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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.

Genome editing approach prevents progressive hearing loss in animals

Using molecular scissors wrapped in a greasy delivery package, researchers have disrupted a gene variant that leads to deafness in mice.

20 Dec 2017

Gene editing shows promise to help people at risk of hearing loss

Gene editing could someday help people at risk of hearing loss from genetic mutations, according to research by a new Rice University faculty member.

20 Dec 2017

Certain brain tumor patients more likely to receive short hospice services, study finds

While more than 60 percent of patients with the brain tumors called malignant gliomas enroll in hospice services, almost a quarter of them do so within a week of death, probably too late for patients and family members to benefit from hospice care.

20 Dec 2017

UMSOM researchers identify new role for mitochondria in cocaine-induced behavior

For years, scientists have known that mitochondria in brain cells play a role in brain disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and stress responses.

20 Dec 2017

Portable technique produces rapid blink measurements for assessing neurological function

The blink reflex has been shown to be sensitive to a number of neurological insults, including traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, suggesting that it could be a useful tool for neurological assessment.

20 Dec 2017

Study reveals how exercise may aid smoking cessation

New research in mice sheds light on the mechanism underlining exercise's protective effect against nicotine dependence and withdrawal.

20 Dec 2017

Study reveals impact of underactive thyroid within normal range on woman's ability to conceive

A new study published yesterday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), an online journal from the Endocrine Society, suggests that a slightly underactive thyroid may affect the ability of a woman to conceive, even if the gland is functioning at the lower end of the normal range.

20 Dec 2017

Slightly underactive thyroid may affect women's ability to become pregnant, study suggests

New research suggests that a slightly underactive thyroid may affect a women's ability to become pregnant- even when the gland is functioning at the low end of the normal range, according to a study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

20 Dec 2017

Study of songbirds provides key insights into how the brain learns motor skills

The explanation for how people learn complex behaviors, such as speech, might be found in a new study of songbirds by scientists at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

20 Dec 2017

Perturbation-based training using robotic device increases stability in Parkinson's patients

Some 50,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) every year. The American Institute of Neurology estimates there are one million people affected with this neurodegenerative disorder, with 60 years as the average age of onset.

20 Dec 2017

Study explores use of radiosurgery in lung cancer patients with multiple brain metastases

Although targeted therapies have produced dramatic advances in our ability to control some types of advanced lung cancer, growth of the disease in the brain remains a major problem.

19 Dec 2017

Study finds racial, socioeconomic barriers to accessing life-saving treatment for metastatic cancer

Increasing use of a potentially life-saving treatment for metastatic cancer is leaving too many vulnerable patients behind, according to a new study from Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital published in JNCCN – Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

19 Dec 2017

Walking more than 4,000 steps a day can improve attention, mental skills in older adults

Walking more than 4,000 steps a day can improve attention and mental skills in adults ages 60 and older, according to UCLA research published December 12 in a preprint edition of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

19 Dec 2017

New scalp device delivering electric fields improves survival in patients with glioblastoma

A device attached to a patient's scalp that delivers a continuous dose of low-intensity electric fields improves survival and slows the growth of a deadly brain tumor, according to a new clinical trial led by a Northwestern Medicine scientist and published Dec. 19 in the journal JAMA.

19 Dec 2017

New findings may lead to sensitive, non-invasive test for Alzheimer's disease

New research has drawn a link between changes in the brain's anatomy and biomarkers that are known to appear at the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), findings that could one day provide a sensitive but non-invasive test for AD before cognitive symptoms appear.

19 Dec 2017

Newborns with spina bifida have sleep-disordered breathing in first days of life, study finds

New parents often hear about how important sleep is for their babies' development -- but some newborns may have more serious sleep challenges than others.

19 Dec 2017

Study links mild obsessive-compulsive symptoms to alterations of cerebral anatomy in healthy children

A new study carried out by the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute and the Institute of Global Health of Barcelona, a centre supported by "la Caixa" Foundation, associates for the first time mild obsessive-compulsive symptoms, which are present in a much higher percentage of cases than those that require specialized medical and psychological attention, to characteristics and specific alterations of the cerebral anatomy.

19 Dec 2017

Electric fields therapy leads to better overall, progression-free survival in glioblastoma patients

Patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor who received a type of electric fields therapy that interferes with cell division had better overall survival and survival without progression of the tumor compared to standard chemotherapy.

19 Dec 2017

Researchers use genomics to advance understanding of Parkinson´s disease

It is widely known that genomics has already begun to influence medicine and that bioinformatics holds the key for developing new medical approaches, but how does medical genomics really work?

19 Dec 2017

Alcohol related hangovers may soon be passé with the advent of “safer” alternatives

Professor David Nutt, previously chairman of the United Kingdom’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and now teaching at Imperial College, believes that having a hangover after a an episode of binge drinking would soon be a thing of the past. A new synthetic alcohol called “alcosynth” could provide the pleasures of alcohol consumption without the harmful side effects.

19 Dec 2017

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Genome editing approach prevents progressive hearing loss in animals

Gene editing shows promise to help people at risk of hearing loss

Certain brain tumor patients more likely to receive short hospice services, study finds

UMSOM researchers identify new role for mitochondria in cocaine-induced behavior

Portable technique produces rapid blink measurements for assessing neurological function

Study reveals how exercise may aid smoking cessation

Study reveals impact of underactive thyroid within normal range on woman's ability to conceive

Slightly underactive thyroid may affect women's ability to become pregnant, study suggests

Study of songbirds provides key insights into how the brain learns motor skills

Perturbation-based training using robotic device increases stability in Parkinson's patients

Study explores use of radiosurgery in lung cancer patients with multiple brain metastases

Study finds racial, socioeconomic barriers to accessing life-saving treatment for metastatic cancer

Walking more than 4,000 steps a day can improve attention, mental skills in older adults

New scalp device delivering electric fields improves survival in patients with glioblastoma

New findings may lead to sensitive, non-invasive test for Alzheimer's disease

Newborns with spina bifida have sleep-disordered breathing in first days of life, study finds

Study links mild obsessive-compulsive symptoms to alterations of cerebral anatomy in healthy children

Electric fields therapy leads to better overall, progression-free survival in glioblastoma patients

Researchers use genomics to advance understanding of Parkinson´s disease

Alcohol related hangovers may soon be passé with the advent of “safer” alternatives

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

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