Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Seniors can play an important role in reducing risks associated with prescription medications

Common medication to treat insomnia, anxiety, itching or allergies can have a negative impact on memory or concentration in the elderly, according to Dr. Cara Tannenbaum, Research Chair at the Institut universitaire de g-riatrie de Montr-al (IUGM, Montreal Geriatric University Institute) and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Montreal (UdeM).

6 Nov 2012

Testosterone exposure early in life can have lasting impact on brain function and behavior

New findings led by Dr. Michael Lombardo, Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues at the University of Cambridge indicate that testosterone levels early in fetal development influence later sensitivity of brain regions related to reward processing and affect an individual's susceptibility to engage in behavior, that in extremes, are related to several neuropsychiatric conditions that asymmetrically affect one sex more than the other.

6 Nov 2012

Comprehensive review article on baroreflex sensitivity after SCI

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can disrupt the body's sensitive signaling mechanisms that control blood pressure, breathing, and oxygen delivery to the heart and other organs during changes in body position. Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a leading cause of illness and death following SCI, and changes in baroreflex sensitivity-the body's ability to detect and respond to changes in blood pressure-may be predictive of a CV event.

6 Nov 2012

Study shows how local anesthetics can improve motor skills of patients after stroke

Painkilling drugs that make many therapies possible are a blessing for patients. Thanks to modern anesthetics, not only can surgical operations be conducted without causing pain, they are also used for various diagnostic procedures. Anesthetics can be very useful in therapies for stroke patients, as psychologists and physicians of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and the University Hospital Jena are now able to prove.

6 Nov 2012

New insight into process of sensing

Rats use a sense that humans don't: whisking. They move their facial whiskers back and forth about eight times a second to locate objects in their environment. Could humans acquire this sense? And if they can, what could understanding the process of adapting to new sensory input tell us about how humans normally sense? At the Weizmann Institute, researchers explored these questions by attaching plastic "whiskers" to the fingers of blindfolded volunteers and asking them to carry out a location task.

6 Nov 2012

Researchers analyse hydrogen bonds in tiny fibrils of amyloid-beta peptide

Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, researchers at Luleå University of Technology in collaboration with Warwick University in the UK for the first time in the world managed to analyse hydrogen bonds in tiny fibrils of Amyloid-beta peptide , which probably causes Alzheimer's disease.

5 Nov 2012

Urban outdoor aerobic training may have negative health effects

Training outside in an urban environment may not be as beneficial for a person’s health as they might hope, suggests research.

5 Nov 2012

Larger aneurysms linked to greater fluctuations in flow behaviour

Brain aneurysms occur in about six percent of the population. They are dilated sections of blood vessels, which can deteriorate over time until the blood vessel wall ruptures, resulting in a haemorrhage. This causes a loss of mental functions and severe headaches. Haemorrhages of this kind can even be life threatening. The treatment of such patients involves complex medical decision-making. The models developed by Julia Mikhal can be of great use in this regard.

5 Nov 2012

Study reveals why MRI brain images are so sensitive to the direction in which nerve fibres run

World-leading experts in Magnetic Resonance Imaging from The University of Nottingham's Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre have made a key discovery which could give the medical world a new tool for the improved diagnosis and monitoring of brain diseases like multiple sclerosis.

4 Nov 2012

Pradaxa use does not appear to increase serious bleeding

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the results of a Mini-Sentinel assessment that indicates bleeding rates associated with new use of Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) capsules do not appear to be higher than bleeding rates associated with new use of warfarin, which is consistent with observations from the pivotal RE-LY trial.

4 Nov 2012

Weill Cornell researchers awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grants

Weill Cornell Medical College announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

3 Nov 2012

Sleep experts advise people to reset sleep habits when they reset clocks

On Sunday morning, the clocks will fall back to mark the official end of daylight savings time. Northwestern Medicine sleep experts warn that the one hour time shift can be disruptive to sleep patterns, but that it also offers an excellent opportunity to evaluate and improve sleep patterns.

