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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.

Social cognitive deficits contribute to perpetuation of cocaine addiction, say scientists

In Europe as well as worldwide, cocaine is the second most frequently used drug after cannabis. Chronic cocaine users display worse memory performance, concentration difficulties, and attentional deficits but also their social skills are affected as previous studies at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich suggested.

22 Jan 2014

Magnetoencephalography can be used to control and train specific targeted brain regions

A new brain-imaging technique enables people to 'watch' their own brain activity in real time and to control or adjust function in pre-determined brain regions. The study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre, published in NeuroImage, is the first to demonstrate that magnetoencephalography can be used as a potential therapeutic tool to control and train specific targeted brain regions.

21 Jan 2014

Irregular sleep timing disrupts daily rhythms of our genes

A new study from the University of Surrey, published today in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), found that the daily rhythms of our genes are disrupted when sleep times shift.

21 Jan 2014

Childhood brain cancer (ETMR/ETANTR): an interview with Dr. Nada Jabado, Department of Pediatrics at McGill University

Embryonal tumours with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) are rare, deadly brain tumours that affect mainly children below the age of 4 years. There are 300 cases reported but probably there are many more as this tumour is often misdiagnosed.

21 Jan 2014

Agenus' Prophage vaccine Phase 2 study hailed in Neuro-Oncology journal

Agenus Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel immune system activating treatments for cancers and infectious diseases, announced that Phase 2 results of Prophage G-200 vaccine in recurrent patients with glioblastoma multiforme were hailed as 'exciting' and a 'very promising therapy' in an editorial published in Neuro-Oncology, the leading journal of the Society of Neuro-Oncology.

21 Jan 2014

Dakim introduces new tool to monitor cognitive performance of residents in senior living communities

Dakim, Inc., the leader in cognitive therapy in the senior living market, has introduced BrainTrac, a new tool that monitors the cognitive performance of residents in senior living communities who use the Dakim BrainFitness system.

21 Jan 2014

Researchers identify molecular mechanism by which cocaine alters brain's reward circuits, causes addiction

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new molecular mechanism by which cocaine alters the brain's reward circuits and causes addiction.

21 Jan 2014

Patients with MS could stave off disease symptoms by increasing vitamin D intake

For patients in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), low levels of vitamin D were found to strongly predict disease severity and hasten its progression, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) investigators in collaboration with Bayer HealthCare.

20 Jan 2014

Gene therapy edges closer for Parkinson’s disease

Lentiviral vector-based gene therapy is well tolerated and may improve motor function in patients with Parkinson’s disease, shows an open-label study published in The Lancet.

20 Jan 2014

New technology may provide solution to high risk of repeat heart attacks, say scientists

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.

20 Jan 2014

Cerebral pressure measurable anytime with hydrocephalus sensor

If the pressure in a patient's brain is too high, physicians implant a system in the head that regulates the pressure. A sensor can now measure and individually adjust brain pressure. The sensor system is approved for use as a long-term implant.

20 Jan 2014

TSRI scientists use new technique to discover two antibodies that protect human cells from cold virus

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have demonstrated the power of a new drug discovery technique, which allows them to find-relatively quickly and cheaply-antibodies that have a desired effect on cells. The TSRI scientists used the technique to discover two antibodies that protect human cells from a cold virus.

20 Jan 2014

Research shows how architecture of brain shapes its functioning

The structure of the human brain is complex, reminiscent of a circuit diagram with countless connections. But what role does this architecture play in the functioning of the brain?

20 Jan 2014

Research roundup: Nursing home transitions; the impact of raising Medicare premiums; workers' views of job-based insurance

Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

20 Jan 2014

Researchers identify protein in brain that plays critical role in memory loss seen in Alzheimer's patients

Cleveland Clinic researchers have identified a protein in the brain that plays a critical role in the memory loss seen in Alzheimer's patients, according to a study to be published in the journal Nature Neuroscience and posted online today.

20 Jan 2014

Research findings may offer new therapeutic target for management of Gaucher diseas

What causes brain damage and inflammation in severe cases of Gaucher disease? Little is known about the events that lead to brain pathology in some forms of the disease, and there is currently no treatment available - a bleak outlook for sufferers and their families. Now, scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science have discovered a new cellular pathway implicated in Gaucher disease.

19 Jan 2014

BioTime subsidiary releases version 1.5 of LifeMap Discovery

LifeMap Sciences, Inc., a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., announced today the release of LifeMap Discovery version 1.5. LifeMap Discovery is a state-of-the-art roadmap of embryonic development and stem cell biology.

18 Jan 2014

$Japanese MHLW approves ADCETRIS for relapsed or refractory CD30-positive HL and ALCL$

Japanese MHLW approves ADCETRIS for relapsed or refractory CD30-positive HL and ALCL

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that its collaborator, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, has received approval of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the treatment of patients with CD30-positive relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

18 Jan 2014

President Obama signs law to increase funding for Alzheimer's research, education

At the urging of the Alzheimer's Association and its more than 600,000 advocates, the funding bill signed into law today by President Obama contained an unprecedented $122 million increase for Alzheimer's research, education, outreach and caregiver support. The Alzheimer's Association applauds the Obama administration for calling for increased Alzheimer's funding in the President's Fiscal Year 2014 budget and Congress for providing funding to enable the continued, effective implementation of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease.

18 Jan 2014

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals' Iclusig now commercially available to patients in the U.S.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the commercial availability of Iclusig (ponatinib) for adult patients with refractory chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the United States. ARIAD has begun shipping Iclusig to Biologics, Inc., its exclusive specialty pharmacy, which is now filling prescriptions from physicians and distributing the cancer medicine to patients.

18 Jan 2014

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Social cognitive deficits contribute to perpetuation of cocaine addiction, say scientists

Magnetoencephalography can be used to control and train specific targeted brain regions

Irregular sleep timing disrupts daily rhythms of our genes

Childhood brain cancer (ETMR/ETANTR): an interview with Dr. Nada Jabado, Department of Pediatrics at McGill University

Agenus' Prophage vaccine Phase 2 study hailed in Neuro-Oncology journal

Dakim introduces new tool to monitor cognitive performance of residents in senior living communities

Researchers identify molecular mechanism by which cocaine alters brain's reward circuits, causes addiction

Patients with MS could stave off disease symptoms by increasing vitamin D intake

Gene therapy edges closer for Parkinson’s disease

New technology may provide solution to high risk of repeat heart attacks, say scientists

Cerebral pressure measurable anytime with hydrocephalus sensor

TSRI scientists use new technique to discover two antibodies that protect human cells from cold virus

Research shows how architecture of brain shapes its functioning

Research roundup: Nursing home transitions; the impact of raising Medicare premiums; workers' views of job-based insurance

Researchers identify protein in brain that plays critical role in memory loss seen in Alzheimer's patients

Research findings may offer new therapeutic target for management of Gaucher diseas

BioTime subsidiary releases version 1.5 of LifeMap Discovery

Japanese MHLW approves ADCETRIS for relapsed or refractory CD30-positive HL and ALCL

President Obama signs law to increase funding for Alzheimer's research, education

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals' Iclusig now commercially available to patients in the U.S.

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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