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.

Texas Biomed scientists develop new animal model that mimics key features of Zika infection

An alternative animal model that mimics key features of the Zika virus infection, including its lingering presence in bodily fluids, has been developed at Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio.

12 Dec 2017

Chemical found in marijuana could help HIV patients maintain their mental function

A chemical found in marijuana, known as tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has been found to potentially slow the process in which mental decline can occur in up to 50 percent of HIV patients, says a new Michigan State University study.

12 Dec 2017

New scientific yardstick released to help early detection of Alzheimer's disease

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre released a new scientific yardstick, in the form of a certified reference material, to help early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Dec 2017

Newly discovered molecular chaperones may soon be part of therapies for Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disease. It is always fatal. The disease is caused by a defect in the Huntingtin gene. To this day, no therapy will put a stop to the insidious disintegration of brain cells.

12 Dec 2017

Huntington's disease drug clears initial hurdles - raising hopes

Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder that affects the brain progressively and has no known cure till date. In a breakthrough, the first drug that can target and reduce the cause behind this dreaded disease has been found to be effective, safe and well tolerated in a human clinical trial that was conducted by UCL scientists.

11 Dec 2017

Having older brothers may increase the likelihood of being gay

Scientists have found a distinct pattern that having older brothers raise the chances of the younger sibling being gay. This effect has been termed the “fraternal birth order effect”. They explain the biological reason behind this propensity in their new study that was published this week in the journal PNAS.

11 Dec 2017

Study provides new insights into mechanism of tumor survival in glioblastoma

A Northwestern Medicine study, published in the journal Cancer Cell, has provided new insights into a mechanism of tumor survival in glioblastoma and demonstrated that inhibiting the process could enhance the effects of radiation therapy.

11 Dec 2017

Rice scientists develop method to identify patients at high risk of continued seizures before surgery

Surgery to remove a part of the brain to give relief to patients with epilepsy doesn't always result in complete seizure relief, but statisticians at Rice University have developed a method for integrating neuroimaging scans to identify patients at high risk of continued seizures before the surgery takes place.

11 Dec 2017

Butler Hospital launches international Alzheimer's disease prevention study

The Memory and Aging Program at Butler Hospital, a member of Care New England and a major teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, enrolled one of the initial participants in an international Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention study.

11 Dec 2017

Researchers find link between brain structure and hallucination proneness, musical aptitude

New research published in Schizophrenia Research conducted at the University of Liverpool links brain structure to an individual's likelihood of experiencing hallucinations and to their musical aptitude.

11 Dec 2017

Brain responses of children with inherited dyslexia risk predict their future reading speed

A study conducted at the Department of Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and Jyväskylä Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research has found that the brain responses of infants with an inherited risk for dyslexia, a specific reading disability, predict their future reading speed in secondary school.

11 Dec 2017

Scientists discover specific mechanism of Zika virus-associated microcephaly

Epidemiological studies show that in utero fetal infection with the Zika virus (ZIKV) may lead to microcephaly, an irreversible congenital malformation of the brain characterized by an incomplete development of the cerebral cortex.

11 Dec 2017

Canola oil linked to worsening of Alzheimer’s

Canola oil has been marketed as a healthy cooking oil choice because of the low levels of saturated fats that is seen in it. Now a new study has revealed that consumption of canola oil could be linked to worsening of memory functions and learning ability in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

11 Dec 2017

Salk scientists unravel mystery about how the spinal cord deals with different information

We think of our brain as masterminding all of our actions, but a surprising amount of information related to movement gets processed by our spinal cord.

8 Dec 2017

Modern non-invasive diagnostics can get clear picture of the heart’s condition

By no means are only elderly people at risk from heart diseases. Physically active individuals can also be affected, for example if a seemingly harmless flu bug spreads to the heart muscle. Should this remain undetected and if, for example, a builder continues with his strenuous job or an athlete carries on training, this can lead to chronic inflammation and in the worst case even to sudden death.

8 Dec 2017

Study estimates number of Americans with preclinical Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment

About 15 million Americans will have either Alzheimer's dementia or mild cognitive impairment by 2060, up from approximately 6.08 million this year, according to a new study by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

8 Dec 2017

Study: Unusual neuroinflammation may underlie cognitive problems in cART-treated HIV patients

Although combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has improved survival of patients infected with HIV and has reduced the incidence of severe neurologic complications, almost half of cART-treated HIV patients experience some degree of neurocognitive impairment (neuroHIV).

8 Dec 2017

SLU scientists provide promising approach in designing new drugs for DMD

In a paper published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, Saint Louis University researchers report that a new drug reduces fibrosis (scarring) and prevents loss of muscle function in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), providing a promising approach in designing new medications for those suffering from DMD.

8 Dec 2017

Taurine could boost effectiveness of existing multiple sclerosis therapies

New research suggests that administering taurine, a molecule naturally produced by human cells, could boost the effectiveness of current multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies.

8 Dec 2017

Scientists discover how axons in developing visual system stabilize their connections

Scientists at Tokyo Tech have made an important discovery concerning the development of layer-specific axonal connections in the developing visual system of Drosophila flies.

8 Dec 2017

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Texas Biomed scientists develop new animal model that mimics key features of Zika infection

Chemical found in marijuana could help HIV patients maintain their mental function

New scientific yardstick released to help early detection of Alzheimer's disease

Newly discovered molecular chaperones may soon be part of therapies for Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease drug clears initial hurdles - raising hopes

Having older brothers may increase the likelihood of being gay

Study provides new insights into mechanism of tumor survival in glioblastoma

Rice scientists develop method to identify patients at high risk of continued seizures before surgery

Butler Hospital launches international Alzheimer's disease prevention study

Researchers find link between brain structure and hallucination proneness, musical aptitude

Brain responses of children with inherited dyslexia risk predict their future reading speed

Scientists discover specific mechanism of Zika virus-associated microcephaly

Canola oil linked to worsening of Alzheimer’s

Salk scientists unravel mystery about how the spinal cord deals with different information

Modern non-invasive diagnostics can get clear picture of the heart’s condition

Study estimates number of Americans with preclinical Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment

Study: Unusual neuroinflammation may underlie cognitive problems in cART-treated HIV patients

SLU scientists provide promising approach in designing new drugs for DMD

Taurine could boost effectiveness of existing multiple sclerosis therapies

Scientists discover how axons in developing visual system stabilize their connections

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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