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.

FUS Foundation awards $112,002 grant to Harvard brain researcher

The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation has announced its latest Research Award recipient is Nathan McDannold, Ph.D. The $112,002 award will support McDannold's efforts to increase the regions in the brain that can be safely targeted by MR-guided focused ultrasound, an innovative, noninvasive medical technology being championed by the Foundation.

11 Aug 2011

Scientists identify 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis

Scientists have identified 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis, providing key insights into the biology of a very debilitating neurological disease. Many of the genes -implicated in the study are relevant to the immune system, shedding light onto the immunological pathways that underlie the development of multiple sclerosis.

11 Aug 2011

Light may play a role in modulating fear and anxiety

Biologists and psychologists know that light affects mood, but a new University of Virginia study indicates that light may also play a role in modulating fear and anxiety.

11 Aug 2011

Northern California's pregnant women have higher PBDE flame retardant exposures

A new study finds that pregnant women in Northern California have the highest PBDE flame retardant exposures reported to date among pregnant women worldwide.

11 Aug 2011

Music therapy for cancer: Relieves anxiety and pain

According to a new analysis of previously published research singing, playing an instrument or even just listening to music may lessen anxiety in cancer patients and improve their overall quality of life.

11 Aug 2011

Researchers helps explain how the adult brain cleans out dead brain cells and produces new ones

Adult brains generate thousands of new brain cells called neurons each day; however only a small fraction of them survive. The rest die and are consumed by scavenger cells called phagocytes. Until now, scientists have not fully understood how this process works, which phagocytes are unique in the brain, and how the removal of dead neurons influences the production of new neurons.

10 Aug 2011

FDA approves Abbott's RX Herculink Elite Renal Stent System for renal artery stenosis

Abbott today announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the RX Herculink Elite® Renal Stent System for the treatment of renal artery stenosis (narrowing of the main arteries supplying blood to the kidneys) in patients with uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure).

10 Aug 2011

Acorda Therapeutics receives U.S. patent allowance for aminopyridine compositions

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has allowed U.S. Patent Application No. 11/102,559 entitled "Method of Using Sustained Release Aminopyridine Compositions."

10 Aug 2011

Nesfatin-1 protein may help reduce body weight and blood sugar

A newly-identified protein may hold the key to keeping appetite and blood sugar in check, according to a study by York University researchers.

10 Aug 2011

Scientist determines how nyctalopin gene makes night vision possible

A scientist from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has determined how a particular gene makes night vision possible. The study, which was published in the August 10, 2011 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience, focuses on a gene called nyctalopin. Mutations in the gene result in inherited "night blindness," a loss of vision in low-light environments.

10 Aug 2011

Elderly women with sleep apnea more likely to develop dementia

Elderly women who suffer from sleep apnea -- characterized by disrupted breathing and sleep and a reduction in the intake of oxygen -- are about twice as likely to develop dementia in the next five years as those without the condition, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

10 Aug 2011

New technique can help scientists rapidly map myelination

Like explorers mapping a new planet, scientists probing the brain need every type of landmark they can get. Each mountain, river or forest helps scientists find their way through the intricacies of the human brain.

10 Aug 2011

New genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

Combining the expertise of several different labs, University of Iowa researchers have found a new genetic cause of the blinding eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and, in the process, discovered an entirely new version of the message that codes for the affected protein.

10 Aug 2011

Older women with sleep disordered breathing may face greater risk of dementia

Older women who have sleep-related breathing problems may be at greater risk of problems with mental function, including dementia, according to a new study in the August 10, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

10 Aug 2011

Moderate exercise may help prevent cognitive decline after bacterial infection

A small amount of exercise shields older animals from memory loss following a bacterial infection, according to a study in the August 10 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

10 Aug 2011

Positive data from Lexicon LX1032 Phase 2 study on carcinoid syndrome

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering breakthrough treatments for human disease, announced positive, top-line proof-of-concept data from its recently completed Phase 2 study in carcinoid syndrome with LX1032, telotristat etiprate. Carcinoid syndrome is a chronic condition caused by neuroendocrine tumors that usually originate from the gastrointestinal tract.

9 Aug 2011