Cognitive Function News and Research

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Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines, but is generally accepted to mean the process of thought. For example, in psychology and cognitive science it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions.

Depression linked with a specific autoantibody and central nervous system dysfunction in lupus

Systemic lupus erythomatosus (SLE), often simply called lupus, is a complex autoimmune disease marked by joint pain, skin rashes, extreme fatigue, and depression, among other symptoms.

27 Feb 2007

Chocolate is brain food!

It's news we love to hear, if the latest research is to be believed, chocolate is brain food!

19 Feb 2007

Folate and vitamin B12 preserve cognitive function among seniors

Folate and vitamin B12, two important nutrients for the development of healthy nerves and blood cells, may work together to protect cognitive function among seniors, reports a new epidemiological study from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA).

11 Feb 2007

FDA approves Neuren's phase 3 Glypromate trial

Neuren Pharmaceuticals has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its investigational new drug application (IND) and authorised the Company to proceed with its Phase 3 trial to prevent cognitive impairment following major cardiac surgery using Glypromate.

30 Jan 2007

Startling results from first study of HIV dementia on the Africa

An international study led by Johns Hopkins suggests that the rate of HIV-associated dementia is so high in sub-Saharan Africa that HIV dementia along with Alzheimer's disease and dementia from strokes may be among the most common forms of dementia in the world.

30 Jan 2007

Piolitazone shows promise for preventing brain injury from radiation therapy

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are the first to report that in animal studies, a common diabetes drug prevents the memory and learning problems that cancer patients often experience after whole-brain radiation treatments.

10 Jan 2007

Being obese lowers your intelligence!

If French scientists are to be believed being obese is linked to a decline in a person's cognitive function.

16 Oct 2006

Overweight in middle age could mean dementia later in life

To add further fuel to the debate over obesity, researchers in France are saying that being overweight in middle age may indicate a higher risk of dementia later in life.

10 Oct 2006

Insulin receptor stops progression of Alzheimer's disease

Stimulation of a receptor in the brain that controls insulin responses has been shown to halt or diminish the neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's disease, providing evidence that the disease can be treated in its early stages, according to a study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School.

21 Sep 2006

Brain scans show unconscious woman played tennis in her head

Neuroscientists at Britain's Cambridge University say functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI brain scans appear to show that a woman in a vegetative state seemed to play tennis in her head despite the fact that she had been unconscious for five months after a motor vehicle accident.

11 Sep 2006

Juice lowers Alzheimer's risk

In a large epidemiological study, researchers found that people who drank three or more servings of fruit and vegetable juices per week had a 76 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than those who drank juice less than once per week.

4 Sep 2006

Relationships between spirituality and science in the human brain

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are examining the effectiveness of meditation on early cognitive impairment.

7 Aug 2006

High blood pressure linked with a decline in walking ability in later life

Decline in lower limb function is common in older people, and worsening gait is associated with increased risk of dementia and death. However, factors contributing to gait difficulties in older persons are not well understood.

2 Aug 2006

Reduced levels of antiinflammatory cytokines in patients with chronic widespread pain

Chronic widespread pain, a common medical condition, can be difficult to treat and is often associated with fatigue, poor sleep and depression.

26 Jul 2006

Eszopiclone significantly improves sleep in elderly people with chronic insomnia

The drug eszopiclone, marketed as Lunesta, significantly improved sleep in elderly people with chronic insomnia, according to a report by W. Vaughn McCall, M.D., M.S., and six colleagues.

25 Jul 2006

First study to demonstrate IVIg effective longer than a year

A purified mixture of human antibodies called intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) provides lasting benefits to patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to researchers at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

25 Jul 2006

Executive function and Alzheimer's disease

A new Mayo Clinic study finds that after memory begins to decline, executive function is the next brain function to deteriorate in the progression from mild cognitive impairment, a pre-Alzheimer's disease condition, to Alzheimer's disease

18 Jul 2006

Altered activity in receptor pair points to further complexity in schizophrenia pathology

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in collaboration with scientists at the City University of New York, have identified a striking dysregulation in neuronal receptor activity in the postmortem brain tissue from patients with schizophrenia.

18 Jun 2006

Protein called Elk-1appears to play role in neurodegeneration and schizophrenia

Pprotein called Elk-1 interacts with mitochondria, the energy storehouse of a cell, suggesting that this protein - typically active in the nucleus - could play a role in cell death and mitochondria-related diseases such as neurodegeneration and schizophrenia.

9 Jun 2006

Moderate alcohol intake helps women think

Research involving more than 7,000 older women found that those who drink a moderate amount of alcohol have slightly higher levels of mental function than non-drinkers, particularly in verbal abilities.

1 Jun 2006