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.

New Valley Fever testing technology developed by TGen and NAU receives U.S. patent

Valley Fever, a potentially deadly dust-borne fungal disease, should be easier to diagnose and treat thanks to a testing technology developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Northern Arizona University, and now protected by a patent issued today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

3 Aug 2016

Researchers use personalized simulations of the brain to uncover nature of internal processes

The brain is an adaptable and highly complex system. However, much remains to be known about the way in which individual components of the brain interact in order to produce cognitive performance.

3 Aug 2016

Study reveals alterations in silent synapses could trigger drug-related memories in addiction

In addiction, cues in the environment can form strong associations with the drug of abuse. A new study in Biological Psychiatry suggests that alterations in silent synapses, inactive connections between neurons, could be the neural mechanism underlying the formation of these drug-related memories.

3 Aug 2016

Penn's ADCC receives $8.8 million grant to continue research on treatment for AD and related dementias

The University of Pennsylvania's Alzheimer's Disease Core Center has been awarded an estimated $8.8 million over five years from the National Institute on Aging to continue its mission of investigating mechanisms, diagnostics, treatments and strategies for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and related dementias including Parkinson's disease (PD), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), Lewy Body dementia (LBD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).

3 Aug 2016

Lower weight late in life linked to greater risk for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital have found an association between lower weight and more extensive deposits of the Alzheimer's-associated protein beta-amyloid in the brains of cognitively normal older individuals.

2 Aug 2016

UTA researchers find how changing estrogen levels make women more vulnerable to cocaine addiction

Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington are studying how fluctuating estrogen levels make females increasingly sensitive to the rewarding effects of cocaine and ultimately, vulnerable to cocaine addiction.

2 Aug 2016

Regular physical exercise could lead to higher brain volumes and decreased dementia risk

Using the landmark Framingham Heart Study to assess how physical activity affects the size of the brain and one's risk for developing dementia, UCLA researchers found an association between low physical activity and a higher risk for dementia in older individuals.

2 Aug 2016

Research findings elucidate how neurons process, represent touch in rat and the human brain

When reaching into a pocket or purse, it is easy to use the sense of touch to distinguish keys from loose change. Our brains seamlessly integrate the tactile, sensory cues from our fingers with hand movements to perceive the different objects.

2 Aug 2016

Scientists develop model using transformed stem cells to accelerate screening of drugs for rare cancers

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have developed a system that uses transformed human stem cells to speed up screening of existing drugs that might work against rare brain and other cancers.

2 Aug 2016

Scientists observe reaction of neurons in real-time after concussive trauma

A team of Brown University researchers has been able to watch in real time what happens to neurons after they experience the kinds of forces involved in a blow to the head.

2 Aug 2016

New review proposes neuroscience-based framework for diagnosis of addictive disorders

When it comes to an addictive disorder, you either have it or you don't. But this dichotomous nature of the diagnosis fails to recognize the complexity and diversity of addiction's origins and manifestation in people.

2 Aug 2016

Scientists seeking blood donations from people exposed to arboviruses for dengue, Zika vaccine research

Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine are conducting studies that utilize blood donations from individuals who have been diagnosed with or potentially exposed to mosquito-borne viruses as part of ongoing dengue and Zika research and vaccine development.

2 Aug 2016

Researchers use machine-learning approach to predict autism risk genes

Princeton University and Simons Foundation researchers have developed a machine-learning approach that for the first time analyzes the entire human genome to predict which genes may cause autism spectrum disorder, raising the number of genes that could be linked to the disorder from 65 to 2,500.

1 Aug 2016

Chemists develop faster, cheaper method to quantify water content in solid pharmaceutical drugs

Chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington have invented a method to quantify water content in solid pharmaceutical drugs that is faster, cheaper, more accurate and more precise than Karl Fischer titration, the method currently recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and widely used worldwide.

1 Aug 2016

Scientists uncover novel sites of expression in the brain for gene linked to ALS and FTD

For the first time novel expression sites in the brain have been identified for a gene which is associated with Motor Neuron Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia.

1 Aug 2016

Telestroke program increases clot-dissolving treatment rates among ischemic stroke patients

The use of a life-saving clot-dissolving treatment for patients with acute ischemic stroke increased by 73 percent following the implementation of a Kaiser Permanente telestroke program, according to a study published today in The Permanente Journal.

1 Aug 2016

Treating people in mental health hospitals with locked wards does not reduce risk of suicide attempts

Treating people with mental ill health in hospitals with locked wards, as opposed to hospitals without locked wards, does not reduce their risk of suicide attempts or of unauthorised absence from hospital, also known as ‘absconding’, according to a new 15-year study in Germany of around 145000 patient cases, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

1 Aug 2016

New guide offers person-centred analysis of people living with dementia

The Good Care Group offer high quality live in care services, for elderly people to live in their home for as long as possible.

1 Aug 2016

Combined therapy may lead to better outcomes in children with ADHD

Three studies to be published in the August 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry report that combining two standard medications could lead to greater clinical improvements for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than either ADHD therapy alone.

1 Aug 2016

Overcoming gene silencing barriers to target neurological conditions: an interview with Dr Errol de Souza

Many gene mutations that cause neurological disorders have been identified. For example, in a rare neurological disorder such as Huntington’s disease, an autosomal dominant mutation through expansion of CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) triplet repeats in the gene coding for the Huntingtin protein results in abnormal protein production.

1 Aug 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

New Valley Fever testing technology developed by TGen and NAU receives U.S. patent

Researchers use personalized simulations of the brain to uncover nature of internal processes

Study reveals alterations in silent synapses could trigger drug-related memories in addiction

Penn's ADCC receives $8.8 million grant to continue research on treatment for AD and related dementias

Lower weight late in life linked to greater risk for Alzheimer's disease

UTA researchers find how changing estrogen levels make women more vulnerable to cocaine addiction

Regular physical exercise could lead to higher brain volumes and decreased dementia risk

Research findings elucidate how neurons process, represent touch in rat and the human brain

Scientists develop model using transformed stem cells to accelerate screening of drugs for rare cancers

Scientists observe reaction of neurons in real-time after concussive trauma

New review proposes neuroscience-based framework for diagnosis of addictive disorders

Scientists seeking blood donations from people exposed to arboviruses for dengue, Zika vaccine research

Researchers use machine-learning approach to predict autism risk genes

Chemists develop faster, cheaper method to quantify water content in solid pharmaceutical drugs

Scientists uncover novel sites of expression in the brain for gene linked to ALS and FTD

Telestroke program increases clot-dissolving treatment rates among ischemic stroke patients

Treating people in mental health hospitals with locked wards does not reduce risk of suicide attempts

New guide offers person-centred analysis of people living with dementia

Combined therapy may lead to better outcomes in children with ADHD

Overcoming gene silencing barriers to target neurological conditions: an interview with Dr Errol de Souza

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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