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.

New technology gives neurosurgeons real-time images in the operating room

Within the past decade, imaging systems have provided much clearer pictures of the brain’s structures, and navigational tools have helped physicians map direct approaches, minimize points of entry and spare healthy brain and function.

27 May 2004

International adult stem cell 'retraining' project starts in Birmingham

An exciting research project to utilise the body's own stem cells to regenerate areas of tissue damage is uniting scientists in Birmingham, London and Ontario, Canada. The University of Birmingham is leading a three year study with long term aims of helping stroke, Parkinsons and diabetes patients.

27 May 2004

Brain cells containing the chemical histamine are critical for waking

A study by scientists with the Veterans Affairs' Neurobiology Research Laboratory and UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute shows that brain cells containing the chemical histamine are critical for waking.

27 May 2004

Alcoholism tends to run in families, suggesting that addiction may be related to genetics

The gene the researchers investigated manufactures a protein called CREB, or cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein, which is known to regulate brain function during development and learning.

27 May 2004

30-ton superconducting magnet to further brain research

The 30-ton, superconducting magnet that forms the center of a 7-Tesla MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) system developed by Siemens Medical Solutions will be uncrated and moved by crane from a truck into the New York University School of Medicine’s Center for Biomedical Imaging this Friday morning.

26 May 2004

Bipolar disorder, one of the illnesses that will be studied and treated at the new Mood Disorders Centre of Excellence

Imagine suffering frequent, extreme and disabling mood swings that won’t go away despite years of different treatments and diagnoses.

26 May 2004

New technology to measure the sensitivity of nerve fibers that wire up the brain during development

Researchers at Georgetown University have developed a novel technology to precisely measure the sensitivity of nerve fibers that wire up the brain during development. Through use of this technology, they discovered that these fibers, or axons, possess an incredible sensitivity to molecular guidance cues that direct the axon’s route to its desired destination in the brain.

26 May 2004

New company is developing advanced therapeutics for stroke victims

Arizona Engineered Therapeutics Inc., a new company based on the research of three Arizona State University professors, is moving its first drug candidate closer to clinical trials.

26 May 2004

Discovery of gene linked to alcohol dependency

Alcoholism tends to run in families, suggesting that addiction, at least in part, has an underlying genetic cause. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a gene linked to alcohol dependency.

26 May 2004

Specialists work to overcome Huntington's disease

The Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA) recognizes the Huntington's Disease Clinic and Research Group at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as one of only 17 national Huntington's Disease Centers of Excellence.

25 May 2004

Combination of two types of radiation therapy is better for treating brain cancer

Adding stereotactic radiosurgery – which entails delivering radiation to specific points in the brain while sparing normal tissue – after whole brain radiation therapy helps certain patients with cancer that has spread to the brain live longer, says a new study by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

25 May 2004

Full moon does not influence the frequency of epileptic seizures

“Contrary to the myth, epileptic seizures are not more common during a full moon,” said Selim Benbadis, MD, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the USF College of Medicine. “In fact, we found the number of epileptic seizures was lowest during the full moon and highest in the moon’s last quarter.”

25 May 2004

Prenatal cocaine exposure not associated with lower full scale IQ scores

A study in the May 26 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that prenatal cocaine exposure was not associated with lower full scale IQ scores, or verbal or performance IQ scores at age 4 years.

25 May 2004

Study indicates the number of people in the UK who could be incubating vCJD

The Journal of Pathology recently published a paper entitled Prevalence of lymphoreticular prion protein accumulation in UK tissue samples. The study looked at 12,674 stored appendix and tonsil samples, and found that 3 of them showed evidence of the prion protein associated with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

25 May 2004

Results from a clinical study of CyberKnife ® radiosurgery for locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Accuray Incorporated announced today the publication of the results from a clinical study of CyberKnife ® radiosurgery for locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

25 May 2004

Data suggests potential target for Alzheimer's disease treatment

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons have discovered at least one way in which beta-amyloid, the protein that forms stubborn plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, can kill nerve cells.

25 May 2004

Columbia University to study link between diabetes and early dementia

Understanding the link between diabetes and early dementia -- as well as how diabetes relates to other causes of memory loss -- is the focus of a new study at Columbia University Medical Center and approximately 40 other medical institutions nationwide.

25 May 2004