Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Ecstasy or MDMA damages specific neurons in the brain

Myths abound about the short-term and long-term consequences of use of MDMA, often called Ecstasy. MDMA is not new to the scientific community.

29 Apr 2004

Surgery a safe treatment for Meniere’s Disease

Episodic attacks of vertigo with hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness all characterize Meniere’s disease. Vertigo is the most disabling symptom of Meniere’s disease

29 Apr 2004

Lou Gehrig’s disease gene discovered

A gene for a rare juvenile-onset form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) has been isolated in families in the United States, Belgium and Austria, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announced today.

29 Apr 2004

A burst of brain energy depends more on a unique molecular cycle than on blood flow variation

A century old mystery is taking place in your head as you read these words. Blood vessels in regions of your brain are widening, bathing cells in an increased blood flow.

28 Apr 2004

Pennsylvania launches West Nile virus surveillance program

Officials from the state departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Health today joined representatives from Cumberland and Dauphin counties to launch Pennsylvania’s program to detect and control mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus.

28 Apr 2004

Greater severity of depressive symptoms correlates with increased risk of stroke among whites

Greater severity of depressive symptoms correlates with increased risk of stroke among whites, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 – May 1, 2004.

28 Apr 2004

PET imaging has recently been shown to aid in the diagnosis of particular neurological syndromes associated with cancer

PET imaging has been shown to improve detection of a variety of cancers, and earlier tests have suggested this technique may be useful in identifying small tumors in patients with paraneoplastic neurological disorders. But PET imaging is not yet widely available, and clear indicators of clinically meaningful outcomes using PET are essential to warrant use with this patient population.

28 Apr 2004

A popular supplement, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), may help prevent migraine

Migraine patients who took 100 mg three times a day of CoQ10—which acts as the body’s energy producer—had fewer attacks in three months than those who took a placebo. The participants taking CoQ10 also had fewer days with a headache and fewer days with nausea.

28 Apr 2004

Results look promising in Alzheimer’s gene therapy trial

Surgical placement of genetically modified tissue directly into the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, an experimental approach to delaying brain cell loss associated with the disease, leads to increased metabolic activity in the brain, with cells apparently responding to the insertion of growth factor-producing grafts

28 Apr 2004

Robot teaches 50-year-old man paralyzed to walk again

A 50-year-old man paralyzed from the neck down in a devastating motorcycle accident ayear ago is learning to walk again with the help of a robot named Lokomat at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

28 Apr 2004

People with uncontrolled epilepsy have low levels of a certain fatty acid

Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial to the proper development and function of cell membranes in the brain. But one particular fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is found at abnormally low levels in patients with uncontrolled epilepsy, according to researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

28 Apr 2004

Serono says Rebif an effective treatment for brain lesions

New long-term data support the importance of early treatment with high dose, high frequency Rebif® (interferon beta-1a) 44 mcg in reducing the long-term accumulation of brain lesion volume in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).

28 Apr 2004

Blood pressure drug helps delay ischemic brain damage in stroke patients

A drug used to lower blood pressure can help stop or delay the progress of further ischemic brain lesions in stroke patients according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 – May 1, 2004.

27 Apr 2004

Researchers to create tool for diagnosing children with apraxia of speech

A new National Institutes of Health grant will enable Oregon Health & Science University researchers to create a tool for diagnosing children with apraxia of speech -- a neurologically based speech motor disorder.

27 Apr 2004

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene may increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease

One variant of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene may increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to an analysis of research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 – May 1, 2004.

27 Apr 2004

Improvement of Parkinson’s disease symptoms when neurorestorative molecule pumped to the center of the brain

A recent study has shown clinical improvement of Parkinson’s disease symptoms after long-term infusion of a neurorestorative molecule, pumped directly to the center of the brain. The study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 – May 1, 2004.

27 Apr 2004

Researchers show that language “center” of brain shifts with age

Along with left- or right-handedness, the hemisphere of the brain where language capacity resides is likely predetermined. Researchers have now shown that with age, language capacity in the brain becomes more evenly distributed between hemispheres.

27 Apr 2004

BioTime awarded a research grant for blood plasma volume expander

BioTime, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a research grant by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for use in the development of its HetaCool® blood plasma volume expander following peer review.

27 Apr 2004

The muscle supplement creatine is safe, but not effective, in pediatric neuromuscular disease

The muscle supplement creatine can be safely taken by children with neuromuscular diseases, but does not improve strength or muscle mass, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 – May 1, 2004.

27 Apr 2004

A ten year study shows that surgery is not only effective, but the preferred treatment for select epilepsy patients

A study of ten years of patient outcomes shows that surgery is not only effective, but the preferred treatment for select epilepsy patients. In the most comprehensive study of long-term surgery success rates, Mayo Clinic physicians report that 73 percent of 491 Mayo Clinic patients were either seizure-free or experienced seizures only when medication was discontinued.

27 Apr 2004