3 Nov 2012

Scientists decipher the brain's code for visual working memory in monkeys

The brain holds in mind what has just been seen by synchronizing brain waves in a working memory circuit, an animal study supported by the National Institutes of Health suggests. The more in-sync such electrical signals of neurons were in two key hubs of the circuit, the more those cells held the short-term memory of a just-seen object.

3 Nov 2012

UC Santa Barbara reports key discovery in interdisciplinary study of split-brain research

UC Santa Barbara has reported an important discovery in the interdisciplinary study of split-brain research. The findings uncover dynamic changes in brain coordination patterns between left and right hemispheres.

3 Nov 2012

Cannabis use causes temporary cognitive breakdown in non-psychotic individuals: Study

Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have found new support for their theory that cannabis use causes a temporary cognitive breakdown in non-psychotic individuals, leading to long-term psychosis.

3 Nov 2012

Scientists find new way to unlock cells' destinies

Scientists have discovered that breaking a biological signaling system in an embryo allows them to change the destiny of a cell.

3 Nov 2012

NICE decides to recommend Bristol-Myers Squibb’s YERVOY for treatment of advanced melanoma

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is pleased to announce that today the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has decided to recommend YERVOY (ipilimumab), which is approved in the European Union for the treatment of previously-treated metastatic (advanced) melanoma, within the Final Appraisal Determination (FAD).

3 Nov 2012

Adding angiogenesis inhibitor to anti-HER2 drugs extends survival in mice with breast cancer

Adding an angiogenesis inhibitor to treatment with a HER2-inhibiting drug could improve outcomes for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who develop brain metastases. In their report published online in PNAS Plus, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators report the first preclinical study combining antiangiogenic and anti-HER2 drugs in an animal model of brain metastatic breast cancer.

3 Nov 2012

Intensified antibiotic treatment can improve prognosis of patients with TB meningitis

Researchers from the Radboud UMC have conducted the first study globally to show that intensified antibiotic treatment can improve the prognosis of patients with tuberculous (TB) meningitis, the most severe form of TB which carries a mortality of up to 50%.

3 Nov 2012

Baylor University receives two new federal grants for research on Gulf War illness

Baylor University has been awarded two new federal grants for research on Gulf War illness, the complex medical condition that affects veterans of the 1991 war. The grants, from the Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs of the U.S. Department of Defense, total nearly $1.6 million, and bring current federal funding for Baylor's Gulf War research program to over $2.3 million.

3 Nov 2012

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Seniors can play an important role in reducing risks associated with prescription medications

Testosterone exposure early in life can have lasting impact on brain function and behavior

Comprehensive review article on baroreflex sensitivity after SCI

Study shows how local anesthetics can improve motor skills of patients after stroke

New insight into process of sensing

Researchers analyse hydrogen bonds in tiny fibrils of amyloid-beta peptide

Urban outdoor aerobic training may have negative health effects

Larger aneurysms linked to greater fluctuations in flow behaviour

Study reveals why MRI brain images are so sensitive to the direction in which nerve fibres run

Pradaxa use does not appear to increase serious bleeding

Weill Cornell researchers awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grants

Sleep experts advise people to reset sleep habits when they reset clocks

Scientists decipher the brain's code for visual working memory in monkeys

UC Santa Barbara reports key discovery in interdisciplinary study of split-brain research

Cannabis use causes temporary cognitive breakdown in non-psychotic individuals: Study

Scientists find new way to unlock cells' destinies

NICE decides to recommend Bristol-Myers Squibb’s YERVOY for treatment of advanced melanoma

Adding angiogenesis inhibitor to anti-HER2 drugs extends survival in mice with breast cancer

Intensified antibiotic treatment can improve prognosis of patients with TB meningitis

Baylor University receives two new federal grants for research on Gulf War illness

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

Latest News