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.

Researchers show how neurons respond to sequences of familiar objects

The world grows increasingly more chaotic year after year, and our brains are constantly bombarded with images.

26 Aug 2014

Researchers find roving detection system for treating cancer, Parkinson's disease and ALS

Duke University researchers have found a "roving detection system" on the surface of cells that may point to new ways of treating diseases like cancer, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

26 Aug 2014

Implantating DBS devices poses no greater risk of complications to older Parkinson's patients

Implantating deep brain stimulation devices poses no greater risk of complications to older patients than it does to younger patients with Parkinson's disease, researchers at Duke Medicine report.

26 Aug 2014

Intervention program to help parents manage children's behaviors after being diagnosed with autism

In a first of its kind clinical trial, Debra Zand, Ph.D., and her team at Saint Louis University, will run an intervention program to help parents address and manage their children's challenging behaviors immediately after being diagnosed with autism.

26 Aug 2014

Female rats whose great grandparents exposed to toxins become more vulnerable to stress

Scientists have known that toxic effects of substances known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), found in both natural and human-made materials, can pass from one generation to the next, but new research shows that females with ancestral exposure to EDC may show especially adverse reactions to stress.

26 Aug 2014

People with cognitive impairment are more likely to have stroke

People with cognitive impairment are significantly more likely to have a stroke, with a 39% increased risk, than people with normal cognitive function, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

26 Aug 2014

Acromegaly and antisense therapy: an interview with Mark Diamond, CEO Antisense Therapeutics

Acromegaly is a chronic, life-threatening disease triggered by a benign tumour of the pituitary gland causing excessive growth hormone release. Oversupply of growth hormone stimulates liver, fat and kidney cells to produce excess levels of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGFI), which causes abnormal growth of the bones of the hands, face and feet and bodily organs.

26 Aug 2014

UT Southwestern researchers discover crucial link between high insulin levels and obesity pathways

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a crucial link between high levels of insulin and pathways that lead to obesity, a finding that may have important implications when treating diabetes.

26 Aug 2014

Study sheds new light on sleep drunkenness disorder

A study is shining new light on a sleep disorder called "sleep drunkenness". The disorder may be as prevalent as affecting one in every seven people. The research is published in the August 26, 2014, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

26 Aug 2014

Researchers find why certain glioblastomas become drug resistance

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found one of the keys to why certain glioblastomas - the primary form of a deadly brain cancer - are resistant to drug therapy.

26 Aug 2014

Researchers find more selective therapies for cancer

Thanks to important discoveries in basic and clinical research and technological advances, the fight against cancer has mobilized into a complex offensive spanning multiple fronts.

25 Aug 2014

Finding suggests that retina acts as type of window to the brain

Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes and University of California, San Francisco have shown that a loss of cells in the retina is one of the earliest signs of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in people with a genetic risk for the disorder-even before any changes appear in their behavior.

25 Aug 2014

Exercising to improve cardiovascular strength may protect from cognitive impairment

Exercising to improve our cardiovascular strength may protect us from cognitive impairment as we age, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Montreal and its affiliated Institut universitaire de gératrie de Montréal Research Centre.

25 Aug 2014

Persons with MS may be able to improve self-awareness via task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation

A new study of self-awareness by Kessler Foundation researchers shows that persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be able to improve their self-awareness through task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation.

25 Aug 2014

Researchers endow mice with greater touch sensitivity by striking brain rhythm

By striking up the right rhythm in the right brain region at the right time, Brown University neuroscientists report in Nature Neuroscience that they managed to endow mice with greater touch sensitivity than other mice, making hard-to-perceive vibrations suddenly more vivid to them.

25 Aug 2014

Cardiovascular strength may protect us from cognitive impairment as we age

25 Aug 2014

New mouse model to open door to research on epilepsy, Alzheimer's

University of Utah scientists have developed a genetically engineered line of mice that is expected to open the door to new research on epilepsy, Alzheimer's and other diseases.

22 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 22, 2014

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews writes: "How much leeway do employers and insurers have in deciding whether they'll cover contraceptives without charge and in determining which methods make the cut? Not much, as it turns out, but that hasn't stopped some from trying. Kaiser Health News readers still write in regularly describing battles they're waging to get the birth control coverage they're entitled to" (Andrews, 8/22).

22 Aug 2014

Understanding neuron development: an interview with Dr. Brock Grill, The Scripps Research Institute

There’s a big difference between understanding coordination and actually building connectivity. In terms of building connectivity, several molecules have been identified that control this process and a lot has been learned from both genetic and biochemical research in a variety of different systems, particularly studies in the nematode C. elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila and mice.

22 Aug 2014

Race and ethnicity influence outcomes of patients with motor complete SCI

Researchers have published a study examining racial and ethnic influences in the outcomes of patients with motor complete spinal cord injury (SCI). The article, "Racial and ethnic disparities in functioning at discharge and follow-up among patients with motor complete SCI," was published online ahead of print on August 2 by the Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

22 Aug 2014

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers show how neurons respond to sequences of familiar objects

Researchers find roving detection system for treating cancer, Parkinson's disease and ALS

Implantating DBS devices poses no greater risk of complications to older Parkinson's patients

Intervention program to help parents manage children's behaviors after being diagnosed with autism

Female rats whose great grandparents exposed to toxins become more vulnerable to stress

People with cognitive impairment are more likely to have stroke

Acromegaly and antisense therapy: an interview with Mark Diamond, CEO Antisense Therapeutics

UT Southwestern researchers discover crucial link between high insulin levels and obesity pathways

Study sheds new light on sleep drunkenness disorder

Researchers find why certain glioblastomas become drug resistance

Researchers find more selective therapies for cancer

Finding suggests that retina acts as type of window to the brain

Exercising to improve cardiovascular strength may protect from cognitive impairment

Persons with MS may be able to improve self-awareness via task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation

Researchers endow mice with greater touch sensitivity by striking brain rhythm

Cardiovascular strength may protect us from cognitive impairment as we age

New mouse model to open door to research on epilepsy, Alzheimer's

First Edition: August 22, 2014

Understanding neuron development: an interview with Dr. Brock Grill, The Scripps Research Institute

Race and ethnicity influence outcomes of patients with motor complete SCI

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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