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.

New form of electroconvulsive therapy could prevent adverse cognitive side effects

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective acute treatment for severe major depression. However, even with newer forms of ECT, there remains a significant risk of adverse cognitive effects, particularly memory problems.

7 May 2013

Study; Media reports about supposedly hazardous substances may trigger nocebo effect in some people

Media reports about substances that are supposedly hazardous to health may cause suggestible people to develop symptoms of a disease even though there is no objective reason for doing so.

7 May 2013

TBI in older adults presents special diagnostic, management and treatment challenges

Each year more than 1.7 million people in the United States sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The incidence of TBI in older adults poses special diagnostic, management and treatment challenges, say experts in a special collection of papers on TBI in the elderly in NeuroRehabilitation: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

7 May 2013

Neuroperspective reviews status and prospects of therapeutics for Parkinson's disease

NI Research, the leading publisher of independent research on the neurotherapeutics industry, has released the May issue of NeuroPerspective, which reviews the status and prospects of therapeutics for Parkinson's.

7 May 2013

Mutations in Ggamma13 gene may contribute to certain forms of smell disorders in humans

Researchers at the Monell Center and collaborators have identified a protein that is critical to the ability of mammals to smell. Mice engineered to be lacking the Ggamma13 protein in their olfactory receptors were functionally anosmic - unable to smell.

7 May 2013

Cleveland Clinic receives $2M for research in colorectal surgery

Kenneth M. Garschina and his wife, Sara Story, have pledged $2 million to Cleveland Clinic's Digestive Disease Institute to create an endowed chair for research in colorectal surgery. The donation coincides with the re-dedication of two previously funded endowed chairs.

6 May 2013

Scientists create animal models by altering specific genes associated with a given disease

Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch, who helped transform the study of genetics by creating the first transgenic mouse in 1974, is again revolutionizing how genetically altered animal models are created and perhaps even redefining what species may serve as models.

6 May 2013

NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals raises $6.4 million in private equity financing round

NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company developing breakthrough therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that it raised $6.4 million in a private equity financing round.

6 May 2013

Study: Combination of chemotherapy and nerve-protecting agents can prevent anemia

Cancer chemotherapy can cause peripheral neuropathy-nerve damage often resulting in pain and muscle weakness in the arms and legs. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that chemo also induces an insidious type of nerve damage inside bone marrow that can cause delays in recovery after bone marrow transplantation.

6 May 2013

Exposure to violent video games affects teens' heart rate responses

Teenagers who are highly exposed to violent video games—three or more hours per day—show blunted physical and psychological responses to playing a violent game, reports a study in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

5 May 2013

Discovery may lead to new treatment for neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative disorders

A key type of human brain cell developed in the laboratory grows seamlessly when transplanted into the brains of mice, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered, raising hope that these cells might one day be used to treat people with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and possibly even Alzheimer's disease, as well as and complications of spinal cord injury such as chronic pain and spasticity.

5 May 2013

Discovery raises hope for severe forms of human epilepsy

Epilepsy that does not respond to drugs can be halted in adult mice by transplanting a specific type of cell into the brain, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered, raising hope that a similar treatment might work in severe forms of human epilepsy.

5 May 2013

Zoo baboons shed light on the brain's ability to understand numbers

Opposing thumbs, expressive faces, complex social systems: it's hard to miss the similarities between apes and humans. Now a new study with a troop of zoo baboons and lots of peanuts shows that a less obvious trait-the ability to understand numbers-also is shared by man and his primate cousins.

5 May 2013

Experts gather to lay out agenda to end childhood poverty

Pediatricians, economists, social scientists and policy experts will come together on Saturday, May 4, to address one of the greatest threats to child health - poverty.

4 May 2013

High blood pressure linked to better quality of life in adolescents

Teenagers with high blood pressure appear to have better psychological adjustment and enjoy higher quality of life than those with normal blood pressure, suggests a study in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

4 May 2013

Queen Mary mathematicians describe functioning of the brain

Mathematicians from Queen Mary, University of London will bring researchers one-step closer to understanding how the structure of the brain relates to its function in two recently published studies.

4 May 2013

Virtual reality reveals new clues on how cells determine place

Leaving the house in the morning may seem simple, but with every move we make, our brains are working feverishly to create maps of the outside world that allow us to navigate and to remember where we are.

4 May 2013

Gene mutation associated with rare sleep disorder also contributes to debilitating migraines

A gene mutation associated with a rare sleep disorder surprisingly also contributes to debilitating migraines, a new discovery that could change the treatment of migraines by allowing development of drugs specifically designed to treat the chronic headaches.

3 May 2013

Study results suggest that restricting food intake increases reward value of food

The story is a familiar one: most people are able to lose weight while dieting but once the diet is over, the weight comes back. Many of us can personally attest that caloric deprivation weight loss diets typically do not produce lasting weight loss.

3 May 2013

EPAC2 and diabetes: an interview with Dr. Hussain, Johns Hopkins University

EPAC stands for exchange protein activated by cyclic AMP (cAMP). cAMP is an (among many) intracellular messenger molecule. cAMP is generated when certain hormones stimulate a cell by binding to their receptor, which is at the outside surface of the cell.

3 May 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

New form of electroconvulsive therapy could prevent adverse cognitive side effects

Study; Media reports about supposedly hazardous substances may trigger nocebo effect in some people

TBI in older adults presents special diagnostic, management and treatment challenges

Neuroperspective reviews status and prospects of therapeutics for Parkinson's disease

Mutations in Ggamma13 gene may contribute to certain forms of smell disorders in humans

Cleveland Clinic receives $2M for research in colorectal surgery

Scientists create animal models by altering specific genes associated with a given disease

NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals raises $6.4 million in private equity financing round

Study: Combination of chemotherapy and nerve-protecting agents can prevent anemia

Exposure to violent video games affects teens' heart rate responses

Discovery may lead to new treatment for neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative disorders

Discovery raises hope for severe forms of human epilepsy

Zoo baboons shed light on the brain's ability to understand numbers

Experts gather to lay out agenda to end childhood poverty

High blood pressure linked to better quality of life in adolescents

Queen Mary mathematicians describe functioning of the brain

Virtual reality reveals new clues on how cells determine place

Gene mutation associated with rare sleep disorder also contributes to debilitating migraines

Study results suggest that restricting food intake increases reward value of food

EPAC2 and diabetes: an interview with Dr. Hussain, Johns Hopkins University

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

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