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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.

Consumption of B-GOS prebiotic has positive effect on gut microbiota, immune systems of elderly people

Clasado Biosciences Limited, the producers and suppliers of the second generation prebiotic Bimuno, a unique trans-galactooligosaccharide, and the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, The University of Reading, UK, today announce the results of human research demonstrating the positive effects of an advanced prebiotic on the immune system of the elderly.

29 Jul 2015

Intestinal bacteria play crucial role in inducing anxiety, depression

Scientists from the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute at McMaster University have discovered that intestinal bacteria play an important role in inducing anxiety and depression.

29 Jul 2015

New study estimates link between coffee consumption habits and incidence of mild cognitive impairment

A new study by researchers at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy, Geriatric Unit & Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy, and Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy, estimates the association between change or constant habits in coffee consumption and the incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), evaluating 1,445 individuals recruited from 5,632 subjects, aged 65-84 year old, from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (ILSA), a population-based sample from eight Italian municipalities with a 3.5-year median follow-up.

29 Jul 2015

New method identifies preferred retinal locations in both eyes of patients with central vision loss

Eyes with central vision loss adapt by developing a new fixation point in a different part of the retina, called the preferred retinal location (PRL). Now for the first time, a new method makes it possible to identify PRLs in both eyes simultaneously, reports a study in the August issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry.

29 Jul 2015

Sham-controlled trial of deep brain stimulation treatment for depression fails to show efficacy

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and treatment-resistant symptoms of depression have a terrible personal and societal cost. They can devastate lives, careers, and families. Some severely ill patients may be unable to attend to even the basic elements of self-care, while others attempt or complete suicide.

29 Jul 2015

Hormones play dual role in unethical behavior

Hormones play a two-part role in encouraging and reinforcing cheating and other unethical behavior, according to research from Harvard University and The University of Texas at Austin.

29 Jul 2015

Study demonstrates that stress hormone cortisol can reduce heroin cravings

Every addiction is characterized by a strong desire for a certain addictive substance, be it nicotine, alcohol or other drug. Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland recently conducted a study on heroin addiction and demonstrated that the stress hormone cortisol can reduce addictive cravings.

29 Jul 2015

New finding could help change pharmaceutical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Diseases like Alzheimer's are caused when proteins aggregate and clump together. In a world first, EPFL scientists have successfully distinguished between the disease-causing aggregation forms of proteins.

28 Jul 2015

Despite efforts to improve stroke treatment, delays in emergency transport still prevalent

Despite efforts to close the time gap between symptom onset and stroke treatment - including improvements in public education, 911 dispatch operations, pre-hospital detection and triage, hospital stroke system development, and stroke unit management - a new study presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) 12th Annual Meeting suggests that delays in emergency transport are still prevalent and that improvements are needed to ensure patients can be treated within the optimal time window.

28 Jul 2015

Lidocaine benefits breast cancer survivors who experience pain during intercourse

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University report that breast cancer survivors who experience pain during sexual intercourse, a common side effect of breast cancer treatment, may achieve comfort when liquid lidocaine is applied strategically to prevent pain.

28 Jul 2015

Innovative new devices that facilitate IA treatment improve outcomes, decrease mortality rates

In the last decade, Intra-Arterial (IA) stroke therapy (a technique in which thrombolytic agents and devices are passed through the arteries directly to the clot site) has gained notable momentum as an effective and safe treatment option for patients.

28 Jul 2015

Helping relieve headaches in school-aged children

As the school year approaches and begins, many parents may start to hear their children complain about headaches.

28 Jul 2015

Study shows link between enrollment in SVRA services and return-to-work outcomes for SSDI beneficiaries

Researchers have published results of a study showing a relationship between enrollment in state vocational rehabilitation agency (SVRA) services and return-to-work outcomes for beneficiaries of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Employment outcomes were better among those who enrolled in SVRA services compared with beneficiaries who did not enroll for these services.

28 Jul 2015

New study to explore mechanisms responsible for taste changes following RYGB, diet-induced obesity

Currently, one of the most effective surgical methods for treating obesity is the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, which limits the amount of food and drink that can be ingested at one time and the amount of calories and nutrients absorbed through the intestinal tract. An unintended side effect of RYGB is that it reduces the patient's taste for sweet and fatty foods—but there is no scientific explanation for why these taste changes occur.

28 Jul 2015

Study suggests potential way to predict autism or psychosis risk in children with genetic abnormality

Doctors and researchers have long known that children who are missing about 60 genes on a certain chromosome are at a significantly elevated risk for developing either a disorder on the autism spectrum or psychosis — that is, any mental disorder characterized by delusions and hallucinations, including schizophrenia. But there has been no way to predict which child with the abnormality might be at risk for which disorder.

28 Jul 2015

New technique improves survival time for glioblastoma patients by 50%

The rapid spread of a common and deadly brain tumor has been slowed down significantly in a mouse model by cutting off the way some cancer cells communicate, according to a team of researchers that includes UF Health faculty.

28 Jul 2015

New Iowa State study finds strong link between insulin resistance and increased Alzheimer's disease risk

The fact that obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers is well known. But a new Iowa State University study adds to the growing evidence that memory loss should also be a top concern.

28 Jul 2015

Researchers confirm neural efficiency hypothesis

The brains of more intelligent people are capable of solving tasks more efficiently, which is why these people have superior cognitive faculties, or as Elsbeth Stern, Professor for Research on Learning and Instruction at ETH Zurich, puts it: "when a more and a less intelligent person are given the same task, the more intelligent person requires less cortical activation to solve the task."

28 Jul 2015

TSRI scientists awarded grant to explore therapeutic potential of protein receptors in Parkinson's disease, other disorders

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded nearly $1.5 million from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to explore the therapeutic potential of a class of proteins that play essential roles in the regulation and maintenance of human health.

28 Jul 2015

Mobile Stroke Treatment Units can improve survival rates and enhance patient's chance of recovery

Two new studies presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery 12th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, report that Mobile Stroke Treatment Units (MSTUs) can significantly reduce the time it takes to diagnose and treat patients for stroke, greatly improving survival rates and enhancing a patient's chance of recovery.

28 Jul 2015

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Consumption of B-GOS prebiotic has positive effect on gut microbiota, immune systems of elderly people

Intestinal bacteria play crucial role in inducing anxiety, depression

New study estimates link between coffee consumption habits and incidence of mild cognitive impairment

New method identifies preferred retinal locations in both eyes of patients with central vision loss

Sham-controlled trial of deep brain stimulation treatment for depression fails to show efficacy

Hormones play dual role in unethical behavior

Study demonstrates that stress hormone cortisol can reduce heroin cravings

New finding could help change pharmaceutical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Despite efforts to improve stroke treatment, delays in emergency transport still prevalent

Lidocaine benefits breast cancer survivors who experience pain during intercourse

Innovative new devices that facilitate IA treatment improve outcomes, decrease mortality rates

Helping relieve headaches in school-aged children

Study shows link between enrollment in SVRA services and return-to-work outcomes for SSDI beneficiaries

New study to explore mechanisms responsible for taste changes following RYGB, diet-induced obesity

Study suggests potential way to predict autism or psychosis risk in children with genetic abnormality

New technique improves survival time for glioblastoma patients by 50%

New Iowa State study finds strong link between insulin resistance and increased Alzheimer's disease risk

Researchers confirm neural efficiency hypothesis

TSRI scientists awarded grant to explore therapeutic potential of protein receptors in Parkinson's disease, other disorders

Mobile Stroke Treatment Units can improve survival rates and enhance patient's chance of recovery

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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