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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.

Clinical interventions may help cocaine abusers from using drugs and prevent relapse

When asked to inhibit their response to a "cocaine-cues" video, active cocaine abusers were, on average, able to suppress activity in brain regions linked to drug craving, according to a new study at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. The results, to be published in an upcoming issue of NeuroImage, suggest that clinical interventions designed to strengthen these inhibitory responses could help cocaine abusers stop using drugs and avoid relapse.

30 Nov 2009

Bantam miRNA linked to the circadian clock

How does our biological system know that it is supposed to operate on a 24-hour cycle? Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that a tiny molecule holds the clue to the mystery.

30 Nov 2009

Clinical trials of personalised vaccines to fight glioblastomas

The University of Navarra Hospital has launched a series of clinical trials in order to assess the efficacy of an immunotherapy treatment. This approach involves the application of personalised vaccines —produced from healthy and tumour cells from the patient him or herself— and designed to combat glioblastomas, one of the most aggressive and frequent malignant tumours.

30 Nov 2009

Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals commences enrollment in florbetaben Phase III clinical trials

Today at the 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the enrollment of the first patient in an international Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of florbetaben (BAY 94-9172) PET imaging in the detection of beta-Amyloid plaques in the brain, which are a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

30 Nov 2009

Eli Lilly's Cymbalta receives FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Cymbalta® (duloxetine HCl) for the maintenance treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in adults, announced Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY).

30 Nov 2009

MHI team performs catheter implantation of the new Amptlazer Cardiac Plug prosthesis

A multidisciplinary team from the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) performed its first catheter implantation of a new prosthesis (Amptlazer(R) Cardiac Plug) closing the appendage of the left atrium of the heart, which will have the effect of preventing the formation of blood clots and avoiding open-heart surgery. This is excellent news for patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia, affecting at least 5% of Canadians over the age of 70.

30 Nov 2009

ALS research collaboration receives philanthropic funding

Three prominent philanthropic organizations – The Angel Fund, The ALS Therapy Alliance and Project ALS -- dedicated to finding a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have financed a new collaboration between one of the world’s leading ALS researchers and RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi).

30 Nov 2009

Presentations at Tuesday's RSNA conference

A new study from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center reports that beverage can stay-tabs pose a potential ingestion risk. In the 1970s, U.S. manufacturers switched to the stay-tab design after safety concerns about pull-tabs. The new study found 19 cases of stay-tab ingestion at a single institution, mainly among teenagers.

30 Nov 2009

CDS announces second Disability Intensive Course on cerebral palsy

The College of Direct Support (CDS), an internet-based curriculum for direct support professionals and managed in partnership by MC Strategies/Elsevier and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center, announced today that its second Disability Intensive Course (DIC) on "Cerebral Palsy" is now available for administrators and learners to use as part of the online curriculum.

30 Nov 2009

Early intervention for young children with autism improves IQ, communication and social interaction

A novel early intervention program for very young children with autism - some as young as 18 months - is effective for improving IQ, language ability, and social interaction, a comprehensive new study has found.

30 Nov 2009

Study explores brain's rewiring processes during motor learning

New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study involved detailed observations of the rewiring processes that take place in the brain during motor learning.

30 Nov 2009

Men and women respond differently to emotional stimuli, says new study

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation have found that men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2009

Siemens Healthcare launches innovative scanners at RSNA 2009

Siemens Healthcare redefines productivity with a new generation of its Tim® (Total imaging matrix) technology and with its new Dot(TM) (Day optimizing throughput) engine.

29 Nov 2009

Varian Medical Systems to exhibit its full range of detectors at RSNA Annual Meeting in Chicago

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., a premier supplier of X-ray tubes and flat panel digital image detectors, will exhibit its full range of detectors at the RSNA Annual Meeting in Chicago, Ill. from November 29 - December 3, 2009. Varian will also be exhibiting X-ray tube technology for multiple modalities as well as specialized cancer treatment technologies.

27 Nov 2009

New approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres discovered

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident.

27 Nov 2009

MICARDIS receives Health Canada approval to reduce the risk of non-fatal stroke

MICARDIS(R) (telmisartan) has received Health Canada approval to reduce the risk of non-fatal stroke or non-fatal myocardial infarction in patients 55 years or older at high risk of developing major cardiovascular events who cannot tolerate an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor.

26 Nov 2009

Researchers identify a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry. Moreover, experimentally removing those brakes in mice enhanced the animals' performance in a test of visual learning, suggesting a long-term path to therapeutic application.

26 Nov 2009

Wnt and EGFR signaling pathways interact to promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis

Two signaling pathways essential to normal human development - the Wnt/Wingless (Wnt) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways - interact in ways that can promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Nov. 25 issue of Molecular Cell.

26 Nov 2009

Scientists offer first genetic proof of new and rational treatment for osteoporosis

The so-called RANK protein and the molecule that binds to it, the RANK ligand or RANKL, form a focus of the work of Josef Penninger, director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna. In 1999 his group deleted the RANKL gene from mice and showed that the RANK/RANKL system was the "master regulator" governing bone loss (Kong et al. 1999 Nature 402, 304-309).

26 Nov 2009

Findings show the relationship between neurotransmitter dopamine and ADHD

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have uncovered evidence of a primitive emotion-like behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

26 Nov 2009

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Clinical interventions may help cocaine abusers from using drugs and prevent relapse

Bantam miRNA linked to the circadian clock

Clinical trials of personalised vaccines to fight glioblastomas

Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals commences enrollment in florbetaben Phase III clinical trials

Eli Lilly's Cymbalta receives FDA approval

MHI team performs catheter implantation of the new Amptlazer Cardiac Plug prosthesis

ALS research collaboration receives philanthropic funding

Presentations at Tuesday's RSNA conference

CDS announces second Disability Intensive Course on cerebral palsy

Early intervention for young children with autism improves IQ, communication and social interaction

Study explores brain's rewiring processes during motor learning

Men and women respond differently to emotional stimuli, says new study

Siemens Healthcare launches innovative scanners at RSNA 2009

Varian Medical Systems to exhibit its full range of detectors at RSNA Annual Meeting in Chicago

New approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres discovered

MICARDIS receives Health Canada approval to reduce the risk of non-fatal stroke

Researchers identify a set of molecular brakes that stabilize the developing brain's circuitry

Wnt and EGFR signaling pathways interact to promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis

Scientists offer first genetic proof of new and rational treatment for osteoporosis

Findings show the relationship between neurotransmitter dopamine and ADHD

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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