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 use neuroimaging abnormalities to detect timing of abusive head trauma in infants

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Hershey, Pennsylvania) have categorized the appearance and evolution of abnormalities on neuroimages that represent abusive head trauma (AHT) in infants.

26 Jun 2013

Prader-Willi syndrome results in dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes

Researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute and Agilent Laboratories have found that Prader-Willi syndrome - a genetic disorder best known for causing an insatiable appetite that can lead to morbid obesity - is associated with the loss of non-coding RNAs, resulting in the dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes, accelerated energy expenditure and metabolic differences during sleep.

26 Jun 2013

Spontaneously emerging brain activity patterns preserve traces of previous cognitive activity

What if experts could dig into the brain, like archaeologists, and uncover the history of past experiences? This ability might reveal what makes each of us a unique individual, and it could enable the objective diagnosis of a wide range of neuropsychological diseases.

26 Jun 2013

Computerized brain-fitness program improves memory and language skills in older adults

UCLA researchers have found that older adults who regularly used a brain-fitness program on a computer demonstrated significantly improved memory and language skills.

26 Jun 2013

Hunger not only modifies behaviour, but also changes pathways in brain

Hungry people are often difficult to deal with. A good meal can affect more than our mood, it can also influence our willingness to take risks. This phenomenon is also apparent across a very diverse range of species in the animal kingdom.

26 Jun 2013

Eisai submits BELVIQ NDS with Health Canada

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that Eisai Limited (based in Mississauga, Ontario), a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., has submitted a New Drug Submission for BELVIQ (lorcaserin HCl) with Health Canada.

26 Jun 2013

Report alerts clinicians, public about catastrophic dangers of contaminated epidural injections

Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe pathologic findings from 40 case reports of fungal infection in patients who had been given contaminated epidural, paraspinal, or intra-articular (into joints) steroid injections and correlate these findings with clinical and laboratory data.

26 Jun 2013

New book provides step-by-step guide to build computer model of the human brain

It sounds like science fiction, but a new book by a University of Waterloo professor is actually a step-by-step guide, teaching readers how they can build their own computer model of the human brain.

26 Jun 2013

Caspase-2 protein contributes to cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have demonstrated that a protein called caspase-2 is a key regulator of a signaling pathway that leads to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

26 Jun 2013

Weill Cornell researchers discover high burden of hypertension in sub-Saharan African country

Based on the experience of a large hospital in Tanzania, Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have discovered a "startlingly" high burden of hypertension in this sub-Saharan African country.

26 Jun 2013

Researchers examine effect of ADHD in children recovering from mild traumatic brain injury

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Chicago have found that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely to demonstrate a moderate disability after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury than children without ADHD.

26 Jun 2013

Study shows absence of gene leads to early onset of more serious disease in MS animal model

Scientists led by a UCSF neurology researcher are reporting that they have identified the likely genetic mechanism that causes some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) to quickly progress to a debilitating stage of the disease while other patients progress much more slowly.

25 Jun 2013

Transplant officials to consider changes in organ donation

The nation's organ transplant network will consider a controversial proposal Monday to overhaul the guidelines for an increasingly common form of organ donation.

25 Jun 2013

New study points to potential strategy for erasing memory of addiction

A new study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco offers encouraging findings that researchers hope may one day lead to a treatment option for people who suffer from alcohol abuse disorders and other addictions.

25 Jun 2013

UCSF scientists explore how Dact1 mutations contribute to psychiatric disorders

Gene mutations that cause cell signaling networks to go awry during embryonic development and lead to major birth defects may also cause subtle disruptions in the brain that contribute to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder, according to new research by UC San Francisco scientists.

25 Jun 2013

Research findings could lead to new potential treatment for multiple sclerosis

Myelin, the fatty coating that protects neurons in the brain and spinal cord, is destroyed in diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Researchers have been striving to determine whether oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin, can be stimulated to make new myelin. Using live imaging in zebrafish to track oligodendrocytes in real time, researchers reporting in the June 24 issue of the Cell Press journal Developmental Cell discovered that individual oligodendrocytes coat neurons with myelin for only five hours after they are born. If the findings hold true in humans, they could lead to new treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis.

25 Jun 2013

Sanofi reports Phase 3 study of insulin U300 shows better blood sugar control than Lantus

Sanofi announced today that the first Phase 3 study results for its investigational new insulin U300 showed equivalent blood sugar control with fewer night-time low blood sugar events compared to Lantus.

24 Jun 2013

Researchers identify biological roots of migraine from large-scale genome study

In the largest study of migraines, researchers have found 5 genetic regions that for the first time have been linked to the onset of migraine. This study opens new doors to understanding the cause and biological triggers that underlie migraine attacks.

24 Jun 2013

New method allows assessment of direct stimulation effects on electric activity of human brain

Neuroscientists at the University of Tübingen have become the first to record neuromagnetic activity in the millisecond-by-millisecond range while the brain of a human subject was under stimulation by electric current. Electric brain stimulation has successfully been used in the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders for many decades.

24 Jun 2013

HSG conducts clinical trial with novel drug formulation for treating Huntington disease

The Huntington Study Group (HSG), under the leadership of Samuel Frank, MD, Principal Investigator, (Boston University School of Medicine) and Claudia Testa, MD, PhD, co-Principal Investigator (Virginia Commonwealth University), is conducting a clinical trial with a formulation of the novel drug SD-809 in the treatment of HD the United States and Canada.

24 Jun 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers use neuroimaging abnormalities to detect timing of abusive head trauma in infants

Prader-Willi syndrome results in dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes

Spontaneously emerging brain activity patterns preserve traces of previous cognitive activity

Computerized brain-fitness program improves memory and language skills in older adults

Hunger not only modifies behaviour, but also changes pathways in brain

Eisai submits BELVIQ NDS with Health Canada

Report alerts clinicians, public about catastrophic dangers of contaminated epidural injections

New book provides step-by-step guide to build computer model of the human brain

Caspase-2 protein contributes to cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease

Weill Cornell researchers discover high burden of hypertension in sub-Saharan African country

Researchers examine effect of ADHD in children recovering from mild traumatic brain injury

Study shows absence of gene leads to early onset of more serious disease in MS animal model

Transplant officials to consider changes in organ donation

New study points to potential strategy for erasing memory of addiction

UCSF scientists explore how Dact1 mutations contribute to psychiatric disorders

Research findings could lead to new potential treatment for multiple sclerosis

Sanofi reports Phase 3 study of insulin U300 shows better blood sugar control than Lantus

Researchers identify biological roots of migraine from large-scale genome study

New method allows assessment of direct stimulation effects on electric activity of human brain

HSG conducts clinical trial with novel drug formulation for treating Huntington disease

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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