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.

Preventing the spread of Zika: an interview with Professor John Oxford

The link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barré on the one hand, and pregnancy and the virus affecting the fetus in terms of microcephaly on the other, is still not confirmed conclusively.

1 Mar 2016

CAMH, Impel NeuroPharma partner to advance novel treatment to alleviate depression

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Impel NeuroPharma have signed a licensing agreement to advance a new neuropeptide-based therapeutic approach shown to be effective in treating depression.

1 Mar 2016

Advances in the field of MPI: an interview with Professor Kannan Krishnan

In around 2004, there was a Phillips paper that discussed a new imaging technique called MPI. At that time, I had an eager, promising graduate student named Matt Ferguson who wanted a project, so I asked him to take a look.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 1 Mar 2016

Rare disease day focuses on new approach to finding treatment

2,200 babies will be born in the UK on 29th February, of which 30 will die of a rare disease before they are five years old.

29 Feb 2016

New model could help to better understand extreme events in the brain

Physicists at the Universities of Bonn and Oldenburg have developed a model whose behavior - although based on strict rules - can apparently change spontaneously. There are also changes of this type in nature, for example, in the development of migraine attacks or epileptic seizures.

27 Feb 2016

Novel mitochondria-specific ceria nanoparticles can effectively suppress neuronal cell death

The brain is an enormous network of communication, containing over 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, with branches that connect at more than 100 trillion points. They are constantly sending signals through a vast neuron forest that forms memories, thoughts and feelings; these patterns of activity form the essence of each person.

27 Feb 2016

Radiotherapy plus panobinostat more effective for aggressive, recurrent brain cancer

Radiotherapy effectively damages brain tumors but the cancer cells can repair themselves in order to live on. Now, researchers at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center have tested a strategy that combines radiotherapy with a drug that shuts down the ability of tumor to mend themselves.

27 Feb 2016

Discovery could lead to better therapies for people with obsessive compulsive disorder

Research led by investigators in veterinary and human medicine has identified genetic pathways that exacerbate severity of canine compulsive disorder in Doberman pinschers, a discovery that could lead to better therapies for obsessive compulsive disorder in people.

27 Feb 2016

Novel therapeutic approach to target monomeric Tau protein

Dementia and other tauopathies, most notably Alzheimer's disease, embody a class of neurodegenerative diseases associated with the aggregation of the Tau protein in the human brain. These diseases represent one of the leading causes of death and disability in the elderly population in the western world, with no current effective therapy.

27 Feb 2016

Rockefeller research reveals vital new component of system responsible for regulating food intake

The molecular intricacies of hunger and satiety, pivotal for understanding metabolic disorders and the problem of obesity, are not yet fully understood by scientists. However, new research from The Rockefeller University reveals an important new component of the system responsible for regulating food intake: a hormone called amylin, which acts in the brain to help control consumption.

27 Feb 2016

Scientists reveal how the brain processes information with lightning speed

Surprisingly complex interactions between neurotransmitter receptors and other key proteins help explain the brain's ability to process information with lightning speed, according to a new study.

27 Feb 2016

Researchers conduct study of Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone

Researchers from the University's Institute of Translational Medicine have conducted a study of Ebola survivors to describe the medical problems they continue to have after recovering from the acute disease.

27 Feb 2016

Older adults have more positive responses than young adults about feeling serenity, loneliness

A new study led by associate professor Rebecca Ready in the department of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found that older adults have different, more positive responses than young adults about feelings such as serenity, sadness and loneliness.

27 Feb 2016

Researchers find way to inhibit enzyme responsible for Alzheimer's disease

For decades, intensive research has been conducted on drugs all over the world to treat Alzheimer's patients. Although major progress has been made in diagnostics (the disease can be detected increasingly early and accurately), the therapeutic options remain limited.

27 Feb 2016

Researchers develop new method to screen tumor samples for presence of human polyomaviruses

Human polyomaviruses are commonly found in the population and generally do not produce noticeable symptoms. However, one type of human polyomavirus, the Merkel cell polyomavirus, is known to cause a rare form of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, and other members of the polyomavirus family can induce non-cancer related diseases in people with compromised immune systems.

27 Feb 2016

Brains have different traits that affect anatomical and cognitive factors

Everyone has a different mixture of personality traits: some are outgoing, some are tough and some are anxious. A new study suggests that brains also have different traits that affect both anatomical and cognitive factors, such as intelligence and memory.

27 Feb 2016

Bariatric surgery reduces incidence of heart failure exacerbation in patients with morbid obesity

A new study led by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators finds that heart failure patients who underwent bariatric surgery to treat morbid obesity had a significant reduction in the incidence of heart failure exacerbation - a dangerous, sudden worsening of symptoms - in the two years following surgery.

27 Feb 2016

New imaging study shows how exercise affects the brain

People who exercise have better mental fitness, and a new imaging study from UC Davis Health System shows why. Intense exercise increases levels of two common neurotransmitters -- glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA -- that are responsible for chemical messaging within the brain.

27 Feb 2016

TTR protein causes autoimmune reaction in joints of juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or JIA, is the most common form of childhood arthritis. It appears to be an autoimmune disease, caused by antibodies attacking certain proteins in a person's own tissue. But no "autoantigens" -- the proteins triggering an immune attack -- have been linked to JIA.

27 Feb 2016

New drug shows promise against Huntington's disease

A drug that would be the first to target the cause of Huntington's disease (HD) is effective and safe when tested in mice and monkeys, according to data released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 to 21, 2016.

27 Feb 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Preventing the spread of Zika: an interview with Professor John Oxford

CAMH, Impel NeuroPharma partner to advance novel treatment to alleviate depression

Advances in the field of MPI: an interview with Professor Kannan Krishnan

Rare disease day focuses on new approach to finding treatment

New model could help to better understand extreme events in the brain

Novel mitochondria-specific ceria nanoparticles can effectively suppress neuronal cell death

Radiotherapy plus panobinostat more effective for aggressive, recurrent brain cancer

Discovery could lead to better therapies for people with obsessive compulsive disorder

Novel therapeutic approach to target monomeric Tau protein

Rockefeller research reveals vital new component of system responsible for regulating food intake

Scientists reveal how the brain processes information with lightning speed

Researchers conduct study of Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone

Older adults have more positive responses than young adults about feeling serenity, loneliness

Researchers find way to inhibit enzyme responsible for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers develop new method to screen tumor samples for presence of human polyomaviruses

Brains have different traits that affect anatomical and cognitive factors

Bariatric surgery reduces incidence of heart failure exacerbation in patients with morbid obesity

New imaging study shows how exercise affects the brain

TTR protein causes autoimmune reaction in joints of juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients

New drug shows promise against Huntington's disease

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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