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 finds no evidence of genetic overlap between schizophrenia risk and subcortical brain volumes

Over the last decade, important contributions to our understanding of schizophrenia have come from two different types of studies. Neuroimaging studies have found that certain parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala, are smaller in people with schizophrenia - a devastating psychiatric illness with high heritability.

3 Feb 2016

New approach to investigate how neurodevelopment influences diseases in adulthood

The Research Training Group, which builds on translational research training programmes and research structures such as the Molecular Medicine degree programme and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research, will work on areas where basic research and clinical practice overlap. It will bring together 20 doctoral candidates from the natural sciences and 28 from medicine.

3 Feb 2016

New analysis method may help categorise stroke patients with language problem

Brain researcher Karsten Specht has found a new method of analysis to distinguish between stroke patients with language problem. The result may be individualised treatment for each patient.

3 Feb 2016

New gene cut-and-paste methods help correct disease-causing mutation in animal model

For the first time, researchers have treated an animal model of a genetic disorder using a viral vector to deliver genome-editing components in which the disease- causing mutation has been corrected.

3 Feb 2016

MYB-QKI fusion gene that drives pediatric low-grade gliomas poses a triple threat

Oncology researchers have discovered that an abnormal fused gene that drives pediatric brain tumors poses a triple threat, operating simultaneously through three distinct biological mechanisms—the first such example in cancer biology.

2 Feb 2016

Saliva gland test may help diagnose early Parkinson's disease

Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Arizona and Banner Sun Health Research Institute have determined that testing a portion of a person's submandibular gland may be a way to diagnose early Parkinson's disease. The study was published this month in Movement Disorders, the official journal of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society.

2 Feb 2016

New way of using MRI scanners to diagnose multiple sclerosis

A new way of using MRI scanners to look for evidence of multiple sclerosis in the brain has been successfully tested by researchers at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

2 Feb 2016

Understanding crucial role of 'healthy' brain in preventing memory failures linked to Alzheimer's disease

The mechanisms underlying the stability and plasticity of neural circuits in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial memory and the memory of everyday facts and events, has been a major focus of study in the field of neuroscience. Understanding precisely how a "healthy" brain stores and processes information is crucial to preventing and reversing the memory failures associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of late-life dementia.

2 Feb 2016

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in offspring

As the study shows, a high-fat diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in the offspring. These changes affect metabolic pathways regulated by the gut hormone GIP, whereby the adult offspring are more susceptible to obesity and insulin resistance, the precursor to type 2 diabetes. Similar mechanisms cannot be ruled out in humans, according to Pfeiffer.

2 Feb 2016

Biochemical compound demonstrates increasing potential for use in cancer imaging

In the paper, an international team reviewed studies conducted over the past 30 years on a particular tracer, called “18F-FLT,” and found that it has the potential to improve diagnostic imaging, and thus treatment, of some cancers.

2 Feb 2016

Researchers identify definitive genetic defect in angiocentric gliomas

Diagnosis and treatment decisions for a recently recognized type of children's brain tumor should be improved by the discovery of the genetic mechanism that causes it, say researchers who identified the unusual DNA abnormality in angiocentric gliomas.

2 Feb 2016

Vanderbilt study offers a glimmer of hope to alcoholics suffering from depression

A study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is offering a glimmer of hope to alcoholics who find it hard to remain sober because their abstinence is hounded by stubborn, difficult-to-treat depression.

1 Feb 2016

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to specifically modify gene expression in diseased upper motor neurons, brain cells that break down in ALS.

1 Feb 2016

Rochester scientists identify stem cells capable of skull formation, craniofacial bone repair in mice

A team of Rochester scientists has, for the first time, identified and isolated a stem cell population capable of skull formation and craniofacial bone repair in mice--achieving an important step toward using stem cells for bone reconstruction of the face and head in the future, according to a new paper in Nature Communications.

1 Feb 2016

Alternative splicing: a new approach to drug development? An interview with Lucy Donaldson

RNA is becoming an interesting drug target as it takes possible intervention back one step to the synthesis of a target protein, instead of trying to block or inhibit a process.

1 Feb 2016

New UEA-led research initiative aims to improve understanding of deictic communication in humans

A major new €3.5 million research initiative led by the University of East Anglia will aim to improve understanding of a fundamental part of communication in humans.

1 Feb 2016

Researchers link symptoms of schizophrenia with the brain's anatomical characteristics

An international team, made up of researchers from the University of Granada, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of South Florida, has linked the symptoms of schizophrenia with the anatomical characteristics of the brain, by employing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

1 Feb 2016

Proton beam therapy safe for treating childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma

Proton beam therapy--a more precise form of radiotherapy--to treat the childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma appears to be as safe as conventional radiotherapy with similar survival rates, according to new research published in The Lancet Oncology journal today.

1 Feb 2016

New brain study affirms truth in age old theory 'practice makes perfect'

'Practice makes perfect' may be a cliché but a new brain study out of York U affirms this age old theory. In this study, Faculty of Health researchers were looking at fMRI brain scans of professional ballet dancers to measure the long-term effects of learning.

1 Feb 2016

Research offers novel insights into root causes of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mysterious and devastating disorder that afflicts one percent of the adult population worldwide. Its symptoms — hallucinations, emotional withdrawal, and cognitive impairment — are chronic and typically emerge just as individuals are entering adulthood. Today's medications treat just one of these symptoms (psychosis); treatments for the underlying disease and its many other symptoms have been hard to develop, because no one really understands what causes the disorder.

31 Jan 2016

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Study finds no evidence of genetic overlap between schizophrenia risk and subcortical brain volumes

New approach to investigate how neurodevelopment influences diseases in adulthood

New analysis method may help categorise stroke patients with language problem

New gene cut-and-paste methods help correct disease-causing mutation in animal model

MYB-QKI fusion gene that drives pediatric low-grade gliomas poses a triple threat

Saliva gland test may help diagnose early Parkinson's disease

New way of using MRI scanners to diagnose multiple sclerosis

Understanding crucial role of 'healthy' brain in preventing memory failures linked to Alzheimer's disease

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in offspring

Biochemical compound demonstrates increasing potential for use in cancer imaging

Researchers identify definitive genetic defect in angiocentric gliomas

Vanderbilt study offers a glimmer of hope to alcoholics suffering from depression

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

Rochester scientists identify stem cells capable of skull formation, craniofacial bone repair in mice

Alternative splicing: a new approach to drug development? An interview with Lucy Donaldson

New UEA-led research initiative aims to improve understanding of deictic communication in humans

Researchers link symptoms of schizophrenia with the brain's anatomical characteristics

Proton beam therapy safe for treating childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma

New brain study affirms truth in age old theory 'practice makes perfect'

Research offers novel insights into root causes of schizophrenia

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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