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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.

Researchers find way to get beneficial effects of estrogen without increasing woman's risk of cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have pinpointed a set of biological mechanisms through which estrogen confers its beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, independent of the hormone's actions on cancer. Their investigation suggests that drugs targeting a specific subpopulation of estrogen receptors found outside the cell nucleus might activate the cardiovascular benefits of estrogen without increasing cancer risk.

24 Jun 2010

Treatment options for patients with MS

The best one-word description for multiple sclerosis is "unpredictable," according to the June issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. MS interferes with the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Just how that interference plays out in symptoms is different for everyone -- thus, the unpredictable label.

24 Jun 2010

Cedars-Sinai researchers awarded $1.47M grant to study stem cell immune rejection response

A team of Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute researchers led by Terrence Town, Ph.D. has been awarded a three-year, $1.47 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to fund research into mechanisms for how human immune systems reject or accept transplanted brain stem cells.

24 Jun 2010

IsoRay, Hologic complete exclusive worldwide distribution agreement for GliaSite radiation therapy system

IsoRay, Inc. announced today that it has completed a license agreement with Hologic, Inc. for exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the GliaSite® radiation therapy system, the world's only FDA-cleared balloon catheter device used in the treatment of brain cancer. The system's balloon catheter is a landmark technology that allows physicians to treat more patients than ever before with brachytherapy or internal radiation and provides important benefits over other radiation treatment options.

From Hologic, Inc. 23 Jun 2010

AstraZeneca, Targacept commence enrollment in TC-5214 Phase 3 clinical development for MDD

AstraZeneca and Targacept, Inc., today announced the enrollment of the first patient in the Phase 3 clinical development program for TC-5214, a nicotinic channel blocker.

23 Jun 2010

Modern humans can achieve relatively high bite forces using less-powerful jaw muscles: Study

The robust jaws and formidable teeth of some of our ancestors and ape cousins may suggest that humans are wimps when it comes to producing a powerful bite: but a new study has found the opposite is true, with major implications for our understanding of diet in ancestral humans.

23 Jun 2010

Researchers find increased activity in visual, auditory and sensorimotor network in migraineurs

Typically, migraine is considered to be an episodic disorder with discrete attacks of headache. But new research by Dr. Till Sprenger and his team from UCSF Headache Group and Technische Universit-t M-nchen found increased network activity -- stronger functional connectivity -- bilaterally in the visual, auditory and sensorimotor network in migraineurs.

23 Jun 2010

SSO launches Peace of Minds campaign to raise awareness about schizophrenia

More than half a million people in Ontario are either living with schizophrenia or are directly impacted by someone close to them who is suffering from the disease. Today, The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario is launching Peace of Minds, its most forceful campaign ever to raise awareness about schizophrenia and to generate support for vital programs to help those impacted by this crushing mental disease.

23 Jun 2010

Gay men and heterosexual women code faces bilaterally: Study

Gay men can recall familiar faces faster and more accurately than their heterosexual counterparts because, like women, they use both sides of their brains, according to a new study by York University researchers.

23 Jun 2010

Study explains how vesicular release of neurotransmitters is impaired

Effective brain function depends on the efficient signaling from one neuron to the next, a lightning-fast process that depends on a quick release of neurotransmitters at synapses. Exposure to lead during early childhood and even later in life has long been known to affect the release of these critical neurotransmitters. However, the precise mechanism by which lead ions (Pb2+) impair this process has remained unknown.

23 Jun 2010

Researchers study why the brain of newborn baby is particularly flexible

Science has long puzzled over why a baby's brain is particularly flexible and why it easily changes. Is it because babies have to learn a lot? A group of researchers from the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in G-ttingen, the Schiller University in Jena and Princeton University have now put forward a new explanation: Maybe it is because the brain still has to grow.

23 Jun 2010

Abusive attachments during infancy have negative consequences in social behavior development

In a new Biological Psychiatry article, Dr. Regina Sullivan and colleagues have dissected the behavior of mother rats and their infant pups, modeling nurturing by stroking and abuse with electric shock. In this animal model of infant abuse, they took into consideration the unique infant neurobehavioral learning attachment system that ensures infant rats' attachment to their caregiver regardless of the quality of care received.

