Neurosurgery News and Research

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Biomedical engineers and physicians have brought the day when artificial limbs will be controlled directly by the brain considerably closer

Biomedical engineers and physicians at Vanderbilt University have brought the day when artificial limbs will be controlled directly by the brain considerably closer by discovering a method that uses laser light, rather than electricity, to stimulate and control nerve cells.

28 Oct 2004

Evidence links cellular iron deficiency to restless legs syndrome

Iron-deficient cells in the brain are mixing up central nervous system signals to the legs and arms causing the irresistible urges to move and creepy-crawly sensations that characterize restless legs syndrome (RLS), a Penn State College of Medicine study reports.

25 Oct 2004

Stem cells grown from skin samples of adult patients with brain tumors could be used as a new brain tumor therapy

A team of neurosurgeons and scientists from Italy is looking into whether stem cells derived from a brain tumor patient's own skin can be used to fight the tumors.

21 Oct 2004

Anti-epilepsy drug sodium valproate is associated with developmental delay and lower IQ

Around five in every 1000 people will have epilepsy. One in three people with epilepsy is a woman of childbearing age, and one in every 200 women attending antenatal clinics is being treated with anti-epileptic drugs.

13 Oct 2004

Pilot study of mind-to-movement device shows early promise

In March 2002, Brown University researchers published an astounding piece of science. Three rhesus monkeys, they reported, could control a computer cursor without their hands. They used their minds instead.

10 Oct 2004

Best approach for repairing breaks in bone separating brain from the nasal cavity is through the nasal cavity

The best approach for repairing breaks in the thin bone that separates the brain from the nasal cavity is through the nasal cavity, according to an analysis of 92 patients who had this increasingly common approach to treating a fortunately rare problem.

6 Oct 2004

Trial shows which brain cancer patients benefit from temozolomide

An international team of scientists and cancer specialists has identified which patients with the deadly form of brain tumours called glioblastomas are likely to live longer if they are treated with temozolomide, and which patients are likely to get only marginal, if any, benefit.

28 Sep 2004

New gene therapy technique may help treat Alzheimer's disease

Investigators at Rush University Medical Center have successfully initiated a new technique that uses gene therapy to deliver nerve growth factor into regions of the brain where neurons are degenerating, in order to prevent cell death and reverse cell atrophy, two hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

21 Sep 2004

Immunoglobulins may help patients with Alzheimer’s

Immunoglobulins which are already being used to treat multiple sclerosis may also be able to help patients with Alzheimer’s. This, at least, is the finding of a pilot study on five patients at the University of Bonn.

20 Sep 2004

Researchers are making inroads to understanding what makes brain tumors so hard to treat

When he's not in the operating room performing surgery, Donald M. O'Rourke, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is fighting brain tumors from the research laboratory bench.

16 Sep 2004

Immunoglobulins might be promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease

Intravenous immunoglobulin might offer a promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease, suggests preliminary research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

15 Sep 2004

New device aimed at detecting glaucoma

The physician who revolutionized screening methods for glaucoma nearly 20 years ago has patented a new device aimed at detecting glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.

10 Sep 2004

Therapeutic hypothermia improves the chances of recovery among those who suffer from cardiac arrest

Lowering the body’s temperature after a cardiac arrest dramatically increases the chances for surviving and improves the neurological outcome.

10 Sep 2004

Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combined, slows tumor progression and extends survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy significantly slowed tumor progression and extended survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

17 Aug 2004

New treatment strategy for brain cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have found that combining ionizing radiation with a secreted protein that selectively inhibits tumor cell growth and survival can target cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone, perhaps presenting a new approach for treating the deadliest type of brain tumor.

9 Aug 2004

Physicians offer several promising and unique approaches to brain tumor treatment

An estimated 41,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2004, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

5 Aug 2004

$Surgeons implant a new investigational neurostimulator in a patient with medically refractory epilepsy$

Surgeons implant a new investigational neurostimulator in a patient with medically refractory epilepsy

Neurosurgeons at Rush University Medical Center are the first in Chicago to implant a new investigational neurostimulator in a patient with medically refractory epilepsy.

5 Aug 2004

Smart drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor

The use of a "smart" drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor may provide treatment that can extend the survival of people with the most common form of primary malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

3 Aug 2004

Hormone previously identified in the venom of the green mamba snake may play role in stroke research

A Mayo Clinic research team is focusing on a hormone previously identified in the venom of the green mamba snake for the role it may play in a dangerous blood vessel narrowing in stroke patients that can lead to a second stroke, reduced blood flow and brain damage.

2 Aug 2004

Miniature spectroscopic instruments and software to look at changes that occur within the cells and tissue of the brain

When molecules in cells are stimulated by light, they respond by becoming excited and re-emitting light of varying colors (fluorescence) that can be captured and measured by highly sensitive optical equipment.