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.

New test may help predict spread of breast cancer to the brain

Women with particularly aggressive forms of breast cancer could be identified by a test that predicts whether the disease is likely to spread to the brain.

22 Oct 2015

New study from TSRI and Salk points to cause of debilitating nerve disease

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered how a mutant protein triggers nerve damage in a subtype of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) diseases, a group of currently untreatable conditions that cause loss of function in a person’s hands and feet.

22 Oct 2015

Novel method provides greater means to study protein changes in Alzheimer's disease

Using 10-year-old archival brain tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease, a research team from NYU Langone Medical Center has developed a novel method to examine the structure and function of proteins at the cell level--providing greater means to study protein changes found in Alzheimer's disease.

22 Oct 2015

Restoring memory in aging mice

A new study, led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VA) and University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine shows that increasing a crucial cholesterol-binding membrane protein in nerve cells (neurons) within the brain can improve learning and memory in aged mice.

22 Oct 2015

Advances in Whole Mount Brain Imaging

An interview with Patrick Myles, discussing the digitization of whole mount slides and its impact on the field of neurobiological research.

From Huron Technologies 20 Oct 2015

New clique topology method can reveal geometric structure in neural activity in the brain

A newly-developed mathematical method can detect geometric structure in neural activity in the brain. "Previously, in order to understand this structure, scientists needed to relate neural activity to some specific external stimulus," said Vladimir Itskov, associate professor of mathematics at Penn State University.

20 Oct 2015

Melatonin and the circadian rhythm: an interview with Professor Kennaway, University of Adelaide

The production of melatonin is controlled by a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and its timing fine-tuned by our exposure to light during the morning.

20 Oct 2015

New research suggests that humans can perceive certain scents as threatening

New research from a team led by a psychologist at the University of Kent suggests that humans, like other species, can perceive certain scents as threatening.

20 Oct 2015

Asterias’ Phase 1/2a study evaluates dose escalation of AST-OPC1 for cervical spinal cord injury

Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE MKT: AST), a biotechnology company focused on the emerging field of regenerative medicine, today announced that its Data Monitoring Committee has reviewed the initial safety data from all three patients in the first cohort and has recommended dose escalation to the second cohort.

20 Oct 2015

Being a grandparent good for your health, says SLU geriatrician

Note to Mimi, Didi, Gigi, G-Ma and the rest of the gang who have swapped out your own pet names for Grandma: Being a grandparent is good for your health. So says Angela Sanford, M.D., assistant professor of geriatrics at Saint Louis University.

20 Oct 2015

Scientists reveal link between depression and paraventricular thalamus

Scientists from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute have shown that a mouse strain with a mutation that leads to dysfunction of mitochondria--the "powerhouses" that provide energy to cells--spontaneously undergo periodic episodes of depression-like behavior that resemble those in human. Through this research, published in Molecular Psychiatry, the scientists uncovered a link between depression and the paraventricular thalamus, a region of the brain not previously tied to depression.

20 Oct 2015

Study shows how synapses organization is controlled

Our ability to learn, move, and sense our world comes from the neurons in our brain. This information moves through our brain between neurons that are linked together by tens of trillions of tiny structures called synapses.

20 Oct 2015

Consuming high-fat diet may lead to anxiety and depression, cause measurable changes in the brain

A new study in mice reveals that increased body weight and high blood sugar as a result of consuming a high-fat diet may cause anxiety and depressive symptoms and measurable changes in the brain.

20 Oct 2015

First patients receive doses of antisense drug for Huntington's disease

The first few patients have received doses of an experimental RNA-targeting drug for Huntington's disease, it was announced today.

20 Oct 2015

Discovery may lead to new anti-metastasis therapies for advanced-stage brain cancer patients

It's no surprise that people enjoy warm places like Hawaii but may suffer in hostile locales such as Antarctica. A tumor suppressor gene called PTEN is similar in that it is affected by the microenvironments of certain bodily organs to which it travels.

20 Oct 2015

Celiac patients at no increased risk for dementia, study finds

A new and comprehensive study by investigators at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center has found that celiac patients are at no increased risk for dementia before or after their diagnosis of celiac disease.

20 Oct 2015

NAM announces election of three new members from UC San Diego School of Medicine

The National Academy of Medicine announced today the election of three new members from University of California, San Diego School of Medicine: Napoleone Ferrara, MD; Christopher K. Glass, MD, PhD; and Roberto Malinow, MD, PhD. Election to NAM is considered among the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

20 Oct 2015

APBI brachytherapy improves overall survival in selected patients with early stage breast cancer

The Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (GEC-ESTRO) today announced results from a prospective, randomized, multicenter phase III study comparing accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with interstitial multicatheter brachytherapy to whole breast irradiation (WBI).

20 Oct 2015

DelMar reports positive data from preclinical study of VAL-083 for treatment of ovarian cancer

DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new cancer therapies, announced that yesterday it presented positive preclinical data demonstrating the promising potential of its lead product candidate VAL-083 (dianhydrogalactitol) as a treatment for ovarian cancer.

19 Oct 2015

Researchers associate neuroimaging data with reading deficits in patients with left-sided stroke

Researchers at Kessler Foundation and Rutgers University correlated neuroimaging data with reading deficits in patients with subacute left hemispheric stroke. Their findings add to our knowledge of the neural mechanisms of reading and may be useful in the development of reading interventions that address specific neurological deficits.

19 Oct 2015

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

New test may help predict spread of breast cancer to the brain

New study from TSRI and Salk points to cause of debilitating nerve disease

Novel method provides greater means to study protein changes in Alzheimer's disease

Restoring memory in aging mice

Advances in Whole Mount Brain Imaging

New clique topology method can reveal geometric structure in neural activity in the brain

Melatonin and the circadian rhythm: an interview with Professor Kennaway, University of Adelaide

New research suggests that humans can perceive certain scents as threatening

Asterias’ Phase 1/2a study evaluates dose escalation of AST-OPC1 for cervical spinal cord injury

Being a grandparent good for your health, says SLU geriatrician

Scientists reveal link between depression and paraventricular thalamus

Study shows how synapses organization is controlled

Consuming high-fat diet may lead to anxiety and depression, cause measurable changes in the brain

First patients receive doses of antisense drug for Huntington's disease

Discovery may lead to new anti-metastasis therapies for advanced-stage brain cancer patients

Celiac patients at no increased risk for dementia, study finds

NAM announces election of three new members from UC San Diego School of Medicine

APBI brachytherapy improves overall survival in selected patients with early stage breast cancer

DelMar reports positive data from preclinical study of VAL-083 for treatment of ovarian cancer

Researchers associate neuroimaging data with reading deficits in patients with left-sided stroke

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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