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.

AAN announces recipients of 2012 scientific research awards

Nearly two dozen scientific research awards are being bestowed on researchers around the world this year by the American Academy of Neurology, the world's largest association of neurologists. The awards will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21-28, 2012, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

22 Feb 2012

AAN to honor Tokyo neurologist with Potamkin Prize for AD research

The American Academy of Neurology is awarding its 2012 Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick's, Alzheimer's and Related Diseases to Takeshi Iwatsubo, MD, PhD, with the University of Tokyo School of Medicine. Iwatsubo will receive the award during the Academy's 64th Annual Meeting, April 21-28, 2012, in New Orleans.

22 Feb 2012

Autism Speaks releases two new ATN tool kits

Autism Speaks, North America's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today released the Sleep Strategies for Children with Autism: A Parent's Guide and Treating Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Tool Kit for Dental Professionals, both available for free download on Autism Speaks Tools You Can Use webpage.

22 Feb 2012

Study reveals how mutation shuts down DJ-1 protein's neuroprotective abilities

Purdue University researchers revealed how a mutation in a protein shuts down a protective function needed to prevent the death of neurons in Parkinson's disease, possibly opening the door to new drug strategies to treat the disorder.

22 Feb 2012

ALS Association, AAN to honor KCL neurologist with Essey Award

The American Academy of Neurology and the ALS Association are awarding the 2012 Sheila Essey Award: An Award for ALS Research to Christopher Shaw, MBChB, MD, FRACP, with the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London. Shaw will receive the award during the Academy's 64th Annual Meeting, April 21-28, 2012, in New Orleans.

22 Feb 2012

Foreign-born Hispanics in the U.S. might have lower risk of stroke

New research finds foreign-born Hispanics now living in the United States appear to be less likely to have a stroke compared to non-Hispanic white people.

22 Feb 2012

Link between brain dominance and laterality of cell phone use

If you're a left brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

22 Feb 2012

AAN, National MS Society to honor Cleveland Clinic researcher with John Dystel Prize

The American Academy of Neurology and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society are awarding the 2012 John Dystel Prize for MS Research to Richard M. Ransohoff, MD, with the Cleveland Clinic. Ransohoff, a member of the American Academy of Neurology and Associate Editor of Neurology, the Academy's medical journal, will receive the award at the Academy's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, April 21-28, 2012.

22 Feb 2012

New chemical compound to treat brain damage from stroke

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have designed, produced and patented a new chemical compound for the possible treatment of brain damage caused by stroke. The compound binds 1,000 times more effectively to the target protein in the brain than the potential drug currently being tested on stroke victims.

22 Feb 2012

IDOM researchers overturn textbook view of liver metabolism

A team led by researchers from the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (IDOM) at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, has overturned a "textbook" view of what the body does after a meal.

22 Feb 2012

Short telomeres may increase risk of chronic diseases

The ability to anticipate future events allows us to plan and exert control over our lives, but it may also contribute to stress-related increased risk for the diseases of aging, according to a study by UCSF researchers.

22 Feb 2012

Key regulator of lens development also controls mechanosensory neuron development

A gene known to control lens development in mice and humans is also crucial for the development of neurons responsible for mechanosensory function, as neurobiologists of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now discovered.

22 Feb 2012

Cedars-Sinai scientist to study potential treatments for AD

A Cedars-Sinai research scientist has been awarded two national grants totaling more than $2.5 million, including a prestigious Research Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health to study potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

21 Feb 2012

University of Pennsylvania, IMUC enter license agreement for dendritic-cell production method

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the University of Pennsylvania under which University of Pennsylvania has granted the Company an exclusive, worldwide license for a patent pending technology for the production of high-activity dendritic cells.

21 Feb 2012

FDA grants orphan-drug designation to Arno's AR-42 for treatment of meningioma, schwannoma

Arno Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that its investigational compound, AR-42, has been granted orphan-drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of meningioma and schwannoma of the central nervous system.

21 Feb 2012

Telomerase reactivation in malignant cells after genomic instability causes cancer progression

Inhibiting telomerase, an enzyme that rescues malignant cells from destruction by extending the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, kills tumor cells but also triggers resistance pathways that allow cancer to survive and spread, scientists report in the Feb. 17 issue of Cell.

21 Feb 2012

Infant colic may be an early sign of migraine headache later in life

New research suggests that mothers who experience migraine may be more likely to have a baby with colic than mothers without a history of migraine. Colic is defined as excessive crying in an otherwise healthy infant. The research was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

21 Feb 2012

Intraoperative monitoring of spinal cord may help prevent paralysis

The American Academy of Neurology is issuing an updated guideline that recommends monitoring the spinal cord during spinal surgery and certain chest surgeries to help prevent paralysis, or loss of muscle function, related to the surgeries.

21 Feb 2012

Mothers who suffer migraine headaches more likely to have babies with colic

A study of mothers and their young babies by neurologists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has shown that mothers who suffer migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to have babies with colic than mothers without a history of migraines.

21 Feb 2012

Elekta to highlight Clarity with Autoscan at Radiosurgery Society meeting

Clarity soft tissue visualization system now provides an Autoscan option for automated ultrasound scanning from outside of the treatment room, employing a motorized probe positioned at the patient's perineum.

From Elekta 20 Feb 2012