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: Climbing stairs and years of schooling can promote brain health

Taking the stairs is normally associated with keeping your body strong and healthy. But new research shows that it improves your brain's health too — and that education also has a positive effect.

10 Mar 2016

Repetitive movements in slow-learning stages can help individuals retain motor skills

Researchers in Japan have found that repetitive movements in slow-learning stages can alter an area of the brain responsible for movement, and help individuals retain these motor skills.

10 Mar 2016

Research reviews importance of blood-brain barrier, blood-tumor barrier in treatment of brain tumors

The research thoroughly reviews the importance of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-tumor barrier (BTB) along with the current status and future perspectives of interesting physical and surgical strategies to circumvent these central nervous system (CNS) barriers in the treatment of malignant brain tumors.

10 Mar 2016

Tailored new compound can dramatically reduce brain damage resulting from stroke

After suffering a stroke, about three-fourths of patients exhibit some disability. The extent of a patient's symptoms depends on the degree and location of brain tissue damage following the stroke event. This week in ACS Central Science, researchers show that by using a tailored small molecule to turn off the production of a key neuromodulator in the brain, they can dramatically reduce brain damage in stroke models in rats.

10 Mar 2016

Small, sensitive biosensors could help personalize treatment for Alzheimer's disease

A portable biosensor that could show how disease is progressing in patients with Alzheimer's could greatly improve people's quality of life in the future, according to a new review published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

10 Mar 2016

People newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis share risk factors of other chronic illnesses

People newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis may often have other chronic health conditions as well, according to a study published in the March 9, 2016 online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Mar 2016

Heart rate variability may increase epilepsy risk

Doctors have long characterized epilepsy as a brain disorder, but researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found that part of the autonomic nervous system functions differently in epilepsy during the absence of seizures.This connection to the involuntary division of the nervous system may have implications for diagnosing and treating the disease and understanding sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

10 Mar 2016

Practicing movements at different speeds enhances certain nerve functions after stroke or spine injury

Changes in one circuit of nerves, but not another, in the spinal cord depend on how quickly muscles must move to complete a task, according to results from the Human Motor Control Laboratory of Professor Kozo Funase, PhD, at Hiroshima University. The results could influence physical therapy routines for patients struggling to control their bodies after a stroke or spine injury.

10 Mar 2016

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute, with colleagues in China, have developed a new, regenerative medicine approach to remove congenital cataracts in infants, permitting remaining stem cells to regrow functional lenses.

10 Mar 2016

Discovery may provide potential target for new therapies to treat bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder, which affects nearly eight million Americans, takes a toll not only on patients, but also on their families and communities.

10 Mar 2016

HIV-positive individuals in Africa with certain genetic variant have lower chance of developing TB

In the first known discovery of its kind, a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine-led team has found that HIV patients in Africa with a certain genetic variant have a 63-percent lower chance of developing tuberculosis than HIV patients without the genetic variant.

10 Mar 2016

Research could pave way for new generation of anti-cancer drugs

New research has identified a first step in the design of a new generation of anti-cancer drugs that include an agent to inhibit resistance to their effectiveness.

9 Mar 2016

Scientists discover brain mechanisms that separate food consumption from cravings

Researchers investigating eating disorders often study chemical and neurological functions in the brain to discover clues to overeating. Understanding non-homeostatic eating -- or eating that is driven more by palatability, habit and food cues -- and how it works in the brain may help neuroscientists determine how to control cravings, maintain healthier weights and promote healthier lifestyles. Scientists at the University of Missouri recently discovered the chemical circuits and mechanisms in the brain that separate food consumption from cravings. Knowing more about these mechanisms could help researchers develop drugs that reduce overeating.

9 Mar 2016

Alcohol worst of all drugs that affect fetal health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set off a firestorm of controversy this month when they suggested that women stop drinking alcohol if they are trying to get pregnant, or could get pregnant. Some people took this advice as the CDC prioritizing hypothetical, yet-to-be-conceived children over real women, which has brought up a number of issues from female autonomy to access to birth control—but how clear is the science about what causes fetal alcohol syndrome and related fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

9 Mar 2016

Brain Awareness Week: University of Leicester to host free event to raise awareness of neurological research

The University of Leicester is to host a free event which coincides with a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of neurological research.

9 Mar 2016

Metabolic syndrome treatment benefits MS patients

Oral antidiabetic medications have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in patients with multiple sclerosis and metabolic syndrome, providing support for a link between metabolism and autoimmunity, researchers report.

9 Mar 2016

Obese children at greater risk for pedestrian injuries

Child development experts already know obese children are at greater risk than their peers for developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, and joint problems.

9 Mar 2016

Researchers report first case of acute myelitis due to Zika virus infection

A first case of acute myelitis following infection with Zika virus has been reported for the first time by a research team from Inserm Unit 1127 Brain and Spinal Cord Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University) and neurologists at Pointe-à-Pitre University Hospital and the University of the Antilles.

9 Mar 2016

Combination of two innovative rehabilitation approaches may enhance movement function after stroke

Used in combination, two innovative rehabilitation approaches can promote better long-term recovery of arm and hand movement function in stroke survivors, suggests a paper in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

8 Mar 2016

Research findings may provide highly effective therapeutic strategy for treatment of Alzheimer's, AMD

For the first time, researchers at LSU Health New Orleans have shown that a protein critical to the body's ability to remove waste products from the brain and retina is diminished in age-related macular degeneration, after first making the discovery in an Alzheimer's disease brain. The research team, led by Walter Lukiw, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center, also discovered a key reason, identifying a new treatment target.

8 Mar 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Study: Climbing stairs and years of schooling can promote brain health

Repetitive movements in slow-learning stages can help individuals retain motor skills

Research reviews importance of blood-brain barrier, blood-tumor barrier in treatment of brain tumors

Tailored new compound can dramatically reduce brain damage resulting from stroke

Small, sensitive biosensors could help personalize treatment for Alzheimer's disease

People newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis share risk factors of other chronic illnesses

Heart rate variability may increase epilepsy risk

Practicing movements at different speeds enhances certain nerve functions after stroke or spine injury

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

Discovery may provide potential target for new therapies to treat bipolar disorder

HIV-positive individuals in Africa with certain genetic variant have lower chance of developing TB

Research could pave way for new generation of anti-cancer drugs

Scientists discover brain mechanisms that separate food consumption from cravings

Alcohol worst of all drugs that affect fetal health

Brain Awareness Week: University of Leicester to host free event to raise awareness of neurological research

Metabolic syndrome treatment benefits MS patients

Obese children at greater risk for pedestrian injuries

Researchers report first case of acute myelitis due to Zika virus infection

Combination of two innovative rehabilitation approaches may enhance movement function after stroke

Research findings may provide highly effective therapeutic strategy for treatment of Alzheimer's, AMD

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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