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First hand transplant recipient on the way to recovery

A 26 year old mother has received the world’s first hand transplant. The 17 member surgical team from the Hand Transplant Program at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has performed the operation over 14 hours. They painstakingly attached tendons, blood vessels and nerves. The patient had lost her hand in a traffic accident 5 years ago. The patient is currently recovering.

8 Mar 2011

Researchers elucidate how sensory, motor fibers interact at molecular level to form nerves

During embryonic development, sensory and motor fibers interact to form nerves in the limbs. The research team led by Dr. Andrea Huber Br-samle of the Institute of Developmental Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum M-nchen has now elucidated how this interaction functions at the molecular level: The cell surface receptor neuropilin-1 is present in both sensory and motor nerve fibers and controls their interaction in order to correctly regulate growth.

8 Mar 2011

New insight into multiple sclerosis

Scientists have blocked harmful immune cells from entering the brain in mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis.

8 Mar 2011

Fumaric acid salts may protect against Multiple Sclerosis

Fumaric acid salts have been in use against severe psoriasis for a long time. About ten years ago, researchers in Bochum speculated that they may also have a favourable effect on Multiple Sclerosis as a result of their TH2 polarizing mechanisms.

8 Mar 2011

First western U.S. hand transplant surgery performed at UCLA Medical Center

Surgeons at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center performed the first hand transplant in the western United States in an operation that began one minute before midnight on Friday, March 4, and was completed 14-and-a-half hours later, on Saturday, March 5.

8 Mar 2011

Electrical stimulation may help bring back the voice of stroke patients

A Virginia Tech College of Engineering researcher is seeking a new way to help those who are unable to speak to find their voice. But this isn't "The King's Speech," the Academy Award-winning film about a British royal undergoing speech therapy to battle a stammer. Instead, Alexander Leonessa wants to help bring back the voice of stroke patients and others who have suffered paralysis of the vocal folds, through electrical stimulation.

4 Mar 2011

Efficiency of brain function depends on family's genetic makeup

How well our brain functions is largely based on our family's genetic makeup, according to a University of Melbourne led study.

4 Mar 2011

Neuropathologist receives AAN Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer's disease research

The American Academy of Neurology has awarded the 2011 Potamkin Prize to Dennis Dickson, M.D., a neuropathologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida and the Robert E. Jacoby Professor for Alzheimer's Disease Research.

3 Mar 2011

Feet first? Old mitochondria might be responsible for neuropathy in the extremities

The burning, tingling pain of neuropathy may affect feet and hands before other body parts because the powerhouses of nerve cells that supply the extremities age and become dysfunctional as they complete the long journey to these areas, Johns Hopkins scientists suggest in a new study. The finding may eventually lead to new ways to fight neuropathy, a condition that often accompanies other diseases including HIV/AIDS, diabetes and circulatory disorders.

3 Mar 2011

Study demonstrates neuronal loss during initial stages of HIV infection in mouse model

A new mouse model closely resembles how the human body reacts to early HIV infection and is shedding light on nerve cell damage related to the disease, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

3 Mar 2011

Scientists discover specific type of human cell to treat spinal cord injuries

For the first time, scientists discovered that a specific type of human cell, generated from stem cells and transplanted into spinal cord injured rats, provide tremendous benefit, not only repairing damage to the nervous system but helping the animals regain locomotor function as well.

2 Mar 2011

Pluristem's PLX cells exhibit potential to treat accidental and intentionally induced muscle injuries

Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. and the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), in cooperation with the Charite - University of Medicine in Berlin,today announced the results of a pre-clinical study demonstrating that the local administration of PLX cells following muscle injury resulted in significant improvement in the recovery of muscle function when compared with the control group. This

2 Mar 2011

Scientists discover new way to generate human motor nerve cells

Scientists have discovered a new way to generate human motor nerve cells in a development that will help research into motor neurone disease.

2 Mar 2011

New research finds link between genomic variants in neurological processes and autism

New research on the genomics of autism confirms that the genetic roots of the disorder are highly complicated, but that common biological themes underlie this complexity. In the current study, researchers have implicated several new candidate genes and genomic variants as contributors to autism, and conclude that many more remain to be discovered.

2 Mar 2011

Lymph node dissection may not be necessary for localized non-small cell lung cancers

Lymph node dissection, the current standard surgical treatment for localized non-small cell lung cancers, may be unnecessary in certain screen-detected early stage cases , according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO), the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

1 Mar 2011

Sweden's TLV confirms reimbursement for Qutenza patch for treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain

Patients in Sweden living with peripheral neuropathic pain are set to gain access to a new treatment option which can provide pain relief for up to three months following a single 30- or 60-minute application. The new treatment patch uses capsaicin - the substance found in chilli peppers which gives them their 'heat' - to change the function of pain sensing nerves in the area of skin affected.

1 Mar 2011

Protein pathway may hold a clue for understanding Parkinson's disease

A protein pathway that may hold the secret to understanding Parkinson's disease has been discovered and explained by Iowa State University researchers.

1 Mar 2011

Progressive groups offer support for maintaining Medicaid requirements

The nation's governors are will be in Washington this weekend for the National Governors Association winter meeting. Budget issues, especially related to Medicaid spending and other health costs, will be a hot topic.

28 Feb 2011

New study: Immune molecules can regulate synaptic connections in brain

The number of connections between nerve cells in the brain can be regulated by an immune system molecule, according to a new study from UC Davis. The research, published Feb. 27 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, reveals a potential link between immunity, infectious disease and conditions such as schizophrenia or autism.

27 Feb 2011

Medwell commits $2,000,000 investment in Mimetogen

Medwell Capital Corp. today announced that it has committed to invest up to $2,000,000 in Mimetogen Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Mimetogen"), a privately-held, clinical-stage company developing a treatment for dry eye disease. Medwell Capital participated in a Series B equity financing with existing Mimetogen investors, iNovia Capital, MSBi Valorisation and VIMAC Milestone Medica.

25 Feb 2011