human speech are similar to the ones used by singing songbirds, new experiments suggest.

15 Feb 2013

Pivotal Response Treatment improves brain activity in children with autism

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for before-and-after analysis, a team of researchers including a UC Santa Barbara graduate student discovered positive changes in brain activity in children with autism who received a particular type of behavioral therapy.

15 Feb 2013

FDA committee recommends approval of Guerbet’s Dotarem NDA for adults and children

Guerbet, the contrast agent specialist for medical imaging, today announced that the Medical Imaging Drugs Advisory Committee to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted unanimously by votes of 17 to 0 to recommend that FDA approve the New Drug Application (NDA) for Dotarem (gadoterate meglumine) for adults, and for pediatric use for children two years of age and older.

15 Feb 2013

Castle Biosciences launches MyUvealMelanoma website

Castle Biosciences Inc., a leading developer of prognostic tests for rare cancers, announced today the launch of MyUvealMelanoma.com, a website created to educate newly diagnosed patients, their families and healthcare providers about the most common form of eye cancer. MyUvealMelanoma tells the story of this disease, its treatment and the importance of prognostic testing, through the experience of patients who recently faced this devastating diagnosis first-hand.

15 Feb 2013

Masimo's total fourth quarter revenue increases 18% to $132.2 million

Masimo today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 29, 2012.

15 Feb 2013

National Mentor Holdings first quarter revenues increase 7.5% to $294.9 million

National Mentor Holdings, Inc. today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2012.

15 Feb 2013

Second Sight Medical Products receives FDA approval for Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, the first implanted device to treat adult patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

14 Feb 2013

Endovascular stroke therapy disappoints in head-to-head studies

Three randomized trials published in The New England Journal of Medicine have failed to prove that endovascular therapy results in better clinical outcomes than standard medical therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

14 Feb 2013

Cortisol and white matter integrity relationship disrupted in bipolar disorder

Researchers have found evidence in support of hypercortisol-induced glial dysfunction affecting periventricular white matter integrity in patients with bipolar disorder.

14 Feb 2013

Allografts better survive implantation into brains of immunocompetent research mice

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and the Mossakowski Medical Research Centre in Warsaw, Poland, have found that nonself-donated cells (allografts) better survive implantation into the brains of immunocompetent research mice when the grafts are injected into the striatum (STR) of the brain rather than injected into the forceps minor (FM) region.

14 Feb 2013

Researcher to study ADAM12 gene in breast tumor initiating cells

A Kansas State University professor's research on breast cancer stem cells may help improve survival rates by preventing cancer recurrence and metastasis -- the major causes of death among breast cancer patients.

14 Feb 2013

Stress and mental illness: an interview with Professor Akira Sawa

As a psychiatrist I am interested in how stress may play a role in the pathology of adult mental disorders. You may know that most of the major mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, mood-disorder, substance abuse or even anxiety disorder, become prominent in early adulthood.

14 Feb 2013