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.

Technique to reduce stroke in cardiac surgery patients

Sequoia Hospital announced today that they are one of only two hospital participant abstracts selected for oral presentation at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Advances in Outcomes and Quality national conference held this week in San Diego, California. "Separated Cerebral and Corporeal Perfusion Reduces Stroke Risk in Cardiac Surgery Patients with Mobile Aortic Atheromata" will be presented by Audrey Fisher, MPH, Sequoia Hospital Manager of Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes. This new technique was developed to reduce strokes in cardiac surgery patients by isolating blood flow to the brain during cardiopulmonary bypass.

22 Sep 2009

Poor money management: A sign of developing Alzheimer's disease

New research finds poor money management skills may indicate that a person with mild memory problems will soon develop Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in the September 22, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

22 Sep 2009

Molecule responsible for neuronal branches identifed

The human brain consists of about 100 billion (1011) neurons, which altogether form about 100 trillion (1014) synaptic connections with each other. A crucial mechanism for the generation of this complex wiring pattern is the formation of neuronal branches. The neurobiologists Dr. Hannes Schmidt and Professor Fritz G. Rathjen at the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now discovered a molecule that regulates this vital process. At the same time they have succeeded in elucidating the signaling cascade induced by this molecule (PNAS, Early Edition, 2009, doi:10.1073).

22 Sep 2009

Moses Cone Health System installs TomoTherapy cancer treatment system

TomoTherapy Incorporated announced today that Moses Cone Health System has installed North Carolina's first TomoTherapy® cancer treatment system at the Moses Cone Regional Cancer Center in Greensboro, N.C.

22 Sep 2009

Barbershop singing helps cancer-survivor

For Marguerite Paustenbach, her secret weapon in the fight against breast cancer turned out to be her strong faith and love for barbershop singing. Paustenbach is a member of Village Vocal Chords, a Chicago-based barbershop singing group that’s part of Harmony, Inc., an all women’s barbershop singing organization currently celebrating its 50th anniversary.

22 Sep 2009

Blood vessels around the brain now converted into production/delivery systems

The blood brain barrier is generally considered an obstacle to delivering therapies from the bloodstream to the brain. However, University of Iowa researchers have discovered a way to turn the blood vessels surrounding brain cells into a production and delivery system for getting therapeutic molecules directly into brain cells.

22 Sep 2009

Matching parent-child pairs not dependent on race or culture

Scientists have ample evidence that individuals use a variety of cues to identify their own kin. People can also detect resemblances in families other than their own. A new study shows that their success in doing so is the same, whether or not those families are the same race as themselves.

22 Sep 2009

Study on mice reveals that short term stress can prevent cancer

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that, at least in laboratory mice, bouts of relatively short-term stress can boost the immune system and protect against one type of cancer. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of this occasional angst seem to last for weeks after the stressful situation has ended. The finding is surprising because chronic stress has the opposite effect -- taxing the immune system and increasing susceptibility to disease.

22 Sep 2009

Researcher can anticipate immune response in Alzheimer's patients

A researcher who is working on a vaccine for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has demonstrated that it is possible to test and measure specific immune responses in mice carrying human genes and to anticipate the immune response in Alzheimer's patients. This continuing research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev could one day lead to specific Alzheimer's vaccines that reduce plaque, neuronal damage and inflammation associated with the disease.

22 Sep 2009

Lundbeck offers Sabril for treating children with infantile spasms in the U.S.

Lundbeck Inc. (“Lundbeck”), a wholly owned subsidiary of H. Lundbeck A/S in Denmark (Copenhagen: LUN), announced today that Sabril® (vigabatrin) Tablets and Powder for Oral Solution are now available for prescribing in the United States.

22 Sep 2009

Coenzyme Q10 to slow down the effects of Parkinson's disease?

Rush University Medical Center is participating in a large-scale, multi-center clinical trial in the U.S. and Canada to determine whether a vitamin-like substance, in high doses, can slow the progression of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects about one million people in the United States.

22 Sep 2009

Neurodegenerative disorders are the second-leading cause of early-onset dementia, says report

Neurodegenerative disorders called frontotemporal dementias (FTD) are the second-leading cause of early-onset dementia in persons under age 65 and can emerge sometimes as early as age 20.

21 Sep 2009

Vitae Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 1 clinical trial of its novel cardiovascular agent

Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an integrated discovery and development company, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of its novel cardiovascular agent, VTP-27999.

21 Sep 2009

FDA approves Neuralstem's IND for commencing a stem cell trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to commence a Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) with its spinal cord stem cells.

21 Sep 2009

Swedish researcher to receive Fernström Foundation's Nordic Prize

Internationally renowned Swedish researcher Professor Jan-Åke Gustafsson, from KI and the University of Houston, is this year's recipient of the Fernström Foundation's Nordic Prize. The prize, which is worth SEK 1 million, is one of Scandinavia's most prestigious medical prizes.

21 Sep 2009

BRS Labs announces a video-surveillance technology that processes visual data like human brain

Behavioral Recognition Systems (BRS Labs) today announces a ground-breaking video-surveillance technology called Behavioral Analytics™, which leverages cognitive reasoning, and processes visual data on a level similar to the human brain.

21 Sep 2009

Better visualization of soft tissues using Toshiba's LCI

To continue its commitment to advancing medical imaging technology and improving diagnosis, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. introduces Low-Contrast Imaging (LCI) for Toshiba’s InfinixTM-i systems with mid (12” x 12”) and large (12” x 16”) flat-panel detectors (FPD). Toshiba will demonstrate its low-contrast imaging capabilities at this year’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) annual meeting in San Francisco, Sept. 21 – Sept. 25, 2009 (Booth #705).

21 Sep 2009

Celebrities take part in competition to mark World Alzheimer's Day

Today, on World Alzheimer's Day, new data released estimates 35 million people worldwide -- a 10% increase over 2005 -- are living with Alzheimer's and dementia, highlighting the urgent need for action and response.

21 Sep 2009

Invatec launches a 3-dimensional distal Embolic Protection System for Carotid Artery Stenting

Invatec, a comprehensive innovator of interventional products, today introduced FiberNet®, a 3-dimensional distal Embolic Protection System (EPS) for Carotid Artery Stenting with the lowest crossing profile (0.031’’) and highest performance capabilities on the market, manufactured by Lumen Biomedical. FiberNet provides superior deliverability and can be used in vessels ranging from 3.5 to 7 mm.

21 Sep 2009

ICTs play a major role in the health care sector

Today the GridTalk project launches its 8th GridBriefing at the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) conference in Barcelona. The report covers how information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly computing grids, are used in the health and biomedical sectors of European research. EGEE has supported this research community since the project's birth and it is the second largest user group after physics research.

21 Sep 2009