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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.

Structural biologists advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in brain

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and collaborators at Emory University have obtained important scientific results likely to advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in the brain.

23 Jan 2014

Exposing adolescent to marijuana can lead to behavioral alterations in next generation

Exposing adolescent rats to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) -the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana—can lead to molecular and behavioral alterations in the next generation of offspring, even though progeny were not directly exposed to the drug, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found.

23 Jan 2014

Proper good night's sleep promotes both mental and physical health

Getting a good night's sleep means more than you probably think. "I would say the importance of sleep is definitely underestimated by the general public," said Dr. Sandhya Kumar, assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and medical director of its Sleep Center.

23 Jan 2014

New drug helps children and young adults who have severe pain from sickle cell disease

Saint Louis University researchers are studying whether ReoPro® (abciximab), a drug currently given to heart patients undergoing angioplasties to open blocked arteries, also could help children and young adults who have severe pain from sickle cell disease.

23 Jan 2014

Researchers examine how neurons in brain control arm movements

Sometimes that's how our brains work. When we anticipate a physical act, such as reaching for the keys we noticed on the table, the neurons that control the task adopt a state of readiness, like sprinters bent into a crouch.

23 Jan 2014

NPS MedicineWise urges parents to ensure that children's vaccinations are up to date

Following a recent spate of measles cases being reported in a number of Australian states, NPS MedicineWise is reminding parents to check whether their children’s immunisations are up to date before they head back to school next week.

22 Jan 2014

Childhood bereavement contributes to future psychosis risk

The death of a close family member during childhood is associated with an increased risk for future psychosis, research shows.

22 Jan 2014

Blood methylome offers clues to schizophrenia

Researchers show that a methylome-wide association study of the blood can provide a glimpse of past environmental insults that may contribute to the development of schizophrenia.

22 Jan 2014

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals starts encenicline Phase 3 study in patients with Alzheimer's disease

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing a broad range of novel therapies for central nervous system diseases, today announced it has initiated COGNITIV AD, a Phase 3 clinical program evaluating its novel alpha-7 (α7) potentiator, encenicline-hydrochloride (EVP-6124), in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The program is being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreement with the FDA.

22 Jan 2014

Researchers assess familial risks for MS using population registers, health care registries

Even though multiple sclerosis is largely caused by genetic factors, the risk of patients' relatives developing the disease is lower than previously assumed. This is the conclusion of a new population registry-based study, published in the scientific journal Brain.

22 Jan 2014

Scientists identify specific enzyme essential for brain development

Scientists from the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have identified a specific enzyme, histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), as essential for brain development. The findings published in Development are important to advance the development of new drugs to treat neurological diseases.

22 Jan 2014

CytRx receives FDA approval to continue dosing aldoxorubicin for patients with soft tissue sarcomas

CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today announced it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue dosing patients with aldoxorubicin until disease progression in a planned pivotal, global Phase 3 clinical trial with aldoxorubicin as a second-line treatment for soft tissue sarcomas.

22 Jan 2014

People who are less patient tend to move eyes with greater speed, say researchers

Using a simple study of eye movements, Johns Hopkins scientists report evidence that people who are less patient tend to move their eyes with greater speed. The findings, the researchers say, suggest that the weight people give to the passage of time may be a trait consistently used throughout their brains, affecting the speed with which they make movements, as well as the way they make certain decisions.

22 Jan 2014

Clues of "silent thief of sight”: Glaucoma

Glaucoma is sometimes called the "silent thief of sight" because it slowly damages the eyes and can cause irreparable harm before there is any vision loss. But this disease is stealthy in more ways than one.

22 Jan 2014

Italian biochemist receives Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for the year 2014

The 2014 LOUIS-JEANTET PRIZE FOR MEDICINE is awarded to the Italian biochemist Elena Conti, Director of the Department of Structural Cell Biology at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich (Germany) and to Denis Le Bihan, the French medical doctor, physicist and Director of NeuroSpin, an institute at the French Nuclear and Renewable Energy Commission (CEA) at Saclay near Paris.

22 Jan 2014

Researchers demonstrate existence of an epigenetic lesion in hippocampus of Alzheimer patients

Alzheimer's disease can reach epidemic range in the coming decades, by the increasing average age of society. There are two key issues for Alzheimer's disease: there is currently no effective treatment and it has been described very few associated genetic changes (mutations) which reduces the number of targets for future therapies.

22 Jan 2014

Brain imaging via MRI scans may be useful biomarker for early detection of subtle developmental abnormalities

Researchers at Penn Medicine have generated a brain development index from MRI scans that captures the complex patterns of maturation during normal brain development.

22 Jan 2014

Older brains slow not due to cognitive decline, but increased experience

What happens to our cognitive abilities as we age? Traditionally it is thought that age leads to a steady deterioration of brain function, but new research in Topics in Cognitive Science argues that older brains may take longer to process ever increasing amounts of knowledge, and this has often been misidentified as declining capacity.

22 Jan 2014

Houston Methodist sports medicine experts discuss important facts about mouthguards

After every play, we all see the athletes adjusting their mouthguards, but what do they actually protect? Houston Methodist sports medicine experts discuss important facts about mouthguards.

22 Jan 2014

Scientists showcase HDL nanotherapy that may provide solution to repeat heart attacks

Up to 30 percent of heart attack patients suffer a new heart attack because cardiologists are unable to control inflammation inside heart arteries - the process that leads to clots rupturing and causing myocardial infarction or stroke.

22 Jan 2014

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Structural biologists advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in brain

Exposing adolescent to marijuana can lead to behavioral alterations in next generation

Proper good night's sleep promotes both mental and physical health

New drug helps children and young adults who have severe pain from sickle cell disease

Researchers examine how neurons in brain control arm movements

NPS MedicineWise urges parents to ensure that children's vaccinations are up to date

Childhood bereavement contributes to future psychosis risk

Blood methylome offers clues to schizophrenia

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals starts encenicline Phase 3 study in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Researchers assess familial risks for MS using population registers, health care registries

Scientists identify specific enzyme essential for brain development

CytRx receives FDA approval to continue dosing aldoxorubicin for patients with soft tissue sarcomas

People who are less patient tend to move eyes with greater speed, say researchers

Clues of "silent thief of sight”: Glaucoma

Italian biochemist receives Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for the year 2014

Researchers demonstrate existence of an epigenetic lesion in hippocampus of Alzheimer patients

Brain imaging via MRI scans may be useful biomarker for early detection of subtle developmental abnormalities

Older brains slow not due to cognitive decline, but increased experience

Houston Methodist sports medicine experts discuss important facts about mouthguards

Scientists showcase HDL nanotherapy that may provide solution to repeat heart attacks

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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