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.

Increasing marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X

American and European scientists have found that increasing natural marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X syndrome, the most common known genetic cause of autism.

26 Sep 2012

Orexin-A hormone also affects emergence after anesthesia

A neuropeptide hormone called orexin-A—which plays an important role in regulating the normal sleep-wake cycle—also affects emergence (waking up) after anesthesia, reports an experimental study in the October issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

26 Sep 2012

UCSD evaluates safety and tolerability of dexanabinol in Phase I brain cancer study

Researchers at University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center are evaluating the safety and tolerability of a synthetic cannabinoid called dexanabinol (ETS2101). Delivered as a weekly intravenous infusion, the drug is being tested in patients with all forms of brain cancer, both primary and metastatic.

26 Sep 2012

New insights into filaminopathies

New insights into certain muscle diseases, the filaminopathies, are reported by an international research team led by Dr. Rudolf Andre Kley of the RUB's University Hospital Bergmannsheil in the journal Brain.

26 Sep 2012

NeuroSigma to launch Monarch eTNS system at 10th European Congress on Epileptology

NeuroSigma, Inc., a Los Angeles-based medical device company, announced today that its Monarch eTNS system for the adjunctive treatment of epilepsy and depression will make its debut at the 10th European Congress on Epileptology, which takes place in London, England from September 30 to October 4, 2012.

25 Sep 2012

Microcirculation secrets could shed new light on risks of heart disease and diabetes

Researchers at the University of Southampton together with colleagues at King's College London have embarked on a unique study that will shed new light on the risk of heart disease and diabetes in later life.

25 Sep 2012

X2IMPACT, NFL enter agreement to supply Concussion Management System software app

X2IMPACT, a privately funded Seattle company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the National Football League to supply its Concussion Management System (CMS) software application for use by certain teams of the NFL during the 2012 football season.

25 Sep 2012

LifeBridge Health’s Center for Memory & Behavioral Disorders to be opened on Oct. 2

The Center for Memory & Behavioral Disorders at LifeBridge Health opens its doors on the campus of Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital on Tuesday, October 2 to provide comprehensive initial evaluation services to people with dementia and behavioral disorders.

25 Sep 2012

Study uses white matter to study brain function

Most people equate "gray matter" with the brain and its higher functions, such as sensation and perception, but this is only one part of the anatomical puzzle inside our heads. Another cerebral component is the white matter, which makes up about half the brain by volume and serves as the communications network.

25 Sep 2012

Anti-cancer EGFR inhibitors effective in reversing memory loss in animal models of Alzheimer's

A team of neuroscientists and chemists from the U.S. and China today publish research suggesting that a class of currently used anti-cancer drugs as well as several previously untested synthetic compounds show effectiveness in reversing memory loss in two animal models of Alzheimer's disease.

25 Sep 2012

Lonafarnib proves effective for children with progeria

Results of the first-ever clinical drug trial for children with Progeria, a rare, fatal "rapid-aging" disease, demonstrate the efficacy of a farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI), a drug originally developed to treat cancer. The clinical trial results, completed only six years after scientists identified the cause of Progeria, included significant improvements in weight gain, bone structure and, most importantly, the cardiovascular system, according to The Progeria Research Foundation (PRF) and Boston Children's Hospital.

25 Sep 2012

Study tracks and compares brain growth in chimpanzee and human fetuses

Humans' superior brain size in comparison to their chimpanzee cousins traces all the way back to the womb. That's according to a study reported in the September 25 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, that is the first to track and compare brain growth in chimpanzee and human fetuses.

25 Sep 2012

Lasers manipulate neurons in worms' brains

In the quest to understand how the brain turns sensory input into behavior, Harvard scientists have crossed a major threshold. Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers have been able to take over an animal's brain, instruct it to turn in any direction they choose, and even to implant false sensory information, fooling the animal into thinking food was nearby.

24 Sep 2012

Anesthetics and proteins: understanding the interactions

Spanish scientists at the University of the Basque Region and the University of La Rioja have combined mass-resolved electronic spectroscopy and ab initio calculations to model the interactions of anesthetics with proteins.

24 Sep 2012

$Encouraging results from CTI’s pacritinib phase 1 study on relapsed/refractory lymphoma$

Encouraging results from CTI’s pacritinib phase 1 study on relapsed/refractory lymphoma

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the phase 1 study data of its highly selective oral JAK2 inhibitor pacritinib, or SB1518, showed encouraging anti-tumor activity and good tolerability in 34 patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma.

24 Sep 2012

Interleukin-6 could affect hunger and satiety

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have identified a molecule in the immune system that could affect hunger and satiety. The researchers hope that new treatments for obesity will benefit from this finding.

24 Sep 2012

Improvements in trauma care are urgently needed

With traumatic injuries claiming almost six million lives a year, improvements in care, including in the challenging areas of brain and bone injuries, and haemorrhage, are urgently needed.

24 Sep 2012

Even partially matched bone marrow transplants can eliminate sickle cell disease in some patients

In a preliminary clinical trial, investigators at Johns Hopkins have shown that even partially matched bone marrow transplants can eliminate sickle cell disease in some patients, ridding them of painful and debilitating symptoms and the need for a lifetime of pain medications and blood transfusions.

24 Sep 2012

Latest research on stem cells discussed at Einstein symposium

The promise of stem cells seems limitless. If they can be coaxed into rebuilding organs, repairing damaged spinal cords and restoring ravaged immune systems, these malleable cells would revolutionize medical treatment. But stem cell research is still in its infancy, as scientists seek to better understand the role of these cells in normal human development and disease.

24 Sep 2012

Sleep medicine and research: an interview with James K. Walsh

There are a variety of sleep medicines. I am going to refer to what are commonly described as hypnotics or sleeping pills. Sleeping pills have been around for a long time.

24 Sep 2012

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Increasing marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X

Orexin-A hormone also affects emergence after anesthesia

UCSD evaluates safety and tolerability of dexanabinol in Phase I brain cancer study

New insights into filaminopathies

NeuroSigma to launch Monarch eTNS system at 10th European Congress on Epileptology

Microcirculation secrets could shed new light on risks of heart disease and diabetes

X2IMPACT, NFL enter agreement to supply Concussion Management System software app

LifeBridge Health’s Center for Memory & Behavioral Disorders to be opened on Oct. 2

Study uses white matter to study brain function

Anti-cancer EGFR inhibitors effective in reversing memory loss in animal models of Alzheimer's

Lonafarnib proves effective for children with progeria

Study tracks and compares brain growth in chimpanzee and human fetuses

Lasers manipulate neurons in worms' brains

Anesthetics and proteins: understanding the interactions

Encouraging results from CTI’s pacritinib phase 1 study on relapsed/refractory lymphoma

Interleukin-6 could affect hunger and satiety

Improvements in trauma care are urgently needed

Even partially matched bone marrow transplants can eliminate sickle cell disease in some patients

Latest research on stem cells discussed at Einstein symposium

Sleep medicine and research: an interview with James K. Walsh

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

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