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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.

Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute uncover brain surgery that changed history

Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute have spent years of medical sleuthing across three continents to uncover a brain surgery that changed history.

30 Jul 2015

New set of clinical practice guidelines released to address temperature management during open heart surgery

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, and the American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology have released a set of clinical practice guidelines to address management of a patient's temperature during open heart surgery. The guidelines appear in the August issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and were published simultaneously in two other journals.

30 Jul 2015

Study reveals new way to help medical students learn about Alzheimer's disease

With the growing number of people with Alzheimer's disease, understanding their care is vital for doctors. Yet medical students often just learn the facts and may only see people with advanced disease who are at the hospital or nursing home. A study shows a new way to help medical students learn about the disease—at the art museum.

30 Jul 2015

Researchers identify link between individual characteristics and employment gap in people with disabilities

Researchers have explored the characteristics of people with disabilities who have achieved success in the workplace. The gap was found to be smaller among women, married people, individuals with higher educational achievement, Asians, and Hispanics, and people in their 20s and 60s.

30 Jul 2015

New study reports creation of genetic porcine model of cancer

With many types of cancers, early detection offers the best hope for survival. However, research into new early-detection screenings, as well as possible interventional radiology and surgical treatments, has been hindered by the lack of a large animal model that would accurately reflect the types of cancers seen in human cells.

30 Jul 2015

Innovative course helps make medical students more confident about dealing with health disparities

An innovative three-month elective course has helped make some first-year medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine more confident about dealing with health disparities they'll likely encounter as physicians, according to a follow-up study published online today in the journal Academic Medicine.

30 Jul 2015

Vismodegib therapy effective against medulloblastoma

A targeted therapy already used to treat advanced skin cancer is also effective against the most common subtype of the brain tumor medulloblastoma in adults and should be considered for treatment of newly diagnosed patients, according to research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

30 Jul 2015

Many children with sports-related head injuries undergo unnecessary CT scans

Visits to emergency departments by children with sports-related head injuries have skyrocketed in the past decade, and new research finds that many patients undergo unnecessary computed tomography or CT scans that expose them to radiation and increase the cost of treatment.

30 Jul 2015

Compliance with guidelines for treating traumatic brain injury doesn't necessarily translate into better results

Two decades ago, the Brain Trauma Foundation published its first set of guidelines for treating traumatic brain injury.

30 Jul 2015

Natural protein fragment produced in the brain can inhibit enzyme implicated in Alzheimer's disease

For the first time, UCLA researchers have shown that a natural protein fragment produced in the brain can act as an inhibitor of a key enzyme implicated in the onset of Alzheimer's disease, a finding that could lead to the development of new drugs to treat the disease.

30 Jul 2015

Mice without specific brain chemical develop characteristics similar to bipolar disorder, shows study

Mice that have a particular brain chemical switched off become hyperactive and sleep for just 65 per cent of their normal time.

29 Jul 2015

LixiLan-O Phase III clinical trial meets primary endpoint in patients with type 2 diabetes

Sanofi announced today that the LixiLan-O Phase III clinical trial met its primary objective in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with metformin. The fixed-ratio combination of insulin glargine 100 units/mL and lixisenatide, a GLP-1 RA, demonstrated statistically superior reduction in HbA1c (average blood glucose over the previous three months) compared with lixisenatide and compared with insulin glargine 100 units/mL.

29 Jul 2015

Same brain cells involved in encoding and retrieving memories

Are the same regions and even the same cells of the brain area called hippocampus involved in encoding and retrieving memories or are different areas of this structure engaged? This question has kept neuroscientists busy for a long time. Researchers at the Mercator Research Group "Structure of Memory" at RUB have now found out that the same brain cells exhibit activity in both processes.

29 Jul 2015

Study sheds new light on the brain’s learning capacity

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? New research on the brain's capacity to learn suggests there's more to it than the adage that "practise makes perfect." A music-training study by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, at McGill University and colleagues in Germany found evidence to distinguish the parts of the brain that account for individual talent from the parts that are activated through training.

29 Jul 2015

$UO-led effort on fractal-based nerve connections granted U.S. patent$

UO-led effort on fractal-based nerve connections granted U.S. patent

Richard Taylor's vision of using artificial fractal-based implants to restore sight to the blind -- part of a far-reaching concept that won an innovation award this year from the White House -- is now covered under a broad U.S. patent.

29 Jul 2015

AAN's Behavioral Neurology Section Group provides recommendations for improving clinical cognitive testing

Recommendations for improving clinical cognitive testing were reported by the American Academy of Neurology's Behavioral Neurology Section Group, led by Kirk R. Daffner, MD, of Boston, Mass. The Group focused on the Neurobehavioral Status Exam (NBSE), conducting evidence-based reviews of testing used for five domains - attention, language, memory, spatial cognition, and executive function).

29 Jul 2015

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

Like Duke Ellington's 1931 jazz standard, the human brain improvises while its rhythm section keeps up a steady beat. But when it comes to taking on intellectually challenging tasks, groups of neurons tune in to one another for a fraction of a second and harmonize, then go back to improvising, according to new research led by UC Berkeley.

29 Jul 2015

Possible link discovered between common medications and falls in older men

Serious falls are more than twice as likely in older men who take medicines with anti-cholinergic properties - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

29 Jul 2015

Shortage of meningitis C-containing vaccine threatens to limit disease control in Africa

With Africa at risk of a large meningitis outbreak, an acute shortage of meningitis C-containing vaccine threatens to severely limit the world's ability to minimize the number of people affected, four international public health organizations warned today.

29 Jul 2015

Codman Neuro introduces new platform of embolic coils for treatment of brain aneurysms

Codman Neuro, part of DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson, has introduced a new platform of embolic coils for the treatment of brain aneurysms, supported by an enhanced detachment system designed to improve microcatheter stability and provide an optimized detachment zone for coils.

29 Jul 2015

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute uncover brain surgery that changed history

New set of clinical practice guidelines released to address temperature management during open heart surgery

Study reveals new way to help medical students learn about Alzheimer's disease

Researchers identify link between individual characteristics and employment gap in people with disabilities

New study reports creation of genetic porcine model of cancer

Innovative course helps make medical students more confident about dealing with health disparities

Vismodegib therapy effective against medulloblastoma

Many children with sports-related head injuries undergo unnecessary CT scans

Compliance with guidelines for treating traumatic brain injury doesn't necessarily translate into better results

Natural protein fragment produced in the brain can inhibit enzyme implicated in Alzheimer's disease

Mice without specific brain chemical develop characteristics similar to bipolar disorder, shows study

LixiLan-O Phase III clinical trial meets primary endpoint in patients with type 2 diabetes

Same brain cells involved in encoding and retrieving memories

Study sheds new light on the brain’s learning capacity

UO-led effort on fractal-based nerve connections granted U.S. patent

AAN's Behavioral Neurology Section Group provides recommendations for improving clinical cognitive testing

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

Possible link discovered between common medications and falls in older men

Shortage of meningitis C-containing vaccine threatens to limit disease control in Africa

Codman Neuro introduces new platform of embolic coils for treatment of brain aneurysms

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