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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.

Excess phosphates in foods may lead to abnormally high blood pressure

Excess consumption of phosphate over-activates nerves that raise blood pressure, leading to abnormally high blood pressure, a new study in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology reports.

2 Jun 2016

Multiple cell and gene therapies can enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with MI

Researchers at the University of Utah compared the therapeutic potential of umbilical cord-derived sub-epithelial cells (UC-SECs), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) -- all derived from human tissue -- along with genes (S100a1 and SDF-1a) and growth factor (VEGF165) to evaluate how injected biologics might enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with myocardial infarction (MI; commonly referred to as heart attack).

2 Jun 2016

$CD34+ cell therapy improves angina frequency in no option patients with class III/IV angina refractory$

CD34+ cell therapy improves angina frequency in no option patients with class III/IV angina refractory

A two-year, multi-center clinical study with 167 patients with class III-IV refractory angina randomized to low and high dose CD34+ cells or placebo has revealed that patients who received either a high or low dose of CD34 -- a member of a family of proteins that have an impact on vascular-associated tissue -- cells had a significant reduction in angina frequency over patients who received placebo.

2 Jun 2016

Experts urge cancer researchers to use old, obese mice for preclinical immunotherapy studies

Researchers should include laboratory mice that are old and obese in their studies of immunotherapy treatments for cancer, according to a review article by Saint Louis University scientists.

2 Jun 2016

Buck researchers identify new, potential drug targets for sporadic PD

Research at the Buck Institute shows the same mechanisms that lead to neuronal cell death in mice genetically fated to develop Parkinson's disease (PD) are involved in the much more common sporadic form of the age-related, neurodegenerative disorder that robs people of the ability to move normally.

2 Jun 2016

Study shows women with migraine history have rapid decline in estrogen levels

Researchers have long known that sex hormones such as estrogen play a role in migraine. But there's been little research on how that works. Do women with migraine have higher estrogen levels in general? Higher levels at the peak of the monthly cycle?

2 Jun 2016

New research reveals functioning of brain's cleaning up mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases

A piece of research led by the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, the University of the Basque Country, and the Ikerbasque Foundation has revealed how the brain's cleaning up mechanisms function in neurodegenerative diseases.

1 Jun 2016

Duke scientists discover new small-molecule drugs to treat chronic pain

A research team at Duke University has discovered a potential new class of small-molecule drugs that simultaneously block two sought-after targets in the treatment of pain.

1 Jun 2016

Vocal learning in songbirds sheds more light on developmental disorders in humans

Adult songbirds modify their vocalizations when singing to juveniles in the same way that humans alter their speech when talking to babies. The resulting brain activity in young birds could shed light on speech learning and certain developmental disorders in humans, according to a study by McGill University researchers.

1 Jun 2016

Brain scan combined with long-term memory test could help early Alzheimer's diagnosis

People with Alzheimer's disease could benefit from earlier diagnosis if a long-term memory test combined with a brain scan were carried out, a study suggests.

1 Jun 2016

Mediodorsal thalamus plays key role in new learning and decision making

Scientists have confirmed one of the brain areas responsible for rapid updating of information during learning - the sort of information we use to negotiate many changing situations in everyday life.

1 Jun 2016

Caffeine and alcohol co-consumption linked to negative outcomes among adolescents

Heavy joint consumption of highly caffeinated energy drinks and alcohol has become more common among adolescents/young adults, and has been associated with an increase of hazardous behaviors.

1 Jun 2016

Suppression of ventral pallidum neurons could be key to control binge behavior

Rats that responded to cues for sugar with the speed and excitement of binge-eaters were less motivated for the treat when certain neurons were suppressed, researchers discovered.

1 Jun 2016

Clinical trial to test safety, efficacy of Roswell Park-developed SurVaxM in multiple myeloma patients

An immune-based therapy developed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute is moving forward with its third clinical trial. The early-stage clinical trial will assess whether SurVaxM — a cancer vaccine developed at Roswell Park — is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with multiple myeloma, a rare type of blood cancer.

1 Jun 2016

Understanding how opiates affect brain pathways to drive addiction cycle

New research by Steven Laviolette's research team at Western University is contributing to a better understanding of the ways opiate-class drugs modify brain circuits to drive the addiction cycle.

1 Jun 2016

Luteal phase of menstrual cycle may help thwart smoking behavior in women

Women who want to quit smoking may have better success by carefully timing their quit date with optimal days within their menstrual cycle, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

1 Jun 2016

New research in mice provides better understanding of how HD begins and develops

Mice transplanted with cells grown from a patient suffering from Huntington's disease (HD) develop the clinical features and brain pathology of that patient, suggests a study published in the latest issue of Acta Neuropathologica by CHA University in Korea, in collaboration with researchers at Université Laval in Québec City, Canada.

1 Jun 2016

Rome IV criteria helps diagnose, treat gastrointestinal conditions in children

A child feels nauseated all the time, but no medical test can find what is wrong. Or a child vomits regularly, but there's no illness or eating disorder to explain it. These, and other stomach and bowel-related problems with no obvious causes, are called functional gastrointestinal disorders.

1 Jun 2016

Altered circadian somatostatin expression linked to bipolar disorder

Results of the first study of its kind to link abnormalities in circadian rhythms to changes in specific neurotransmitters in people with bipolar disorder will be published this week in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

1 Jun 2016

Cryptococcus research: an interview with Associate Professor Kirsten Nielsen

Cryptococcus is a fungus found in the environment throughout the world that is able to cause disease in humans. While most fungal pathogens don’t receive as much press as their bacterial or viral counterparts, they can be just as deadly.

1 Jun 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Excess phosphates in foods may lead to abnormally high blood pressure

Multiple cell and gene therapies can enhance cardiac function in mice modeled with MI

CD34+ cell therapy improves angina frequency in no option patients with class III/IV angina refractory

Experts urge cancer researchers to use old, obese mice for preclinical immunotherapy studies

Buck researchers identify new, potential drug targets for sporadic PD

Study shows women with migraine history have rapid decline in estrogen levels

New research reveals functioning of brain's cleaning up mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases

Duke scientists discover new small-molecule drugs to treat chronic pain

Vocal learning in songbirds sheds more light on developmental disorders in humans

Brain scan combined with long-term memory test could help early Alzheimer's diagnosis

Mediodorsal thalamus plays key role in new learning and decision making

Caffeine and alcohol co-consumption linked to negative outcomes among adolescents

Suppression of ventral pallidum neurons could be key to control binge behavior

Clinical trial to test safety, efficacy of Roswell Park-developed SurVaxM in multiple myeloma patients

Understanding how opiates affect brain pathways to drive addiction cycle

Luteal phase of menstrual cycle may help thwart smoking behavior in women

New research in mice provides better understanding of how HD begins and develops

Rome IV criteria helps diagnose, treat gastrointestinal conditions in children

Altered circadian somatostatin expression linked to bipolar disorder

Cryptococcus research: an interview with Associate Professor Kirsten Nielsen

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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