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.

Mass spectrometry can help visualize how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers report that mass spectrometry, a tool currently used to detect and measure proteins and lipids, can also now allow biologists to "see" for the first time exactly how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes.

3 Nov 2012

Near-complete blood flow restoration necessary to preserve neurological function following stroke

Two Rhode Island Hospital researchers recently found that restoring near-complete blood flow to the brain is necessary to restore or preserve neurological function following stroke. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Yet until their research was complete, many physicians and researchers believed that partial blood-flow restoration was good enough. Not anymore.

3 Nov 2012

Radiosurgery alone can achieve local control of brain metastases

Radiosurgery to the surgical cavity without whole-brain radiotherapy achieves good rates of local control in patients with brain cancer metastases, a study has shown.

2 Nov 2012

Advanced breast cancer that has spread to the brain could be treated with drug combination

The sizeable and increasing proportion of women with advanced breast cancer whose disease has spread to the brain could be effectively treated systemically with a combination of two drugs, sparing them the debilitating neurological side effects of whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), suggests new research published Online First in The Lancet Oncology.

2 Nov 2012

Researchers combine robotics, machine learning and brain imaging to assist infants with CP

Learning to crawl comes naturally for most infants, but those with cerebral palsy lack the muscle strength and coordination to perform the 25 individual movements required for crawling. With a $1.135 million, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation's National Robotics Initiative, University of Oklahoma researchers from the Norman and Health Sciences Center campuses are combining robotics, machine learning and brain imaging to assist infants with CP with the challenging, life-altering skill.

2 Nov 2012

Repeated surgeries may improve survival for patients with glioblastomas

People who undergo repeated surgeries to remove glioblastomas - the most aggressive and deadliest type of brain tumors - may survive longer than those who have just a one-time operation, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

2 Nov 2012

XJB-5-131 compound suppresses symptoms of Huntington's in mice

There's new hope in the fight against Huntington's disease. A group of researchers that includes scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed a compound that suppresses symptoms of the devastating disease in mice.

2 Nov 2012

PET scans allow scientists to study link between caffeine and neurodegenerative disorders

Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) has enabled scientists for the first time to visualize binding sites of caffeine in the living human brain to explore possible positive and negative effects of caffeine consumption.

2 Nov 2012

Researchers unlock complex cellular mechanics that instruct glial progenitor cells to divide

In a new study appearing this month in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have unlocked the complex cellular mechanics that instruct specific brain cells to continue to divide. This discovery overcomes a significant technical hurdle to potential human stem cell therapies; ensuring that an abundant supply of cells is available to study and ultimately treat people with diseases.

2 Nov 2012

MH6 vaccine shows promise in treating meth addiction

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have performed successful tests of an experimental methamphetamine vaccine on rats. Vaccinated animals that received the drug were largely protected from typical signs of meth intoxication.

2 Nov 2012

Study identifies monoacylglycerol lipase as new therapeutic target to treat Alzheimer's

Research led by Chu Chen, PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has identified an enzyme called Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) as a new therapeutic target to treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease.

2 Nov 2012

Malarial drug shows promise in stopping breast cancer

A malarial drug is showing promise in stopping breast cancer before it starts, Mason researchers are discovering during a clinical trial.

2 Nov 2012

Study explores impact of IL1β on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia

There are a growing number of clues that immune and inflammatory mechanisms are important for the biology of schizophrenia. In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Mar Fatjó-Vilas and colleagues explored the impact of the interleukin-1β gene (IL1β) on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia.

2 Nov 2012

Aerobic exercise may offer new treatment option for ADHD

Research suggests that moderate aerobic exercise may offer a new treatment option for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

1 Nov 2012

Omeros initiates enrollment in OMS824 Phase 1 trial for schizophrenia and Huntington's

Omeros Corporation today announced that the first subject has been enrolled in the Company's Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating OMS824, the lead compound in Omeros' phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) program.

1 Nov 2012

Blocking hyaluronidase activity can help repair brain damage associated with MS

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered that blocking a certain enzyme in the brain can help repair the brain damage associated with multiple sclerosis and a range of other neurological disorders.

1 Nov 2012

Dysfunction in SRGAP3 protein causes developmental brain disorders

A new research discovery has the potential to revolutionize the biological understanding of some childhood psychiatric disorders. Specifically, scientists have found that when a single protein involved in brain development, called "SRGAP3," is malformed, it causes problems in the brain functioning of mice that cause symptoms that are similar to some mental health and neurological disorders in children.

1 Nov 2012

CSHL scientists discover new way to specifically target and kill cancer cells

Cancer cells grow fast. That's an essential characteristic of what makes them cancer cells. They've crashed through all the cell-cycle checkpoints and are continuously growing and dividing, far outstripping our normal cells. To do this they need to speed up their metabolism.

1 Nov 2012

Ischemic stroke: an interview with Dr Gregory Ford

A stroke is a sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain which deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients. Approximately two millions brain cells die each minute during a stroke. This can lead to brain damage, physical and mental disability and death.

1 Nov 2012

Brain's infralimbic cortex can switch between new and old habits

Habits are behaviors wired so deeply in our brains that we perform them automatically. This allows you to follow the same route to work every day without thinking about it, liberating your brain to ponder other things, such as what to make for dinner.

1 Nov 2012

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Mass spectrometry can help visualize how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes

Near-complete blood flow restoration necessary to preserve neurological function following stroke

Radiosurgery alone can achieve local control of brain metastases

Advanced breast cancer that has spread to the brain could be treated with drug combination

Researchers combine robotics, machine learning and brain imaging to assist infants with CP

Repeated surgeries may improve survival for patients with glioblastomas

XJB-5-131 compound suppresses symptoms of Huntington's in mice

PET scans allow scientists to study link between caffeine and neurodegenerative disorders

Researchers unlock complex cellular mechanics that instruct glial progenitor cells to divide

MH6 vaccine shows promise in treating meth addiction

Study identifies monoacylglycerol lipase as new therapeutic target to treat Alzheimer's

Malarial drug shows promise in stopping breast cancer

Study explores impact of IL1β on brain function alterations associated with schizophrenia

Aerobic exercise may offer new treatment option for ADHD

Omeros initiates enrollment in OMS824 Phase 1 trial for schizophrenia and Huntington's

Blocking hyaluronidase activity can help repair brain damage associated with MS

Dysfunction in SRGAP3 protein causes developmental brain disorders

CSHL scientists discover new way to specifically target and kill cancer cells

Ischemic stroke: an interview with Dr Gregory Ford

Brain's infralimbic cortex can switch between new and old habits

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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