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Neurologix announces positive interim results of gene therapy clinical trial for patients with Parkinson's disease

Neurologix has announced positive interim results of its landmark gene therapy clinical trial for patients with Parkinson's disease. Neurologix's 12-patient, dose-escalating Phase I trial is the world's first study to use a viral vector (the non-pathogenic adeno-associated virus, or AAV) for the treatment of an adult neurological disease.

26 Sep 2005

New device for removing liver tumours with virtually no blood loss

The revolutionary new device uses radiofrequency energy to 'seal' tissue around a tumour site, allowing the tumour to be removed while preventing blood loss and other complications. The device has enabled surgeons to operate where previously it would have been too risky.

10 Sep 2005

New insight into the neural computational function represented by "error-related negativity"

Deciphering the subtle, complex electrical signals emanating from the brain has yielded important insights into the still-mysterious neural mechanisms that underlie behavior.

18 Aug 2005

Analytical tool to help detect cancer

Scientists have long used ultra-fine glass tubes known as capillaries to analyze the chemical makeup of substances. Called capillary electrophoresis, or CE, the method applies high voltage to the capillaries, and by measuring the rate that the various materials move through the capillaries, researchers are able to identify individual compounds.

16 Aug 2005

New technology may offer a useful rehabilitation and home exercise tool for people with tetraplegia

People affected by paralysis could enjoy more independence, better health and a higher quality of life thanks to an innovative system designed to improve fitness and increase arm strength.

2 Aug 2005

Researchers develop tiny, highly efficient heat spreader for epileptic seizure treatment device

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers are developing a tiny, highly efficient heat spreader to be used in a new device to be implanted in the brain of patients who suffer from severe epileptic seizures.

26 Jul 2005

Discovery of a chemical messenger called neuropeptide Y (NPY) in taste bud cells

The tongue's ability to differentiate between sweet and bitter tastes may reside in the same taste bud cells, a new study reports.

18 Jul 2005

Study examines reasons for unsatisfactory outcomes following deep brain stimulation surgery

A study of follow-up care for patients with unsatisfactory outcomes from deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for movement disorders offers insights into reasons for problems and proposes strategies for improved outcomes. The study will appear in the August print issue of Archives of Neurology.

13 Jun 2005

Researchers pinpoint circuit in the brain responsible for encoding decision-making

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have pinpointed a circuit in the brain responsible for encoding decision-making behavior, a circuit that - if damaged - appears to prevent a person from altering that behavior when circumstances change.

26 May 2005

Basic brain mechanism that causes drug-seeking behavior

In studies with rats, researchers have distinguished a burst of the brain chemical dopamine from a reward-related brain region that is associated with anticipating the delivery of cocaine. The finding, publishing in the May 19 issue of Neuron, reveals the brain signal that likely underlies the fundamental motivation to obtain such drugs, said the scientists.

20 May 2005

Mathematical way to identify babies at risk for epilepsy

Confusion and speech problems are frequent signs of seizures, but babies offer few such clues as to what ails them.

17 May 2005

Expandable electrodes safe and effective for radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors

The use of expandable electrodes with multiple tips in the treatment of liver tumors by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is safe and effective, making it a useful alternative to surgery in selected patients, say researchers from the University of Brescia in Italy.

17 May 2005

Jefferson vascular surgeons go on web to demonstrate less invasive treatment than vein stripping for varicose veins

Stripping is a lengthy procedure often performed under general anesthesia and requires a surgeon to make incisions in the groin and below the knee and remove the vein with a long, surgical instrument extending inside the leg to the knee.

10 May 2005

Researchers present information on artificial retina

Researchers from the University of Southern California and the Doheny Eye Institute will be presenting data on the first six patients implanted with an intraocular retinal prosthesis-more popularly referred to as an artificial retina-developed and manufactured in partnership with Second Sight Medical Products, of Sylmar, Calif.

2 May 2005

Breast cancer detector that uses electricity instead of X-rays

A painless, portable device that uses electrical current rather than X-ray to examine breasts for cancer is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

25 Apr 2005

Electroshock therapy speeds improvement in schizophrenia patients

Shock therapy, a controversial practice conjuring frightening images of behavior control, still has a place in schizophrenia treatment, a newly updated research review shows.

20 Apr 2005

Research offers promise for people with learning disabilities

Learning disabilities such as dyslexia are believed to affect nearly one in 10 children. To better study them, a Northwestern University research team has developed a data-driven conceptual framework that links two well-established scientific concepts. In doing so, they also have developed a non-invasive diagnostic tool called BioMAP that can quickly identify children with learning disabilities.

4 Apr 2005

Bionic eyes from Stanford

Stanford physicists and eye doctors have teamed up to design a "bionic eye," of sorts. On Feb. 22 in the Journal of Neural Engineering, Daniel Palanker, Alexander Vankov and Phil Huie from the Department of Ophthalmology and the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and Stephen Baccus from the Department of Neurobiology published a design of an optoelectronic retinal prosthesis system that can stimulate the retina with resolution corresponding to a visual acuity of 20/80

4 Apr 2005

Clinical study of mirror neurons provides insights into autism and other disorders

Seeing is doing – at least it is when mirror neurons are working normally. But in autistic individuals, say researchers from the University of California, San Diego, the brain circuits that enable people to perceive and understand the actions of others do not behave in the usual way.

29 Mar 2005

Study finds spikes in blood pressure, heart rate, adrenaline after 'dipping' snuff

After snuff use, heart rate increased by about 15 beats per minute (25 percent), systolic blood pressure went up by 12 mmHg (10 percent), and measurements of adrenalin in the bloodstream increased by more than 50 percent.

15 Mar 2005