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.

Study explains why memory improves on a high-DHA diet

We've all heard that eating fish is good for our brains and memory. But what is it about DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, that makes our memory sharper? Medical researchers at the University of Alberta discovered a possible explanation and just published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

29 Jun 2012

Researchers identify genes that influence degeneration of the hippocampus

In a genome-wide association (GWA) study, researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH) have identified several genes which influence degeneration of the hippocampus, the part of the brain most associated with Alzheimer disease (AD).

29 Jun 2012

IARS announces recipient of 2012 Frontiers in Anesthesia Research Award

The International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) formally announced Ansgar Brambrink, MD, PhD of Oregon Health & Science University as the recipient of its 2012 Frontiers in Anesthesia Research Award today - the largest single grant offered by the Society in its 90 year history.

29 Jun 2012

Sinai Hospital begins to use Solitaire FR device for treatment of acute stroke

Sinai Hospital has begun use of a new device that provides timely live-saving treatment for acute stroke patients. The Solitaire FR revascularization device is designed to minimize damage caused by blockage of an artery to the brain by mechanically removing blood clots and restoring blood flow.

29 Jun 2012

Scientists use patient cells to generate human model of Huntington's

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and an international team of researchers have generated a human model of Huntington's disease-directly from the skin cells of patients with the disease.

29 Jun 2012

New laboratory model for Huntington's disease

Cedars-Sinai scientists have joined with expert colleagues around the globe in using stem cells to develop a laboratory model for Huntington's disease, allowing researchers for the first time to test directly on human cells potential treatments for this fatal, inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

Researchers create 'Huntington's disease in a dish' to enable search for treatment

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington's disease (HD), and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

Why our eyes are bigger than our stomachs

Viewing images of high-calorie foods can trigger hunger cravings, suggests research presented at the Endocrinology Society’s annual meeting ENDO 2012 in Houston, Texas, USA.

28 Jun 2012

Potential risk factors for disorder that causes people to kick or punch during sleep

Smoking, head injury, pesticide exposure, farming and less education may be risk factors for a rare sleep disorder that causes people to kick or punch during sleep, according to a study published in the June 27, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Jun 2012

Experts in fluid mechanics to study Chiari malformation

Expertise in fluid mechanics at The University of Akron has attracted funding for a new research center designed to help physicians better diagnose and treat an unusual cause of pain in the head, neck and shoulders. Chiari malformation is a disorder of the neurologic system caused in part by an imbalance in brain and spinal fluid.

28 Jun 2012

Scientists identify abnormal gene that leads to Parkinson's

An international team including scientists from the University of Saskatchewan-Saskatoon Health Region and University of British Columbia, with the help of Saskatchewan Mennonite families, has identified an abnormal gene which leads to Parkinson's disease.

28 Jun 2012

Prenatal exposure to PCBs impacts reproductive function in offspring

Prenatal exposure to the environmental contaminants polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, causes long-term changes to the developing brain that have adverse effects on reproductive function later in life, a new study finds. Results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

28 Jun 2012

Vaccine for nicotine addiction developed

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested in mice an innovative vaccine to treat nicotine addiction.

28 Jun 2012

Arena receives FDA approval for Belviq to treat obesity

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Belviq (lorcaserin hydrochloride), as an addition to a reduced-calorie diet and exercise, for chronic weight management.

28 Jun 2012

Touch important for side-effects of medicines for premature babies with respiratory problems

Discovering that touch is important for the side-effects of a medicine for premature babies with respiratory problems. This is what Sanne Claessens finds so fascinating about fundamental research in medical pharmacology. PhD defence 27 June.

28 Jun 2012

BPI clinical study to evaluate computerized, brain-plasticity-based program for schizophrenia

Researchers at San Francisco-based Brain Plasticity, Inc. (BPI) have begun a multi-center study to evaluate the effects of a computerized, brain-plasticity-based program designed to address the cognitive issues associated with schizophrenia.

28 Jun 2012

New compound could treat certain types of genetic disorders in muscles

Scientists at UCLA have identified a new compound that could treat certain types of genetic disorders in muscles. It is a big first step in what they hope will lead to human clinical trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

28 Jun 2012

Study offers new clues for early autism diagnosis

A new study shows significant differences in brain development in high-risk infants who develop autism starting as early as age 6 months. The findings published in the American Journal of Psychiatry reveal that this abnormal brain development may be detected before the appearance of autism symptoms in an infant's first year of life. Autism is typically diagnosed around the age of 2 or 3.

28 Jun 2012

Researchers design microparticles that can deliver oxygen quickly into the bloodstream

Patients unable to breathe because of acute lung failure or an obstructed airway need another way to get oxygen to their blood—and fast—to avoid cardiac arrest and brain injury. A team led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital has designed tiny, gas-filled microparticles that can be injected directly into the bloodstream to quickly oxygenate the blood.

28 Jun 2012

Combination of radiation therapies effectively treat prostate cancer, lower chances of recurrence

A recent Phase I/II clinical trial has shown that a new combination of radiation therapies developed at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center escalates radiation doses to safely and effectively treat prostate cancer and lower the risk of recurrence with minimal radiation exposure to nearby healthy tissue and organs.

27 Jun 2012