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.

Study provides new insight into poorly understood effects of high explosive blasts in male soldiers

Scientists have identified a distinctive pattern of injury in the brains of eight deceased military personnel who survived high explosive attacks and died between 4 days and 9 years later from their injuries or other causes.

13 Jun 2016

Air pollution becomes leading risk factor for stroke worldwide

Air pollution – including environmental and household air pollution - has emerged as a leading risk factor for stroke worldwide, associated with about a third of the global burden of stroke in 2013, according to a new study published in The Lancet Neurology journal.

13 Jun 2016

New stem cell treatment may halt clinical relapses, development of new brain lesions in patients MS

A new use of chemotherapy followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has fully halted clinical relapses and development of new brain lesions in 23 of 24 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) for a prolonged period without the need for ongoing medication, according to a new phase 2 clinical trial, published in The Lancet.

13 Jun 2016

New remedy for poor sleepers

Simon Fraser University research aimed at helping people get to sleep will be highlighted at an international sleep conference next week. Luc Beaudoin, an adjunct professor in cognitive science and education, created the mySleepButton app two years ago.

13 Jun 2016

Defects in cerebrospinal fluid flow may contribute to scoliosis during adolescence

A new study in zebrafish suggests that irregular fluid flow through the spinal column brought on by gene mutations is linked to a type of scoliosis that can affect humans during adolescence.

13 Jun 2016

Immunoablation strengthens haemopoietic stem-cell transplantation effects in MS

Intensifying current transplant conditioning to remove rather than suppress immune cells ahead of autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation may result in long-term remission of multiple sclerosis, phase II trial findings show.

10 Jun 2016

About 30% of iPSCs not safe for clinical use, report multi-institutional researchers

As the promise of using regenerative stem cell therapies draws closer, a consortium of biomedical scientists reports about 30 percent of induced pluripotent stem cells they analyzed from 10 research institutions were genetically unstable and not safe for clinical use.

10 Jun 2016

Aspirin may increase likelihood of surviving colon cancer

It is well known that the drug ASA, also known internationally as Aspirin, has analgesic and fever-reducing properties. However, this drug may also increase the likelihood of surviving colon cancer.

10 Jun 2016

New qPAINT technology helps develop more precise, less expensive microscopes

Knowing the exact number of molecules located at specific junctures in cells can be a critical measure of health as well as disease. For example, abnormally high numbers of growth factor receptors on cells can be an indication of cancerous and precancerous states; specific proteins located at the junction where neurons connect in the brain may affect brain function as they accumulate or disperse.

10 Jun 2016

Measuring specific proteins in blood samples may help track progression of dementias

Reliable information can be obtained on the progression of dementias by measuring specific proteins in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid. A test of this kind is especially significant to the development of new therapies, as reported in the journal Neuron by scientists from the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, along with international colleagues.

10 Jun 2016

Advanced imaging technique helps predict recovery in concussion patients

Using an advanced imaging technique, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System were able to predict which patients who'd recently suffered concussions were likely to fully recover.

10 Jun 2016

Study sheds new light on the brain’s decision-making processes

Netflix binge-watching versus a hike in the woods. A cheeseburger versus kale salad. Fentanyl versus Tylenol. New UC research from the University California, Berkeley, suggests our brain activity could be influenced to make the healthier choice.

10 Jun 2016

Review makes parents, pediatric practitioners aware of toy age-related safety standards

Despite tight government regulation, more than 200,000 visits are made annually to U.S. emergency departments for toy-related injuries. Parents and pediatric health providers are often unaware of how toys are assigned safety labels and suggestions for recommended age-appropriate use.

9 Jun 2016

Glial cells may play crucial role in addiction-related behaviors

Addiction may be viewed as a disorder of reward learning. To date, addiction research has focused on the molecular adaptations through which memories of exposure to abused substances are encoded and maintained by nerve cells.

9 Jun 2016

Study finds positive support from all racial/ethnic groups for physician-assisted death

Physician-assisted death was supported by a majority of California and Hawaii residents, regardless of their ethnicity, who responded to an online survey, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

9 Jun 2016

UCLA scientists develop statistical method for conducting survival analysis of cancer patients

People with cancer are often told by their doctors approximately how long they have to live, and how well they will respond to treatments, but what if there were a way to improve the accuracy of doctors' predictions?

9 Jun 2016

New drug for chronic migraine may reduce headache hours in few days

A new drug to prevent migraine was associated with fewer headache hours for people with chronic migraine within three to seven days after the first injection, according to a study published in the June 8, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Jun 2016

Standard and intensive blood pressure treatments equally effective in controlling acute intracerebral hemorrhage

An international stroke study found that standard and intensive blood pressure treatments were equally effective in the emergency treatment of acute intracerebral hemorrhage, a type of stroke caused by bleeding into the brain.

9 Jun 2016

Transplantation of hpNSCs into non-human primates modeled with PD promotes behavioral recovery

A multi-center team of researchers in the U.S. testing the potential of cell therapy for treating Parkinson's disease (PD) has found that grafting human parthenogenetic stem cell-derived neural stem cells (hpNSCs) into non-human primates modeled with PD promoted behavioral recovery, increased dopamine concentrations in the brain, and induced the expression of beneficial genes and pathways when compared to control animals not transplanted with stem cells.

9 Jun 2016

New Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre uses Siemens MRI systems for neuroimaging research

Her Majesty the Queen has officially opened the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, a unique neuroimaging research hub.

9 Jun 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Study provides new insight into poorly understood effects of high explosive blasts in male soldiers

Air pollution becomes leading risk factor for stroke worldwide

New stem cell treatment may halt clinical relapses, development of new brain lesions in patients MS

New remedy for poor sleepers

Defects in cerebrospinal fluid flow may contribute to scoliosis during adolescence

Immunoablation strengthens haemopoietic stem-cell transplantation effects in MS

About 30% of iPSCs not safe for clinical use, report multi-institutional researchers

Aspirin may increase likelihood of surviving colon cancer

New qPAINT technology helps develop more precise, less expensive microscopes

Measuring specific proteins in blood samples may help track progression of dementias

Advanced imaging technique helps predict recovery in concussion patients

Study sheds new light on the brain’s decision-making processes

Review makes parents, pediatric practitioners aware of toy age-related safety standards

Glial cells may play crucial role in addiction-related behaviors

Study finds positive support from all racial/ethnic groups for physician-assisted death

UCLA scientists develop statistical method for conducting survival analysis of cancer patients

New drug for chronic migraine may reduce headache hours in few days

Standard and intensive blood pressure treatments equally effective in controlling acute intracerebral hemorrhage

Transplantation of hpNSCs into non-human primates modeled with PD promotes behavioral recovery

New Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre uses Siemens MRI systems for neuroimaging research

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st 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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