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.

OPTIMISE project to collect data that provides in-depth picture of MS experiences

Researchers will track the lives of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in unprecedented detail in a project to improve the evaluation of treatments.

11 Dec 2014

Researchers find that one in six Ontario adults reports a history of TBI

Nearly seventeen per cent of adults surveyed in Ontario said they have suffered a traumatic brain injury that left them unconscious for five minutes or required them to be hospitalized overnight, according to new research. These same adults also reported more substance use, smoking and recent psychiatric distress.

11 Dec 2014

Study reveals how the human brain heals itself after surgical removal of brain tumor

An interdisciplinary team of neuroscientists and neurosurgeons from the University of Rochester has used a new imaging technique to show how the human brain heals itself in just a few weeks following surgical removal of a brain tumor.

11 Dec 2014

New study finds that poor sleep may lead to dementia

People who have sleep apnea or spend less time in deep sleep may be more likely to have changes in the brain that are associated with dementia, according to a new study published in the December 10, 2014, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Dec 2014

Sleep-related breathing problems, lack of sleep may increase risk of childhood obesity

Sleep-related breathing problems and chronic lack of sleep may each double the risk of a child becoming obese by age 15, according to new research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The good news is that both sleep problems can be corrected.

11 Dec 2014

Scientists to explore effectiveness of tadalafil drug to tackle vascular dementia

Scientists are to explore whether drugs usually used to treat erectile problems by expanding blood vessels could become the next major way to tackle the dementia epidemic.

11 Dec 2014

New technique allows rapid, large-scale studies of gene function

Using a gene-editing system originally developed to delete specific genes, MIT researchers have now shown that they can reliably turn on any gene of their choosing in living cells.

11 Dec 2014

New research could revolutionise global diagnostic procedures for epilepsy

Pioneering new research by the University of Exeter could revolutionise global diagnostic procedures for one of the most common forms of epilepsy.

11 Dec 2014

Johns Hopkins study shows gene expression in autism brains

While many different combinations of genetic traits can cause autism, brains affected by autism share a pattern of ramped-up immune responses, an analysis of data from autopsied human brains reveals. The study, a collaborative effort between Johns Hopkins and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, included data from 72 autism and control brains.

11 Dec 2014

Alcohol consumption interferes with sleep homeostasis

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have found that drinking alcohol to fall asleep interferes with sleep homeostasis, the body's sleep-regulating mechanism.

11 Dec 2014

Progesterone treatment shows no clinical benefits in severe TBI patients

A study concluded that after five days of treatment with a novel formulation of progesterone acutely administered to patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), showed no clinical benefits.

11 Dec 2014

Study brings researchers closer to understanding how brains work

Whether we're paying attention to something we see can be discerned by monitoring the firings of specific groups of brain cells. Now, new work from Johns Hopkins shows that the same holds true for the sense of touch. The study brings researchers closer to understanding how animals' thoughts and feelings affect their perception of external stimuli.

10 Dec 2014

Scientists develop new technique to get detailed images of mouse neurons

Scientists can now explore nerves in mice in much greater detail than ever before, thanks to an approach developed by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo, Italy. The work, published online today in Nature Methods, enables researchers to easily use artificial tags, broadening the range of what they can study and vastly increasing image resolution.

10 Dec 2014

Genetic variations may contribute to treatment-related cognitive problems in children with ALL

Common variations in four genes related to brain inflammation or cells' response to damage from oxidation may contribute to the problems with memory, learning and other cognitive functions seen in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a study led by researchers from Boston Children's Hospital, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, and Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

10 Dec 2014

Heat-shock protein 90 enables ER+ breast cancers to develop resistance to hormonal therapy

Long known for its ability to help organisms successfully adapt to environmentally stressful conditions, the highly conserved molecular chaperone heat-shock protein 90 (HSP90) also enables estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers to develop resistance to hormonal therapy.

10 Dec 2014

Report supports potential of focused ultrasound to treat certain OCD patients

A recently published report in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry supports the potential of focused ultrasound to treat certain patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

10 Dec 2014

UT Southwestern biophysicist named recipient of 2015 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Science

The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas has selected Dr. Yuh Min Chook, Professor of Pharmacology and of Biophysics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, as the recipient of the 2015 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Science.

10 Dec 2014

Novel drug target could lead to better antipsychotic medications

Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have identified a novel drug target that could lead to the development of better antipsychotic medications.

10 Dec 2014

Chemical chaperone: A new therapeutic option for epilepsy

Researchers found out that the conformational defect in a specific protein causes Autosomal Dominant Lateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (ADLTE) which is a form of familial epilepsy. They showed that treatment with chemical corrector called "chemical chaperone" ameliorates increased seizure susceptibility in a mouse model of human epilepsy by correcting the conformational defect.

10 Dec 2014

Bayer, DNDi sign first agreement to develop new oral treatment for onchocerciasis

Bayer HealthCare and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have signed an agreement under which Bayer will provide the active ingredient emodepside to support DNDi in its effort to develop a new oral drug to treat river blindness (or onchocerciasis). The world's second leading infectious cause of blindness, river blindness is a neglected tropical disease caused by a filarial worm.

10 Dec 2014

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

OPTIMISE project to collect data that provides in-depth picture of MS experiences

Researchers find that one in six Ontario adults reports a history of TBI

Study reveals how the human brain heals itself after surgical removal of brain tumor

New study finds that poor sleep may lead to dementia

Sleep-related breathing problems, lack of sleep may increase risk of childhood obesity

Scientists to explore effectiveness of tadalafil drug to tackle vascular dementia

New technique allows rapid, large-scale studies of gene function

New research could revolutionise global diagnostic procedures for epilepsy

Johns Hopkins study shows gene expression in autism brains

Alcohol consumption interferes with sleep homeostasis

Progesterone treatment shows no clinical benefits in severe TBI patients

Study brings researchers closer to understanding how brains work

Scientists develop new technique to get detailed images of mouse neurons

Genetic variations may contribute to treatment-related cognitive problems in children with ALL

Heat-shock protein 90 enables ER+ breast cancers to develop resistance to hormonal therapy

Report supports potential of focused ultrasound to treat certain OCD patients

UT Southwestern biophysicist named recipient of 2015 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Science

Novel drug target could lead to better antipsychotic medications

Chemical chaperone: A new therapeutic option for epilepsy

Bayer, DNDi sign first agreement to develop new oral treatment for onchocerciasis

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st 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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