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Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor

Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor; Successfully causes brain tumor regression and improves animal survival

19 Feb 2006

Tetrabenazine cuts down involuntary movements in Huntington's disease

The medication tetrabenazine cut down involuntary movement in patients with Huntington's disease on average by about 25 percent, with many patients experiencing a greater improvement, according to a study in the February 14 issue of the journal Neurology.

17 Feb 2006

Scientists map brain area that may help find human brain stem cells

A study led by a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon has provided the first comprehensive map of a part of the adult human brain containing astrocytes, cells known to produce growth factors critical to the regeneration of damaged neural tissue and that potentially serve as brain stem cells.

17 Feb 2006

Researchers develop way to visualize synchronized interactions of nerve cells in the brain

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center have discovered a new way to assess how brain networks act together.

16 Feb 2006

Mystery of cot death may be explained

A failure to 'gasp' has long been proposed as the basis for sudden infant death syndrome, or cot death. A team at the University of Bristol has discovered a subset of cells in the brain that have the ability to self-generate nervous impulses, which appear essential for gasping. These cells have been termed 'pacemakers'.

16 Feb 2006

Research may help explain Alzheimer's memory loss

Based on laboratory research, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have a new theory as to why people with Alzheimer's disease have trouble performing even the simplest memory tasks, such as remembering a family member's name.

16 Feb 2006

Potential universal strategy for treating drug addiction

An international research team led by the University of Saskatchewan has discovered a signaling pathway in the brain involved in drug addiction, together with a method for blocking its action, that may point to a single treatment strategy for most addictions.

14 Feb 2006

Gene therapy cures depressed mice

Researchers in the U.S. say that deleting a specific gene in the brain of mice that have been conditioned to be depressed, has the same effect as antidepressants.

13 Feb 2006

Hormone discovered in bird brains also plays major role in mammalian reproductive system

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have discovered a new actor in the mammalian reproductive system, a hormone that fills a role long suspected, but until now undetected.

7 Feb 2006

Abraham Lincoln may have suffered from movement disorder

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Minnesota have discovered a gene mutation in the descendants of Abraham Lincoln's grandparents that suggests the Civil War president himself might have also suffered from a disease that destroys nerve cells in the cerebellum-- the part of the brain that controls movement.

7 Feb 2006

Breakthrough in lupus research

A major breakthrough in lupus research - one that may fundamentally change thinking on how the disease affects behavior and cognition - was reported in the January 17, 2006 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

25 Jan 2006

Novel compound stops brain cell degeneration in Alzheimer's disease

Drug discovery researchers at Northwestern University have developed a novel orally administered compound specifically targeted to suppress brain cell inflammation and neuron loss associated with Alzheimer's disease.

22 Jan 2006

New microRNA mechanism for regulating brain function

Non-coding regions of the genome - those that don't code for proteins - are now known to include important elements that regulate gene activity. Among those elements are microRNAs, tiny, recently discovered RNA molecules that suppress gene expression.

18 Jan 2006

First potential treatment for intracerebral hemorrhage

The first potential treatment for strokes that result from bleeding in the brain is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

18 Jan 2006

Mental illness linked to diet

According to new research released this week, mental health is linked to diet and changes to diets over the last 50 years may hold the key to the rise of mental illness.

17 Jan 2006

Identification of bipolar risk gene

A collaboration, led by scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, has discovered the first risk gene specifically for bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness. This means that people who have a particular form of this gene are twice as likely to develop the disease.

16 Jan 2006

New research reveals a protein involved in lifting depression

Paul Greengard, Ph.D.,a Nobel Laureate researcher says that mice deficient in a protein, called p11, display depression-like behaviours, while those with sufficient amounts behave as if they have been treated with antidepressants.

9 Jan 2006

Astrocytes play a direct role in controlling blood flow in the brain - influencing Alzheimer's

New findings that long-overlooked brain cells play an important role in regulating blood flow in the brain call into question one of the basic assumptions underlying today's most sophisticated brain imaging techniques and could open a new frontier when it comes to understanding Alzheimer's disease.

6 Jan 2006

Brain's endocannabinoids protects neurons from inflammation

Some clinical studies have indicated that marijuana or its active cannabinoid ingredient alleviates symptoms of the inflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS).

5 Jan 2006

Researchers discover how a gene linked to Parkinson’s disease can keep brain cells alive

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center’s School of Medicine have uncovered how a gene linked to Parkinson’s disease can keep brain cells alive. The results suggest the possibility for new drugs that might regulate the gene and protect Parkinson’s patients from further cell damage.

29 Dec 2005