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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.

Patients who use anti-depressants more likely to suffer relapses

Patients who use anti-depressants are much more likely to suffer relapses of major depression than those who use no medication at all, concludes a McMaster researcher.

20 Jul 2011

Texas Children's Hospital uses new surgical approach for treating epilepsy

Texas Children's Hospital is the first hospital in the world to use real-time MRI-guided thermal imaging and laser technology to destroy lesions in the brain that cause epilepsy and uncontrollable seizures.

19 Jul 2011

Insight into global incidence and prevalence of mild cognitive impairment

New research reported today in Paris at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2011 (AAIC 2011) offers insight on the global incidence and prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) – a condition involving problems with memory or another mental function severe enough to be noticeable to the affected person or to others but not serious enough to interfere with daily life.

19 Jul 2011

First neurobiological evidence for theory of episodic memory

Almost everyone has experienced one memory triggering another, but explanations for that phenomenon have proved elusive. Now, University of Pennsylvania researchers have provided the first neurobiological evidence that memories formed in the same context become linked, the foundation of the theory of episodic memory.

19 Jul 2011

Scientists discover cholesterol moves far slower within and between cells

Neutrons have shown the movement of cholesterol between and within cells takes far longer than previously thought. Findings could impact the treatment of a range of diseases linked to abnormal rates of cholesterol transfer.

19 Jul 2011

Mayo Clinic licenses M. tuberculosis complex speciation test from QIAGEN

Mayo Clinic has licensed patent rights from QIAGEN to enable Mayo Medical Laboratories to offer an M. tuberculosis complex speciation test. The test expands Mayo Medical Laboratories' current offering for tuberculosis testing, which already includes M. tuberculosis complex culture, molecular identification and drug susceptibility testing.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 19 Jul 2011

Preliminary data from Amorfix human diagnostic test for Alzheimer's presented at ICAD

Amorfix Life Sciences, a product development company focused on diagnostics and therapeutics for misfolded protein diseases, presented a paper on Sunday July 17th, 2011 at the International Conference on Alzheimer's disease in Paris, France.

19 Jul 2011

Single TBI may accelerate Alzheimer's disease-like neurodegeneration

Years after a single traumatic brain injury (TBI), survivors still show changes in their brains. In a new study, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggest that Alzheimer's disease-like neurodegeneration may be initiated or accelerated following a single traumatic brain injury, even in young adults.

19 Jul 2011

Head injury and dementia - Alzheimer’s connection

According to two studies released Monday, brain injuries sustained early in life are likely boost the risk of dementia later in life. In a third study, also presented at an international Alzheimer's conference in Paris this week, researchers unveiled evidence that falling over in daily life may be an early warning sign of the onset of Alzheimer's.

19 Jul 2011

Earlier Alzheimer’s disease and dementia diagnosis: New guidelines

It has been the tradition to confirm the presence of Alzheimer's disease during autopsy. However new guidelines proposed on Sunday by the U.S. National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association seek to distinguish between memory changes or dementia diagnosed by doctors when people are alive, and the changes pathologists can see in an autopsy.

18 Jul 2011

Upsher-Smith initiates USL261 ARTEMIS1 Phase III study for seizure clusters in epilepsy patients

Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc. announced today the initiation of a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of USL261, an investigational intranasal midazolam, for the rescue treatment of seizures in patients on stable anti-epileptic drug (AED) regimens who require control of intermittent bouts of increased seizure activity, frequently referred to as seizure clusters. USL261 has been granted orphan drug designation for this use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

18 Jul 2011

NSVascular signs exclusive license with UCLA for Thin-Film Nitinol technology

NeuroSigma, Inc., a Los Angeles-based medical device company, today announced the formation of a majority owned subsidiary, NSVascular, Inc. and the signing of an exclusive license with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) covering its medical applications of Thin-Film Nitinol (TFN) technology. Nitinol is a superelastic nickel and titanium alloy with unique properties that allow deformation and subsequent full recovery of the original shape upon exposure to body heat.

18 Jul 2011

Panel discussion on global perspective of women and Alzheimer's held at AAIC 2011

Today the Alzheimer's Association® in conjunction with GE Healthcare held a "Women and Alzheimer's: A Global Perspective" panel discussion during the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2011 (AAIC). The event brought together leaders in the Alzheimer's field and revealed new data from a survey commissioned by Alzheimer Europe.

18 Jul 2011

Study finds retired football players at higher risk for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease

Retired NFL football players are at higher risk for mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to Alzheimer's disease, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

18 Jul 2011

Study: 'The wave of death' may not indicate onset of brain death

The wave-shaped signal, which was previously dubbed 'the wave of death', had already been measured by researchers in Nijmegen in the brains of rats that had just been decapitated. The rats had already had electrodes implanted in their brains before the experiment.

18 Jul 2011

Traumatic brain injury in older veterans increases risk of dementia

Older veterans who experienced traumatic brain injury showed a more than two-fold increase in the risk of developing dementia, according to new research presented today at the Alzheimer's Association® International Conference 2011 (AAIC 2011) in Paris.

18 Jul 2011

Global research initiatives to standardize Alzheimer's biomarkers

As the Alzheimer's field moves closer to new and earlier tests for the disease, innovative global research initiatives are taking the first important steps to standardize Alzheimer's biomarkers, as evidenced by two presentations made today at the Alzheimer's Association(R) International Conference 2011 (AAIC 2011) in Paris.

18 Jul 2011

Higher rates of falls can occur very early in Alzheimer's disease

Falls are more common among individuals with the earliest signs of Alzheimer's, according to a study presented at the Alzheimer's Association® International Conference 2011.

18 Jul 2011

AOA supports efforts to prevent traumatic brain injury in athletes

Hoping that amateur and professional sports leagues will follow a path similar to that of the National Football League with its recent tightening of rules surrounding head injuries, members of the American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) House of Delegates voted today to support efforts to prevent traumatic brain injury (TBI) in athletes at the school, sports club, and professional levels.

18 Jul 2011

HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer women benefit from trastuzumab and chemotherapy

The use of trastuzumab, chemotherapy and surgery among women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer significantly improved survival from the time central nervous system metastases were diagnosed.

18 Jul 2011