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.

Study suggests potential new treatment for seizures

A study out today in the journal Nature Medicine suggests a potential new treatment for the seizures that often plague children with genetic metabolic disorders and individuals undergoing liver failure. The discovery hinges on a new understanding of the complex molecular chain reaction that occurs when the brain is exposed to too much ammonia.

17 Nov 2013

Prolonged CPR can improve patient's chance of surviving cardiac arrest

Performing CPR for 38 minutes or longer can improve a patient's chance of surviving cardiac arrest, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

17 Nov 2013

Researchers update promising strategies and therapies to restore skeletal muscle health

The progressive loss of skeletal muscle during aging, known as sarcopenia, underlies limitations in physical function and mobility, which in turn lead to falls, loss of independence, institutionalization and even death.

16 Nov 2013

Protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells

A protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells, according to new research out of the University of Minnesota. The findings could explain why nearly half of all patients infected with the AIDS virus experience some level of neurocognitive impairment.

16 Nov 2013

Studies prove that students use prescription drugs to enhance cognitive performance

American and European studies prove that students use prescription medication or drugs to enhance their cognitive performance. Researchers from the universities of Zurich and Basel examined whether Swiss students have also experimented with neuroenhancement and which substances they take by conducting a survey of 6,725 students with an average age of 23 at the two universities and ETH Zurich.

16 Nov 2013

Scientists join patients to address Friedreich's Ataxia

The Spanish Federation of Ataxia (FEDAES)—in representation of the GENEFA Platform for a Friedreich's Ataxia cure—, the Babel Family association for biomedical research into Friedreich's Ataxia, the "Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa" (CMBSO), and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have signed an agreement through which these patients' associations will fund, by means of donations, a 3-year research project addressing Friedreich's Ataxia.

16 Nov 2013

Extracts made from herbs may improve learning and memory, study finds

Enhanced extracts made from special antioxidants in spearmint and rosemary improve learning and memory, a study in an animal model at Saint Louis University found.

15 Nov 2013

Research could refine next generation of drugs to help treat dementia

A £1.1 million grant to understand how one of the brain's key neurotransmitters called 'acetylcholine' influences brain activity has been awarded to University of Bristol researchers. The Wellcome Trust award will help scientists understand more precisely how the release of acetylcholine is changing brain cell activity to influence memory and cognition.

15 Nov 2013

Competitive gymnasts have higher exposure to harmful flame-retardants, shows study

Competitive gymnasts have a higher exposure to potentially harmful flame-retardants than the general population, likely because such contaminants are present in foam used in gym equipment, a study led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers has found.

15 Nov 2013

High school sports played at higher altitudes linked with reduction in concussion rates

According to a recent study done by doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, high school athletes who play collision sports at higher altitudes are less likely to suffer from concussions than those who play at lower altitudes.

15 Nov 2013

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of Vanda's tasimelteon NDA for Non-24-Hour Disorder

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly to recommend the approval of Vanda's New Drug Application for tasimelteon, proposed tradename HETLIOZ™, for the treatment of Non-24-Hour Disorder (Non-24) in the totally blind.

15 Nov 2013

Researchers identify gene responsible for Warburg Micro syndrome

A collaborative team of researchers led by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Edinburgh has identified a gene responsible for Warburg Micro syndrome, a rare genetic disease characterized by eye, brain and endocrine abnormalities. Patients with Warburg Micro syndrome are severely physically and mentally challenged, unable to learn how to walk or speak and become blind and paralyzed from an early age.

15 Nov 2013

Researchers use new approach to parse roles of key mutated protein that causes familial AD

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used genetic engineering of human induced pluripotent stem cells to specifically and precisely parse the roles of a key mutated protein in causing familial Alzheimer's disease, discovering that simple loss-of-function does not contribute to the inherited form of the neurodegenerative disorder.

15 Nov 2013

Researchers create new statistical tools to find clues about cancer from raw data

Researchers at Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and the University of Texas at Austin are working together to create new statistical tools that can find clues about cancer that are hidden like needles in enormous haystacks of raw data.

15 Nov 2013

Small molecule compound shows significant success in controlling polyomaviruses

A team of scientists reports that a small molecule compound showed significant success in controlling the infectivity and spread of three polyomaviruses in human cell cultures. To date there has been no medicine approved to treat such viruses, which prey on transplant recipients, people with HIV, and others whose immune systems have been weakened.

15 Nov 2013

Identifying 'sensome' of microglia could improve treatments for neurodegenerative disorders

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have used a new sequencing method to identify a group of genes used by the brain's immune cells - called microglia - to sense pathogenic organisms, toxins or damaged cells that require their response.

15 Nov 2013

NeuroPace RNS System gets premarket approval from FDA for treatment of partial onset seizures

NeuroPace, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted premarket approval for the NeuroPace RNS System, a treatment for adults with partial onset seizures that have not been controlled with two or more antiepileptic drugs.

14 Nov 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Study suggests potential new treatment for seizures

Prolonged CPR can improve patient's chance of surviving cardiac arrest

Researchers update promising strategies and therapies to restore skeletal muscle health

Protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells

Studies prove that students use prescription drugs to enhance cognitive performance

Scientists join patients to address Friedreich's Ataxia

Extracts made from herbs may improve learning and memory, study finds

Research could refine next generation of drugs to help treat dementia

Competitive gymnasts have higher exposure to harmful flame-retardants, shows study

High school sports played at higher altitudes linked with reduction in concussion rates

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of Vanda's tasimelteon NDA for Non-24-Hour Disorder

Researchers identify gene responsible for Warburg Micro syndrome

Researchers use new approach to parse roles of key mutated protein that causes familial AD

Researchers create new statistical tools to find clues about cancer from raw data

Small molecule compound shows significant success in controlling polyomaviruses

Identifying 'sensome' of microglia could improve treatments for neurodegenerative disorders

NeuroPace RNS System gets premarket approval from FDA for treatment of partial onset seizures

Medical device to reduce frequency of seizures in epilepsy patients gets FDA approval

Gray matter changes reflect psychosis burden

Men’s cognitive advantage maintained in early bipolar disorder

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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