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.

Brain imaging distinguishes Parkinson’s subtypes

Patients with nontremor-dominant Parkinson's disease show changes in brain activity that set them apart from tremor-dominant patients and from healthy controls, a study shows.

19 Nov 2012

Biomolecular imaging: an interview with Professor Roger Reddel

The reason Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) exists is to find ways to treat or prevent childhood disease. Our research programs are focussed on the areas of cancer cell growth, nerve cell signalling, embryology and gene therapy. These four programs have a shared aim of translating novel findings into new treatments for the benefit of families everywhere.

19 Nov 2012

Overexpression of BCL6 results in transformation of neural stem cells into cortical neurons

The cerebral cortex is the most complex structure in our brain and the seat of consciousness, emotion, motor control and language. In order to fulfill these functions, it is composed of a diverse array of nerve cells, called cortical neurons, which are affected by many neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.

19 Nov 2012

Four New York students named National Finalists in Siemens Competition

Months of dedication and hard work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) paid off tonight for four students named National Finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation's premier research competition.

19 Nov 2012

Positive results from Genentech Avastin plus temozolomide Phase III study on glioblastoma

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced results from the positive Phase III AVAglio study. The study showed Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy reduced the risk of cancer worsening or death (progression-free survival; PFS) by 36 percent compared to radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy plus placebo>th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology in Washington, D.C.

19 Nov 2012

Decreased cognitive functioning associated with deterioration in kidney function

Decreased kidney function is associated with decreased cognitive functioning in areas such as global cognitive ability, abstract reasoning and verbal memory, according to a study led by Temple University. This is the first study describing change in multiple domains of cognitive functioning in order to determine which specific abilities are most affected in individuals with impaired renal function.

19 Nov 2012

ReFIT algorithm improves speed and accuracy of neural prosthetics

When a paralyzed person imagines moving a limb, cells in the part of the brain that controls movement still activate as if trying to make the immobile limb work again. Despite neurological injury or disease that has severed the pathway between brain and muscle, the region where the signals originate remains intact and functional.

19 Nov 2012

New nanoparticle halts relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mouse model

In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

19 Nov 2012

Induced-pluripotent stem cells not as genetically unstable as previously thought

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have demonstrated, in a study conducted jointly with researchers at Yale University, that induced-pluripotent stem cells - the embryonic-stem-cell lookalikes whose discovery a few years ago won this year's Nobel Prize in medicine - are not as genetically unstable as was thought.

19 Nov 2012

NIH-funded scientists develop new treatment to combat autoimmune disorders in mouse model

In a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed innovative technology to selectively inhibit the part of the immune system responsible for attacking myelin-the insulating material that encases nerve fibers and facilitates electrical communication between brain cells.

18 Nov 2012

Two genetic factors strongly associated with non-syndromic sagittal craniosynostosis

An international team of geneticists, pediatricians, surgeons and epidemiologists from 23 institutions across three continents has identified two areas of the human genome associated with the most common form of non-syndromic craniosynostosis ― premature closure of the bony plates of the skull.

18 Nov 2012

For Alzheimer's, detection advances move faster than treatment options

The new brain scan technology, which went on the market in June, is spreading fast.

17 Nov 2012

Personality traits linked with individual's susceptibility to placebo effect from pain medicines

Personality traits might do more than help you win a popularity contest. According to new University of Michigan-led neuroscience research, co-authored by University of Maryland (UM) School of Dentistry Dean Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, such traits also might make you more likely to get pain relief from a placebo - a fake medicine.

17 Nov 2012

New way to stimulate transplanted human stem cell-derived neurons into a rodent hippocampus

Researchers and patients look forward to the day when stem cells might be used to replace dying brain cells in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Scientists are currently able to make neurons and other brain cells from stem cells, but getting these neurons to properly function when transplanted to the host has proven to be more difficult.

17 Nov 2012

ACS Surgical Health Care Quality Forum New York focuses on methods to improve patient safety

Today the American College of Surgeons held the ACS Surgical Health Care Quality Forum New York, the 10th program in a series of events to drive national discussions on effective quality improvement methods that surgeons, physicians and hospitals are using to improve patient safety and reduce costs.

17 Nov 2012

Scientists discover new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes. Their experiments suggest that instead of recognizing and clipping proteins based on sequences of amino acids, these proteases' location within membranes gives them the unique ability to recognize and cut proteins with unstable structures.

17 Nov 2012

Study shows how Parkinson's spreads and leads to nerve cell death

Understanding how any disease progresses is one of the first and most important steps towards finding treatments to stop it. This has been the case for such brain-degenerating conditions as Alzheimer's disease. Now, after several years of incremental study, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania have been able to piece together important steps in how Parkinson's disease (PD) spreads from cell to cell and leads to nerve cell death.

17 Nov 2012

Two studies investigate role of oxygen in cell transplantation

Two studies published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation, now freely available on-line, investigate the role of oxygen in cell transplantation.

17 Nov 2012

Researchers develop safe, feasible and robust co-culture system for hESC expansion

Researchers in Taiwan have developed a "safe, feasible and robust co-culture system" supplied by human umbilical cord mensenchymal stem cells (HUCMSCs) to feed the sustained culture used for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) expansion prior to cell transplantation.

17 Nov 2012

Scientists identify cell growth pathway that is unusually active in gliomas

Insights from a genetic condition that causes brain cancer are helping scientists better understand the most common type of brain tumor in children.

17 Nov 2012

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Brain imaging distinguishes Parkinson’s subtypes

Biomolecular imaging: an interview with Professor Roger Reddel

Overexpression of BCL6 results in transformation of neural stem cells into cortical neurons

Four New York students named National Finalists in Siemens Competition

Positive results from Genentech Avastin plus temozolomide Phase III study on glioblastoma

Decreased cognitive functioning associated with deterioration in kidney function

ReFIT algorithm improves speed and accuracy of neural prosthetics

New nanoparticle halts relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mouse model

Induced-pluripotent stem cells not as genetically unstable as previously thought

NIH-funded scientists develop new treatment to combat autoimmune disorders in mouse model

Two genetic factors strongly associated with non-syndromic sagittal craniosynostosis

For Alzheimer's, detection advances move faster than treatment options

Personality traits linked with individual's susceptibility to placebo effect from pain medicines

New way to stimulate transplanted human stem cell-derived neurons into a rodent hippocampus

ACS Surgical Health Care Quality Forum New York focuses on methods to improve patient safety

Scientists discover new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes

Study shows how Parkinson's spreads and leads to nerve cell death

Two studies investigate role of oxygen in cell transplantation

Researchers develop safe, feasible and robust co-culture system for hESC expansion

Scientists identify cell growth pathway that is unusually active in gliomas

Revolutionizing Life Science: An Interview with SCIEX on ASMS, the SCIEX 7500+ System, and AI-Driven Quantitation

From Discovery Biology to ELRIG Chair

Breathing New Life into Diagnostics: Plasmion's SICRIT Technology

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