Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Innovative nanobubble treatment finds and destroys cancer cells in mice

Innovative technology developed by NIH-funded researchers has been able to find and facilitate the killing of cancer cells in mice without harming the nearby healthy tissue.

7 Jul 2016

Activation of D2 neurons may help decrease alcohol consumption, research shows

By activating particular neurons, we may be able to influence alcohol drinking behavior, according to new findings published by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

7 Jul 2016

People with IED have connectivity deficits in SLF region of the brain

People with intermittent explosive disorder (IED), or impulsive aggression, have a weakened connection between regions of the brain associated with sensory input, language processing and social interaction.

7 Jul 2016

New microfluidic device allows scientists to use safe electric fields to treat cancer

Researchers at MIT's research center in Singapore have developed a new microfluidic device that tests the effects of electric fields on cancer cells.

7 Jul 2016

Daclizumab drug offers new treatment option for people living with relapsing forms of MS in the UK

A new, first-in-class treatment which is believed to use a double-action approach to fight MS by rebalancing the immune system, has today been authorised in the UK for people living with relapsing forms (the most common type) of the disease.

7 Jul 2016

Genetic risk score may help detect Alzheimer's disease risk in healthy young adults

New research shows that a genetic risk score may detect those at higher risk for Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms appear—even possibly in healthy young adults, according to a study published in the July 6, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Jul 2016

Minoryx Therapeutics initiates phase 1 clinical trial of MIN-102

Minoryx Therapeutics, a drug development company specialized in the discovery and development of new drugs for orphan diseases, today announces the initiation of its first-in-man Phase 1 clinical trial for its lead compound MIN-102.

7 Jul 2016

AMPK protein activated during fasting regulates hunger neurons in the brain

Neurons in the brain that control hunger are regulated by AMPK, a protein activated during fasting, report researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Neuron on July 6, 2016.

6 Jul 2016

Existing anti-inflammatory drugs may be effective in treating epilepsy

In epileptic patients, seizures lead to an increased level of inflammation-related proteins called chemokines in the brain, and systemic inflammation likely helps trigger and promote the recurrence of seizures, making inflammation a promising new target for anticonvulsant therapy.

6 Jul 2016

Regular marijuana use impacts the brain's natural response to rewards

Most people would get a little 'rush' out of the idea that they're about to win some money.

6 Jul 2016

Researchers use FRET to make activation of AMPA receptors optically visible

Our brain is a high-performance computer. One of the key players in this complex system is the AMPA-type glutamate receptor. It ensures that neurotransmission proceeds at a breakneck pace from cell to cell.

6 Jul 2016

Study finds no substantial link between gadolinium exposure and parkinsonism

In a study appearing in the July 5 issue of JAMA, Blayne Welk, M.D., M.Sc., of Western University, London, Canada, and colleagues conducted a study to assess the association between gadolinium exposure and parkinsonism, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by tremor and impaired muscular coordination.

6 Jul 2016

Rapid number naming test can detect cognitively impaired people with AD

For the first time, researchers have determined that a brief, simple number naming test can differentiate between cognitively healthy elderly individuals and cognitively impaired people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), including those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as well as those with AD dementia.

6 Jul 2016

Tiny micro-vesicle structures may help predict probability of developing Alzheimer's dementia

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine say tiny micro-vesicle structures used by neurons and other cells to transport materials internally or dispose of them externally carry tell-tale proteins that may help to predict the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) developing into full-blown Alzheimer's disease (AD).

6 Jul 2016

Study finds delayed onset of illness for centenarians than younger counterparts

Research has shown that the human lifespan has the potential to be extended. But would this merely mean people living longer in poor health? The upbeat findings from a new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicate that those extra years could well be healthy ones

6 Jul 2016

Researchers identify potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease in biobanked urine samples

For more than five years, urine and cerebral-spinal fluid samples from patients with Parkinson's disease have been locked in freezers in the NINDS National Repository, stored with the expectation they might someday help unravel the still-hidden course of this slow-acting neurodegenerative disease.

6 Jul 2016

Researchers identify astroglia-mediated mechanism for causing FXS symptoms in mice

A study published today in the Journal of Neuroscience led by Yongjie Yang of Tufts University School of Medicine identifies an astroglial trigger mechanism as contributing to symptoms of fragile X syndrome in mice.

6 Jul 2016

Health care resource use and costs of H.P. Acthar® gel for multiple sclerosis relapse

Mallinckrodt plc, a leading global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced new retrospective health economic data on H.P. Acthar® Gel (repository corticotropin injection; RCI), which may be an option for the management of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses.

6 Jul 2016

Quantum Genomics initiates Phase IIa trial for heart failure

Quantum Genomics, a biopharmaceutical company with the mission of developing new therapies for unmet medical needs in the field of cardiovascular diseases, today announced the initiation of its Phase IIa multicentric clinical trial of GQC101, entitled QUID HF (QUantum Genomics Incremental Dosing in Heart Failure), for the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure. The first three clinical centres of the European trial have been opened in France and Norway.

6 Jul 2016

Anaemia in heart failure may impact prognosis

Anaemia is common in patients with heart failure, regardless of the underlying phenotype, and is often associated with iron deficiency, UK researchers report.

6 Jul 2016