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.

Accurate, non-invasive and inexpensive test can detect Alzheimer's

Scientists from Durin Technologies, Inc., and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-School of Osteopathic Medicine have developed a blood test that uses human protein microarrays to detect the presence of specific antibodies in the blood that can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease with unprecedented accuracy.

4 Aug 2011

ImmunoCellular receives new patent for ICT-69 to treat multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, announced the issuance of a patent in France and the United Kingdom relating to the treatment and detection of multiple myeloma and ovarian cancer.

4 Aug 2011

Vampire bats can smell blood-rich prey: Study

In the labs of University of California, San Francisco and from the wilds of Venezuela scientists have discovered how vampire bats have evolved over the years with a unique weapon that enables them to zero in for a ravenous feed on the warmest blood vessels of their prey.

4 Aug 2011

'Concussions in the Classroom' program for high school teachers

According to a recent study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, concussions among middle and high school students are skyrocketing sending more than 100,000 adolescents and children a year to the emergency room.

4 Aug 2011

Study finds HIV epidemics emerging in the Middle East and North Africa among gays

HIV epidemics are emerging in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa among men who have sex with men, a term that encompasses gay, non-gay identified homosexual men, and transgendered and bisexual men.

3 Aug 2011

Prolonged estrogen deprivation reduces ability to prevent strokes

Prolonged estrogen deprivation in aging rats dramatically reduces the number of brain receptors for the hormone as well as its ability to prevent strokes, researchers report.

3 Aug 2011

Study: Subjective memory deterioration could be the first manifestation of Alzheimer's

Scientists at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, and Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen in Bonn succeeded for the first time in demonstrating that even in merely subjective cases of memory deterioration changes may be visible in certain brain structures.

3 Aug 2011

New approach to overcome complexities of developing more effective drugs for treating diseases

Pharmaceutical scientists typically face a meager five percent success rate for anti-cancer drugs in clinical trials. To help improve this success rate, Japanese scientists, led by Dr. Tetsuya Terasaki, one of the top pharmaceutical scientists focused on drug transporters, have developed a new approach designed to overcome complexities of developing new, more effective drugs to treat diseases, including cancer.

3 Aug 2011

Role of molecular imaging in diagnosis and clinical trials

Two new studies published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) provide insight into the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) to differentiate between types of dementia and to identify pharmaceuticals to slow the progress of dementia. With proposed National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Alzheimer's Association guidelines for detecting Alzheimer's-related brain changes expected in September, these articles give a preview of what may be to come.

3 Aug 2011

Insight into how brain organizes during development

Scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have taken an important step in identifying how the brain organizes itself during development. The findings, published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology today, describe - in more detail than ever before - the consequences of the loss of a key molecule involved in establishing proper brain architecture during brain development.

3 Aug 2011

APA to demonstrate three psychological science applications at 119th Annual Convention

The American Psychological Association plans to feature three public demonstrations of psychological science applications, including one that enables "seeing" with one's ears rather than eyes, at the organization's 119th Annual Convention here this week.

3 Aug 2011

Posttraumatic stress disorder linked to persistent fears of recurrent SAH

One-third of patients who have survived a life-threatening subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have disabling symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reports a study in the August issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

3 Aug 2011

Mood-related brain protein linked to sadness during cigarette withdrawal

Heavy smokers may experience sadness after quitting because early withdrawal leads to an increase in the mood-related brain protein monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has shown. This finding, which was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, may also explain why heavy smokers are at high risk for clinical depression.

3 Aug 2011

Lifestyle factors of people with exceptional longevity

People who live to 95 or older are no more virtuous than the rest of us in terms of their diet, exercise routine or smoking and drinking habits, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

3 Aug 2011

Memantine drug could boost cognitive function in people with Down syndrome

A University of Colorado School of Medicine scientist is completing a major clinical trial on a drug that could boost cognitive function in those with Down syndrome, significantly improving their quality of life and representing a potential milestone in research on this genetic condition.

3 Aug 2011

Cancer Research UK honors Nottingham scientist with prestigious award

A University of Nottingham scientist who uses fruit flies to study the genetics of cancer has won a prestigious award from Cancer Research UK.

3 Aug 2011

Autophagy research offers clues to new weight loss treatment

According to a new study when the body is starved brain cells along with other parts of the body begin to eat themselves. The body responds by producing fatty acids, which turn up the hunger signal in the brain and increase the impulse to eat.

3 Aug 2011

Novel therapy reduces elevated blood levels of toxic protein in women with preeclampsia

A novel therapy that reduces elevated blood levels of a potentially toxic protein in women with preeclampsia, a dangerous complication of pregnancy, may someday address the therapeutic dilemma posed by the condition - balancing life-threatening risks to the mother with the dangers that early delivery poses to an immature fetus.

3 Aug 2011

MindFrame receives CE mark approval for Capture LP and Flow LP devices

MindFrame Inc. today announces receiving CE mark approval for the MindFrame Capture LP™ and MindFrame Flow LP™ devices. Part of the comprehensive portfolio of MindFrame Therapy Solutions™, these low profile devices can be deployed through a smaller microcatheter to improve access through tortuous vessel anatomies.

2 Aug 2011

Simple ways to minimize health risks associated with cell phones

The dangers of cell phones have led to preventive policies in France, Israel, Finland, and India, and there are simple ways to minimize the health risks associated with exposure to the radiation energy they emit, according to Devra Lee Davis, PhD, MPH, President of the Environmental Health Trust, in a timely and informative interview featured in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

2 Aug 2011