23 Jun 2010

Excessive, uncontrolled vascular growth leads to development of cavernomas: Researchers

Benign vascular malformations known as cavernomas can occur in many tissues of the body. These abnormalities are characterized by enlarged, instable and unstructured blood vessels. Cavernomas of medical relevance are primarily those of the brain, which develop approximately in one out of two hundred people. In the brain, such growths often remain unnoticed and are typically found by chance in MRI scans. If they grow larger, they often cause unspecific symptoms such as headaches or dizziness.

23 Jun 2010

Resveratrol found in red wine neutralizes toxicity of proteins related to Alzheimer's disease: Research

An organic compound found in red wine - resveratrol - has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Professor Peter M. Tessier. The findings, published in the May 28 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, are a step toward understanding the large-scale death of brain cells seen in certain neurodegenerative diseases.

23 Jun 2010

UCL scientists explain Parkinson's disease patients' ICBs

Scientists at UCL have explained Parkinson's patients' risky behaviour, a rare side effect of standard treatments for the disease. The finding has implications for future medication of patients.

23 Jun 2010

Regular and long enough intake of EGb 761 protects against Alzheimer's disease: GuidAge study

For the very first time, a medicine has been shown to protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease. French scientists were able to demonstrate that taking 240 mg of Ginkgo extract EGb 761 per day regularly over a period of at least 4 years can cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by nearly 50%.

23 Jun 2010

Going barefoot in home may contribute to falls among elderly: Study

As summer rolls around, elderly people may want to think twice about taking their shoes off when they get home. Going barefoot in the home, or wearing slippers or socks with no shoes, may contribute to falls among the elderly, according to a new study from the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife.

23 Jun 2010

Recent study shows drinking coffee protects against head and neck cancer

Data on the effects of coffee on cancer risk have been mixed. However, results of a recent study add to the brewing evidence that drinking coffee protects against cancer, this time against head and neck cancer.

23 Jun 2010

Healthcare technology innovation projects to receive $3M in CIMIT medical research grants

A wide variety of early-stage, healthcare technology innovation projects in NeuroHealth, Traumatic Stress Disorders, and integrated clinical environments were among those chosen to receive more than $3 million in CIMIT seed grants for FY11.

23 Jun 2010

MJFF supports Ceregene's CERE-120 Phase 2 study for PD with $2.5M award

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) will provide $2.5 million to support Ceregene Inc.'s new Phase 2 study of CERE-120. This novel gene therapy product delivers the gene for neurturin, a potent neurotrophic (growth) factor that has shown potential to improve the status of degenerating neurons in both preclinical and clinical studies. CERE-120 has the potential to improve motor function as well as slow Parkinson's disease (PD) progression.

23 Jun 2010

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers find way to get beneficial effects of estrogen without increasing woman's risk of cancer

Treatment options for patients with MS

Cedars-Sinai researchers awarded $1.47M grant to study stem cell immune rejection response

IsoRay, Hologic complete exclusive worldwide distribution agreement for GliaSite radiation therapy system

AstraZeneca, Targacept commence enrollment in TC-5214 Phase 3 clinical development for MDD

Modern humans can achieve relatively high bite forces using less-powerful jaw muscles: Study

Researchers find increased activity in visual, auditory and sensorimotor network in migraineurs

SSO launches Peace of Minds campaign to raise awareness about schizophrenia

Gay men and heterosexual women code faces bilaterally: Study

Study explains how vesicular release of neurotransmitters is impaired

Researchers study why the brain of newborn baby is particularly flexible

Abusive attachments during infancy have negative consequences in social behavior development

Excessive, uncontrolled vascular growth leads to development of cavernomas: Researchers

Resveratrol found in red wine neutralizes toxicity of proteins related to Alzheimer's disease: Research

UCL scientists explain Parkinson's disease patients' ICBs

Regular and long enough intake of EGb 761 protects against Alzheimer's disease: GuidAge study

Going barefoot in home may contribute to falls among elderly: Study

Recent study shows drinking coffee protects against head and neck cancer

Healthcare technology innovation projects to receive $3M in CIMIT medical research grants

MJFF supports Ceregene's CERE-120 Phase 2 study for PD with $2.5M award

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