Deep Brain Stimulation News and Research

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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure used to treat a variety of disabling neurological symptoms—most commonly the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement, and walking problems. The procedure is also used to treat essential tremor, a common neurological movement disorder. At present, the procedure is used only for patients whose symptoms cannot be adequately controlled with medications.

Radiosurgery may bring improvement for patients with extremely severe -compulsive disorder

For patients with extremely severe -compulsive disorder (OCD), a procedure called radiosurgery may bring improvement when other treatments have failed, according to a study in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

7 Jan 2011

Boston Scientific announces acquisition of Intelect Medical

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced it has acquired Intelect Medical, Inc., a development-stage company located in Boston. Intelect Medical is developing advanced neuromodulation technologies for deep brain stimulation therapy.

5 Jan 2011

Safe vaccine protects mice against effects of cocaine

Researchers have produced a lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a safe vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine.

5 Jan 2011

Neuroscientists say that general anesthesia is a reversible coma

The brain under general anesthesia isn't "asleep" as surgery patients are often told -- it is placed into a state that is a reversible coma, according to three neuroscientists who have published an extensive review of general anesthesia, sleep and coma, in the Dec. 30 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Dec 2010

Researchers receive $100,000 NFL grant to study tissue engineering for spinal injuries

Researchers from Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College have been awarded $100,000 by NFL Charities, the charitable foundation of the National Football League owners, to research tissue engineering for spinal injuries.

22 Dec 2010

First comprehensive guide to hospital emergency preparedness exercise development

With the publication of the nation's first comprehensive, federally funded guide to hospital emergency preparedness exercise development, Dr. Nathaniel Hupert at Weill Cornell Medical College and his collaborators have provided a new toolset for strengthening hospitals' ability to protect communities nationwide against public health disasters, such as creating care centers during an influenza pandemic or treating casualties in the wake of a bioterrorism attack.

17 Dec 2010

DBS targets same class of neuronal cells that respond to physical exercise and drug Prozac

Shooting steady pulses of electricity through slender electrodes into a brain area that controls complex behaviors has proven to be effective against several therapeutically stubborn neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Now, a new study has found that this technique, called deep brain stimulation (DBS), targets the same class of neuronal cells that are known to respond to physical exercise and drugs such as Prozac.

15 Dec 2010

Clinical trial investigates pomalidomide in only U.S. study for multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer in which malignant plasma cells are overproduced in the bone marrow, has led to an estimated 20,000 new diagnoses and 11,000 deaths in 2010. Patients with the disease, who have already failed previous treatments, may be considered for a currently enrolling Phase II study, examining a unique drug combination.

14 Dec 2010

Physician-scientists enroll patients with NSCLC cancer in MAGE-A3 Phase III trial

An experimental immunotherapy may someday become the newest weapon against lung cancer. Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center are enrolling patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as part of an ongoing Phase III trial.

1 Dec 2010

Hepcidin hormone may be potential therapeutic tool for anemic blood disorders

A hormone made by the body may be a potential therapeutic tool for the treatment of two anemic blood disorders beta-thalassemia and hemochromatosis. The new research was led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the journal Blood.

24 Nov 2010

FDA clears Multi-Lead Trialing Cable for SCS therapy

Medtronic Inc., the leader in spinal cord stimulation for more than 25 years, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance and the global launch of the Multi-Lead Trialing Cable for use in the patient screening test for Medtronic spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy.

19 Nov 2010

Artificial retinas, thought-controlled devices and brain stimulation therapy show promise

Two experimental brain-machine technologies - deep brain stimulation coupled with physical therapy and a thought-controlled computer system-may offer new therapies for people with stroke and brain injuries, new human research shows. In addition, an animal study shows a new artificial retina may restore vision better than existing prosthetics. The findings were announced today at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.

17 Nov 2010

Scientists unveil mechanism of liver regeneration

The liver's unique ability among organs to regenerate itself has been little understood. Now Weill Cornell Medical College scientists have shed light on how the liver restores itself by demonstrating that endothelial cells the cells that form the lining of blood vessels play a key role.

12 Nov 2010

Grand Challenges Explorations projects receive new grants for tuberculosis research

Weill Cornell Medical College announced today that it was awarded two $100,000 grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the next phase of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage bold and unconventional ideas for global health.

10 Nov 2010

Boston Scientific announces first implantation of Vercise Deep Brain Stimulation System in Parkinson's disease trial

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the first implantation of its Vercise™ Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System as part of the VANTAGE clinical trial. VANTAGE is a multi-center, prospective trial designed to examine the improvement of motor function in approximately 40 European patients implanted with the Vercise DBS System for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

10 Nov 2010

Gene fusion prostate cancers susceptible to secondary mutations

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have taken an important step toward a better understanding of prostate cancer by uncovering evidence that it is not one disease, as previously believed, but rather several factors which can be measured and, in the future, destroyed by targeted therapy.

4 Nov 2010

New findings show combinational therapy effective for patients with DLBCL lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a type of aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that accounts for approximately 40 percent of lymphomas among adults. If left untreated, it is fatal. The existing treatments have a cure rate that is slightly over 50 percent but destroy healthy cells along with the cancer cells.

4 Nov 2010

Combining telaprevir regimen with standard therapy improves SVR rate in hepatitis C

For patients with the most common form of hepatitis C being treated for the first time, the addition of an investigational hepatitis C-specific protease inhibitor called telaprevir to the current standard therapy markedly improved their sustained viral response (SVR or viral cure) rate.

3 Nov 2010

Scientists identify potential new treatment for Nipah and Hendra viruses

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have identified a potential new treatment for the Nipah and Hendra viruses, two lethal and emerging viruses for which there is currently no treatment or vaccine available. The approach could also lead to new therapies for measles, mumps and the flu. The new research appears in today's edition of the prestigious journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Pathogens.

29 Oct 2010

Researchers develop software tool to study wiring of brains

A team of researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology has developed a software tool that physicians can use to easily study the wiring of the brains of their patients. The tool converts MRI scans using special techniques to three-dimensional images. This now makes it possible to view a total picture of the winding roads and their contacts without having to operate.

28 Oct 2010