Brain News and Research

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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.

Reformulated epileptic drug reaches first clinical trial for medically refractory epilepsy

A currently approved epileptic drug to treat seizures has been modified by a University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus professor and is currently being used in a clinical trial in Australia for medically refractory epilepsy.

4 Apr 2019

Moderate drinking does not protect against stroke, new study shows

Blood pressure and stroke risk increase steadily with increasing alcohol intake, and previous claims that 1-2 alcoholic drinks a day might protect against stroke are dismissed by new evidence from a genetic study involving 160,000 adults.

4 Apr 2019

DBS improves patients' cognitive control by increasing power of brain rhythms

In a new study that could improve the therapeutic efficacy of deep-brain stimulation for psychiatric disorders such as depression, a team of scientists shows that, when DBS is applied to a specific brain region, it improves patients' cognitive control over their behavior by increasing the power of a specific low-frequency brain rhythm in their prefrontal cortex.

4 Apr 2019

UB researchers develop new method to more accurately predict tumor growth rates

University at Buffalo researchers have developed a new method to more accurately predict tumor growth rates, a crucial statistic used to schedule screenings and set dosing regimens in cancer treatment.

4 Apr 2019

Developing imaging techniques for early detection of eye and brain diseases

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but to scientists, they are also the window to the brain. In particular, the retina, a delicate light-sensing neural network with specialized cells at the back of the eyeball, is linked directly to the brain via the optic nerve and is considered by some to be part of the brain itself.

4 Apr 2019

NIAID awards $22 million grant to develop antibody-based therapies against lethal viruses

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded an international consortium led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Montefiore, a five-year, $22 million grant to develop antibody-based therapies against four highly lethal viruses for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

4 Apr 2019

Alterations in brain functional connectivity associated with somatic symptom disorder

Alterations in functional connectivity of the brain may help in understanding the neurobiological changes leading to somatic symptom disorder, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

4 Apr 2019

Physicians Committee launches new effort to encourage people to donate organ and tissue

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine--a nonprofit with more than 175,000 members including doctors, scientists, and laypeople--has launched a new effort today to encourage people to become organ and tissue donors to help scientists save human lives and reduce and replace animal experiments.

4 Apr 2019

Drug that looks at Alzheimer’s differently ready for its first in-human testing

Alzheimer's disease wreaks emotional havoc on patients, who are robbed of their memories, their dignity, and their lives.

4 Apr 2019

Study: Pathogenetic downregulation of adenosine linked to restless leg syndrome

Researchers have identified a common mechanism implicating adenosine in the cause of restless leg syndrome symptoms — the periodic limb movements characteristic of RLS and the state of enhanced arousal that both disrupt sleep.

4 Apr 2019

Novel strategy to ameliorate symptoms of mitochondrial disease

Diseases affecting mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, are often caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA. Symptoms of such mitochondrial diseases in mice can be ameliorated by increasing their levels of mitochondrial DNA, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

3 Apr 2019

Stress in childhood and adulthood impacts hormone patterns associated with negative health outcomes

Adults who report high levels of stress and who also had stressful childhoods are most likely to show hormone patterns associated with negative health outcomes, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

3 Apr 2019