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.

UCLA researchers develop treatment approach for breast cancer metastasized to brain

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) have successfully combined cellular therapy and gene therapy in a mouse model system to develop a viable treatment strategy for breast cancer that has metastasized, or spread, to the patient's brain.

2 Aug 2013

Neuroscientists identify protein that contributes to cognitive deficits in AS

A team of neuroscientists has identified a protein in laboratory mice linked to impairments similar to those afflicted with Angelman syndrome (AS)—a condition associated with symptoms that include autism, intellectual disability, and motor abnormalities.

2 Aug 2013

Nutritional supplement may prevent neurodegenerative disease affecting children

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the gene mutation responsible for a particularly severe form of pontocerebellar hypoplasia, a currently incurable neurodegenerative disease affecting children.

2 Aug 2013

Scientists use fMRI and EEG to unlock one of the human brain's mysteries

Physicists and neuroscientists from The University of Nottingham and University of Birmingham have unlocked one of the mysteries of the human brain, thanks to new research using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).

2 Aug 2013

Novocure uses NovoTTF therapy to treat first recurrent glioblastoma tumor patient

Novocure today announced that Dr. Tatsunori Okamaura, MD, Ph.D., of the Kashiwaba Neurosurgical Hospital in Sapporo, Japan has treated the first patient in Japan with alternating electric field therapy.

1 Aug 2013

Researchers identify novel approach to enhance tissue repair and organ regeneration

Because most human tissues do not regenerate spontaneously, advances in tissue repair and organ regeneration could benefit many patients with a wide variety of medical conditions.

1 Aug 2013

Transmembrane protein NG2 controls orientation of cell migration toward the wound

When the central nervous system is injured, oligodendrocyte precursor cells migrate to the lesion and synthesize new myelin sheaths on demyelinated axons. Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Cell Biology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have now discovered that a distinct protein regulates the direction and movement of OPC toward the wound. The transmembrane protein NG2, which is expressed at the surface of OPCs and down-regulated as they mature to myelinating oligodendrocytes, plays an important role in the reaction of OPC to wounding.

1 Aug 2013

Researcher receives grant to study how exposure to social stress impacts the brain and behavior

Dr. Kim Huhman, a researcher in the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience at Georgia State University, has received a federal five-year, $1.8 million grant for research that may lead to improved strategies for treating and preventing mental health problems associated with exposure to social stress.

1 Aug 2013

Prevention against EEE and West Nile virus is within everyone's control

Every year reported cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and the West Nile virus surface in communities around the country, raising concerns and questions about mosquito borne-illnesses. Despite reports that children and the elderly are at greatest risk, anyone can be stricken by these viruses. But prevention is within everyone's control.

1 Aug 2013

New NIH projects to target Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction and AMD

The National Institutes of Health has launched three innovative projects that will focus on development of therapeutics for Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction, and age-related macular degeneration. These projects are funded through the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network which provides access to a variety of drug development resources.

1 Aug 2013

Researchers find new way to help surgeons more accurately plan for epilepsy surgery

A brain imaging research team led by Simon Fraser University neuroscientist Dr. Ryan D'Arcy has found a new way to help surgeons more accurately plan for surgical treatment in epilepsy.

1 Aug 2013

Study: Anemia may increase risk of dementia

Anemia, or low levels of red blood cells, may increase the risk of dementia, according to a study published in the July 31, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

1 Aug 2013

Brain development delay throughout childhood and adolescence for people born with FASD

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta recently published findings showing that brain development is delayed throughout childhood and adolescence for people born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

1 Aug 2013

Severe arthritis pain treatments: an interview with Professor Walsh, University of Nottingham and Professor Wood, UCL

Pain is defined by the sufferer’s experience. Pain may be severe because it is intense, frequent or sustained, and because it is distressing. The severity of pain is not simply due to what is going on in the joint, but is also affected by how the body processes the pain signals, and the context in which it is experienced.

31 Jul 2013

Study: Full Body Illusions can be accompanied by changes in body temperature

Researchers from the Center for Neuroprosthetics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland, show that people can be "tricked" into feeling that an image of a human figure -- an "avatar" -- is their own body. The study is published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

31 Jul 2013

Researchers secure $16 million NIH grant to investigate impact of HIV/AIDS on women

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center today announced they received a $16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on women.

31 Jul 2013

Patients with melanoma brain metastases can be treated with large doses of interleukin-2

In a retrospective study, Saint Louis University researchers have found that patients with melanoma brain metastases can be treated with large doses of interleukin-2 (HD IL-2), a therapy that triggers the body's own immune system to destroy the cancer cells.

31 Jul 2013

University of Maryland study links exercise to improved memory in Alzheimer's patients

New research out of the University of Maryland School of Public Health shows that exercise may improve cognitive function in those at risk for Alzheimer's by increasing the efficiency of brain activity associated with memory.

31 Jul 2013

ImmunoCellular initiates ICT-121 phase I trial in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. today announced initiation of a phase I clinical trial of cancer vaccine ICT-121 as a potential treatment for patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

30 Jul 2013

Junk-food diet during pregnancy may change development of opioid pathway in baby's brain

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, shows that eating a junk-food diet during pregnancy changes the development of the opioid signalling pathway in the baby's brain and permanently alters the way this system operates after birth.

30 Jul 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

UCLA researchers develop treatment approach for breast cancer metastasized to brain

Neuroscientists identify protein that contributes to cognitive deficits in AS

Nutritional supplement may prevent neurodegenerative disease affecting children

Scientists use fMRI and EEG to unlock one of the human brain's mysteries

Novocure uses NovoTTF therapy to treat first recurrent glioblastoma tumor patient

Researchers identify novel approach to enhance tissue repair and organ regeneration

Transmembrane protein NG2 controls orientation of cell migration toward the wound

Researcher receives grant to study how exposure to social stress impacts the brain and behavior

Prevention against EEE and West Nile virus is within everyone's control

New NIH projects to target Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction and AMD

Researchers find new way to help surgeons more accurately plan for epilepsy surgery

Study: Anemia may increase risk of dementia

Brain development delay throughout childhood and adolescence for people born with FASD

Severe arthritis pain treatments: an interview with Professor Walsh, University of Nottingham and Professor Wood, UCL

Study: Full Body Illusions can be accompanied by changes in body temperature

Researchers secure $16 million NIH grant to investigate impact of HIV/AIDS on women

Patients with melanoma brain metastases can be treated with large doses of interleukin-2

University of Maryland study links exercise to improved memory in Alzheimer's patients

ImmunoCellular initiates ICT-121 phase I trial in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme

Junk-food diet during pregnancy may change development of opioid pathway in baby's brain

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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