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.

Grass plants can bind, uptake and transport infectious prions

Grass plants can bind, uptake and transport infectious prions, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

18 May 2015

New findings could help better understand neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), of the University of Luxembourg, have, under Dr. Manuel Buttini, successfully measured metabolic profiles, or the metabolomes, of different brain regions, and their findings could help better understand neurodegenerative diseases.

18 May 2015

Meditation optimizes adaptive behavior

Certain meditation techniques can promote behavior to vary adaptively from moment to moment depending on current goals, rather than remaining rigid and inflexible.

18 May 2015

Fibromyalgia now considered as a lifelong central nervous system disorder

Fibromyalgia is the second most common rheumatic disorder behind osteoarthritis and, though still widely misunderstood, is now considered to be a lifelong central nervous system disorder, which is responsible for amplified pain that shoots through the body in those who suffer from it.

18 May 2015

Discovery has clear implications in the quest for new epilepsy treatments

The mission of neural stem cells located in the hippocampus, one of the main regions of the brain, is to generate new neurons during the adult life of mammals, including human beings, of course, and their function is to participate in certain types of learning and responses to anxiety and stress.

18 May 2015

Meta-analysis supports ambrisentan efficacy

A meta-analysis supports the efficacy of ambrisentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

15 May 2015

Research leads way for noninvasive detection of early stage liver cancer

Led by Georgia State University, researchers have developed the first robust and noninvasive detection of early stage liver cancer and liver metastases, in addition to other liver diseases, such as cirrhosis and liver fibrosis.

15 May 2015

Vagus nerve stimulation effective in inhibiting cortical spreading depression

A poster presentation at the International Headache Congress in Valencia, Spain reports that VNS inhibits cortical spreading depression (CSD), which is known to be the cause of migraine aura and a trigger for headache.

15 May 2015

Allen Institute makes progress in brain research with launch of Allen Cell Types Database

The Allen Institute for Brain Science announced today that it is taking the first major scientific step to create a searchable standards database for the brain with the launch of the Allen Cell Types Database. This first release includes information on the location, electrical activity and shape of more than 240 neurons.

14 May 2015

Novel computer-aided system developed for acute stroke detection

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has developed a novel computer-aided detection system for acute stroke using computer intelligence technology. Reading 80-100 computer images, the system is able to detect if the patient was struck by ischemic stroke or haemorrhagic stroke.

14 May 2015

Ground-breaking discovery could revolutionise lupus treatments

A ground-breaking discovery by Monash University researchers could revolutionise treatments given to lupus sufferers, saving thousands of people each year from serious illness or death caused by secondary infections.

14 May 2015

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation to award grants to 40 scientists for research into mental illness

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation today announced its 2015 Independent Investigator Grants which will award $3.9 million in funding to 40 mid-career scientists from 30 institutions in 16 countries.

14 May 2015

Prostate cancer patients can experience cognitive impairment following androgen deprivation therapy

Cognitive impairment can occur in cancer patients who are treated with a variety of therapies, including radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy.

14 May 2015

APS announces recipients of prestigious achievement awards during annual scientific meeting

The American Pain Society (APS), www.americanpainsociety.org, today announced the recipients of its prestigious achievement awards during the organization's annual scientific meeting.

14 May 2015

Researchers make major step toward finding target to combat drug-resistant neuroblastoma

Researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles have made an important step toward finding a target in the fight against drug-resistant neuroblastoma (NBL), the most common solid malignancy found, outside of the skull, in children.

14 May 2015

Dopamine-producing neurons affect crucial brain functions

Nerve cells that produce dopamine for the purpose of transmitting signals to other cells affect numerous crucial brain functions.

14 May 2015

Study finds similarity in clinical progression between human patients and Huntington's disease monkeys

Transgenic Huntington's disease monkeys show similarity to humans with Huntington's in their progressive neurodegeneration and decline of motor control, scientists from Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, report.

14 May 2015

Denali launched to discover, develop effective medicines for neurodegenerative diseases

Denali Therapeutics Inc., a new biotechnology company focused on developing effective therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that it has launched with an initial investment commitment of $217 million.

14 May 2015

Long, non-coding RNAs play a role in heart attacks, strokes and cancer

About 70 percent of our genes provide the blueprint for biomolecules whose function is only now being discovered - non-coding RNAs. Instead of being translated into proteins, they seem to perform steering functions in the body.

14 May 2015

Small-molecule drug simultaneously rejuvenates old muscles, aging brains

Whether you're brainy, brawny or both, you may someday benefit from a drug found to rejuvenate aging brain and muscle tissue. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that a small-molecule drug simultaneously perks up old stem cells in the brains and muscles of mice, a finding that could lead to drug interventions for humans that would make aging tissues throughout the body act young again.

14 May 2015