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.

New guidelines for the treatment of acromegaly, a serious growth hormone disorder

It’s said a lot can happen in seven days. In seven years, a lot has happened in the understanding of acromegaly, a debilitating condition that causes a patient to have too much growth hormone. It’s seven years since the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists last produced guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly. Their 2004 guidelines were just 13 pages long. Their latest, the 2011 guidelines, have grown – to 44 pages.

31 Aug 2011

Older dads have a higher risk of having kids with mental disorders: Study

According to a new study children of older fathers have genetic changes associated with autism and other brain disorders. As of now this is seen only in lab mice. Professor John McGrath of the Queensland University’s Brain Institute and colleagues report their findings today in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

31 Aug 2011

Shriners Hospitals for Children uses Masimo SpHb during selected surgeries

The healthcare professionals at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Honolulu, which perform hundreds of orthopaedic surgeries on children each year, are using the latest in medical technology from Masimo to noninvasively monitor patient blood levels during selected surgeries.

31 Aug 2011

Comprehensive review on non-drug interventions for treatment of high blood pressure

More and more, patients show up to appointments with hypertension expert John Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D. carrying bags full of "natural" products that they hope will help lower their blood pressure. And like most physicians, Bisognano doesn't always know if these products will do any good, or if they will cause any harm.

31 Aug 2011

Age-related declines in hearing may accelerate brain atrophy

A new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows that declines in hearing ability may accelerate gray mater atrophy in auditory areas of the brain and increase the listening effort necessary for older adults to successfully comprehend speech.

31 Aug 2011

Parental stress strongly associated with DNA methylation in children

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Child & Family Research Institute have shown that parental stress during their children's early years can leave an imprint on their sons' or daughters' genes - an imprint that lasts into adolescence and may affect how these genes are expressed later in life.

31 Aug 2011

New study pinpoints areas of the brain used exclusively for language

New research from MIT suggests that there are parts of our brain dedicated to language and only language, a finding that marks a major advance in the search for brain regions specialized for sophisticated mental functions.

31 Aug 2011

NSU's iPad program treats spinal cord injuries

A little iPad can go a long way. At Nova Southeastern University (NSU), the tiny, flat screen, touch pad is being used by the Occupational Therapy Department researchers to treat disabled patients who suffer from spinal cord injuries and other disabilities.

31 Aug 2011

Yoga as therapy in neuropsychiatric disorders

Yoga is commonly seen as a practice beneficial to body and mind. Increasingly, yoga is being taken a step further and applied as a form of complementary and alternative medicine in treating psychiatric disorders.

31 Aug 2011

FDA accepts Salix and Progenics' sNDA filing for RELISTOR to treat opioid-induced constipation

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for RELISTOR Subcutaneous Injection to treat opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with non-cancer pain.

30 Aug 2011

An advance toward using stem cells in 'regenerative medicine'

With stem cells so fickle and indecisive that they make Shakespeare's Hamlet pale by comparison, scientists today described an advance in encouraging stem cells to make decisions about their fate.

30 Aug 2011

AAN calls on all neurology patients, caregivers to participate in 2012 Neuro Film Festival

The American Academy of Neurology Foundation is calling on all neurology patients and caregivers to submit a short video to its 2012 Neuro Film Festival, telling their story about why more research is needed into finding cures for brain disorders.

30 Aug 2011

Researchers investigate potential of vesicular stomatitis virus against soft tissue sarcomas

Researchers from Yale University are looking to a virus from the same family as the rabies virus to fight a form of cancer primarily found in children and young adults.

30 Aug 2011

UCLA program helps improve seniors' self-perceived memory

Who hasn't forgotten someone's name, misplaced their glasses or walked into a room and not remembered why they entered? Normal age-related memory decline affects more than half of all seniors, and those over 80 are the most vulnerable.

30 Aug 2011

Latest Perspectives in General Physiology series examines sensory mechanisms

The latest Perspectives in General Physiology series examines the mechanisms of visual, aural, olfactory, and tactile processes that inform us about the environment. The series appears in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of General Physiology.

30 Aug 2011

Bristol Meyer Squibb’s new blood thinner drug for stroke prevention

Researchers find that an experimental anticlotting pill Eliquis is more effective than standard drug, warfarin, at preventing strokes in people with a heart condition that puts them at high risk of blood clots and stroke. The new drug also known as apixaban, cut the risk of stroke by 21% compared with warfarin in people with atrial fibrillation (AF). It lowered the risk of dying by 11%.

30 Aug 2011

New insights into Lafora disease

Short-term energy storage in animal cells is usually achieved through the accumulation of glucose, in the form of long and branched chains, known as glycogen. But when this accumulation happens in neurons it is fatal, causing them to degenerate. This neuronal deterioration and death associated with glycogen accumulation is the hallmark of an extremely rare and progressive type of epilepsy known as Lafora disease (LD).

29 Aug 2011

Bioness announces commercial release of NESS L300 Plus System

Bioness Inc., today announced the commercial release of its NESS L300 Plus System. Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year, the L300 Plus combines the award winning NESS L300 Foot Drop System with a thigh cuff to activate even more of the nerves and muscles in the leg for greater control while walking.

29 Aug 2011

PREVENT licenses Amorfix's ProMIS to develop vaccines against misfolded prion diseases

The Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise Inc. (PREVENT), a national Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR), has signed an exclusive license with Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. of Missisauga, Ontario for the use of their proprietary ProMIS technology in developing vaccines (active immunotherapy) for the treatment of diseases caused by the formation of misfolded prion.

29 Aug 2011

Safety tips for children to avoid pedestrian-related accidents

With the start of the school year quickly approaching, physicians from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital are urging parents and drivers to do their part to keep kids safe as they walk to school.

29 Aug 2011