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.

Human Connectome Project releases brain imaging and behavioral data to scientific community

The Human Connectome Project, a five-year endeavor to link brain connectivity to human behavior, has released a set of high-quality imaging and behavioral data to the scientific community. The project has two major goals: to collect vast amounts of data using advanced brain imaging methods on a large population of healthy adults, and to make the data freely available so that scientists worldwide can make further discoveries about brain circuitry.

6 Mar 2013

Targeting ARF6 may be effectively prevent melanoma metastasis to lungs

Researchers have identified a critical protein role in the metastasis of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

6 Mar 2013

New research findings could lead to development of effective therapies for anxiety disorders

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a specific group of cells in the brainstem whose activation during rapid eye movement sleep is critical for the regulation of emotional memory processing.

6 Mar 2013

Endocrine Society issues position statement on estradiol measurement

In a Position Statement unveiled today, The Endocrine Society advocates that all methods for measuring estrogens, which play a crucial role in human biology, be made traceable to a common standard.

6 Mar 2013

EGCG in green tea controls generation of metal-associated amyloids associated with Alzheimer's

Researchers at the University of Michigan have found a new potential benefit of a molecule in green tea: preventing the misfolding of specific proteins in the brain.

6 Mar 2013

New NIH collaborative initiative aims to accelerate search for biomarkers in Parkinson's

Last month, the National Institutes of Health announced a new collaborative initiative that aims to accelerate the search for biomarkers -- changes in the body that can be used to predict, diagnose or monitor a disease -- in Parkinson's disease, in part by improving collaboration among researchers and helping patients get involved in clinical studies.

6 Mar 2013

Study shows how high shear stress could cause VWF to change shape and form blood clots

New research from Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and the Puget Sound Blood Center (PSBC) has revealed how stresses of flow in the small blood vessels of the heart and brain could cause a common protein to change shape and form dangerous blood clots.

6 Mar 2013

Left-sided brain injury increases infection risk

Patients with a left-sided brain injury are more likely to develop hospital-acquired infections than those with right-sided injury, show study findings.

5 Mar 2013

Upgraded implantation method hones epileptogenic zone targeting

Stereoelectroencephalography methodology is accurate for identification of brain regions that are susceptible to seizures and serves as a reliable presurgical evaluation of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

5 Mar 2013

Even mild sports-related head impacts can affect cognition

Results from a small study suggest that even a sport-related head impact that does not cause obvious injury, such as “heading” a ball in football or soccer, may result in impaired cognition.

5 Mar 2013

Study reveals key predictors of speech gains in children with autism, severe language delay

New findings published in Pediatrics (Epub ahead of print) by the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Center for Autism and Related Disorders reveal that 70 percent of children with autism spectrum disorders who have a history of severe language delay, achieved phrase or fluent speech by age eight.

5 Mar 2013

Schizophrenic people with MIR137 tend to develop illness at younger age

Some of the dramatic differences seen among patients with schizophrenia may be explained by a single gene that regulates a group of other schizophrenia risk genes. These findings appear in a new imaging-genetics study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

5 Mar 2013

KMO gene variant associated with increased production of kynurenic acid

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found an explanation for why the level of kynurenic acid (KYNA) is higher in the brains of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disease with psychosis. The study, which is published in the scientific periodical Molecular Psychiatry, identifies a gene variant associated with an increased production of KYNA.

5 Mar 2013

FES cycling associated with improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury

A new study by Kennedy Krieger Institute's International Center for Spinal Cord Injury finds that long-term lower extremity functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling, as part of a rehabilitation regimen, is associated with substantial improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

5 Mar 2013

Researchers identify distinctive brain patterns associated with general anesthesia drug

Since the mid-1800s, doctors have used drugs to induce general anesthesia in patients undergoing surgery.

5 Mar 2013

Brain adds new cells during puberty to help navigate complex social world of adulthood

The brain adds new cells during puberty to help navigate the complex social world of adulthood, two Michigan State University neuroscientists report in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

5 Mar 2013

Scientists discover how to detect abnormal brain rhythms associated with Parkinson's

A team of scientists and clinicians at UC San Francisco has discovered how to detect abnormal brain rhythms associated with Parkinson's by implanting electrodes within the brains of people with the disease.

5 Mar 2013

Overall risk of infection associated with most neuroangiographic procedures is very low

Patients undergoing cerebral angiography and neurointerventional procedures on the brain are at very low risk of infection-even without preventive antibiotics, reports a study in the March issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

5 Mar 2013

Results from Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 Phase 3 study on HIV

Pfizer Inc. presented today the results from a Phase 3 study demonstrating the immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine Diphtheria CRM197 Protein)in adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

5 Mar 2013

Positive results from NeuroDerm ND0612 Phase I trial on Parkinson's

NeuroDerm, Ltd. announced today the results of a Phase I safety and pharmacokinetic trial of ND0612, a novel drug formulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

4 Mar 2013

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Human Connectome Project releases brain imaging and behavioral data to scientific community

Targeting ARF6 may be effectively prevent melanoma metastasis to lungs

New research findings could lead to development of effective therapies for anxiety disorders

Endocrine Society issues position statement on estradiol measurement

EGCG in green tea controls generation of metal-associated amyloids associated with Alzheimer's

New NIH collaborative initiative aims to accelerate search for biomarkers in Parkinson's

Study shows how high shear stress could cause VWF to change shape and form blood clots

Left-sided brain injury increases infection risk

Upgraded implantation method hones epileptogenic zone targeting

Even mild sports-related head impacts can affect cognition

Study reveals key predictors of speech gains in children with autism, severe language delay

Schizophrenic people with MIR137 tend to develop illness at younger age

KMO gene variant associated with increased production of kynurenic acid

FES cycling associated with improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury

Researchers identify distinctive brain patterns associated with general anesthesia drug

Brain adds new cells during puberty to help navigate complex social world of adulthood

Scientists discover how to detect abnormal brain rhythms associated with Parkinson's

Overall risk of infection associated with most neuroangiographic procedures is very low

Results from Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 Phase 3 study on HIV

Positive results from NeuroDerm ND0612 Phase I trial on Parkinson's

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

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Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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