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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.

Text messaging effectively intervenes during smoking urges

A pair of related studies on smoking cessation by researchers at the University of Oregon and other institutions have isolated the brain regions most active in controlling urges to smoke and demonstrated the effectiveness of text-messaging to measure and intervene in those urges.

9 Mar 2011

Smart technology for healthy longevity

A national policy is required for the research, demonstration, commercialisation and wide-scale deployment of smart technology for ageing-in-place to ensure: a healthy, safe, secure and fulfilling future for the increasing aged population in Australia by enabling them to remain at home longer, by easing the strain on the national healthcare system and providing cost effective solutions to meet the needs of the growing number of elderly Australians.

9 Mar 2011

Grey matter volume in cerebellum predicts general intelligence

Research suggests that intelligence in humans is controlled by the part of the brain known as the 'cortex', and most theories of age-related cognitive decline focus on cortical dysfunction.

9 Mar 2011

Plexxikon commences PLX3397 Phase 2 trial in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma

Plexxikon today announced that it has treated the first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial in Hodgkin lymphoma with PLX3397. This novel agent is an oral, selective inhibitor that down-modulates two key cell types that are thought to mediate the progression of Hodgkin lymphoma tumors — macrophages and mast cells.

8 Mar 2011

$100 million in grants for medical research announced

More than $100 million in grants was announced this Tuesday for an ambitious research project that will try to find what makes cancer so hard to beat. This project received $21.3 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council grants.

8 Mar 2011

Conflicts in medical management of hemophilia

Hemophilia is a medical disorder that is part of our genetic load as humans. It will never disappear. Therefore, the only way to live with it is to receive adequate medical management. Its effects on those males who have inherited the disorder that affects their blood clotting without treatment includes recurrent hemorrhages (bleeds) into joints as well as internal bleeding. The bleeds are painful, resulting in disuse, disability and crippling. The first signs usually appear in early childhood. A child who suffers a mouth bleed can slowly lose enough blood to result in death.

8 Mar 2011

BrainScope announces launch of Ahead EU-100 to help in head injury assessment

BrainScope Company, Inc. announced today that it is preparing for the introduction of the Ahead™ EU-100, a product in development to aid in the assessment of head injury, in the United Kingdom.

8 Mar 2011

Researchers elucidate how sensory, motor fibers interact at molecular level to form nerves

During embryonic development, sensory and motor fibers interact to form nerves in the limbs. The research team led by Dr. Andrea Huber Br-samle of the Institute of Developmental Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum M-nchen has now elucidated how this interaction functions at the molecular level: The cell surface receptor neuropilin-1 is present in both sensory and motor nerve fibers and controls their interaction in order to correctly regulate growth.

8 Mar 2011

Discovery of potent class of anti-cancer compounds by Scripps Research and MIT scientists

Working as part of a public program to screen compounds to find potential medicines and other biologically useful molecules, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered an extremely potent class of potential anti-cancer and anti-neurodegenerative disorder compounds.

8 Mar 2011

Stroke survivors with atrial fibrillation may be at greater risk of developing Dementia

Stroke survivors who have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation may be at higher risk of developing dementia than stroke survivors who do not have the heart condition, according to research published in the March 8, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Mar 2011

New insight into multiple sclerosis

Scientists have blocked harmful immune cells from entering the brain in mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis.

8 Mar 2011

Fumaric acid salts may protect against Multiple Sclerosis

Fumaric acid salts have been in use against severe psoriasis for a long time. About ten years ago, researchers in Bochum speculated that they may also have a favourable effect on Multiple Sclerosis as a result of their TH2 polarizing mechanisms.

8 Mar 2011

First western U.S. hand transplant surgery performed at UCLA Medical Center

Surgeons at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center performed the first hand transplant in the western United States in an operation that began one minute before midnight on Friday, March 4, and was completed 14-and-a-half hours later, on Saturday, March 5.

8 Mar 2011

New study: Circadian system may contribute to daily pattern of vasovagal syncope

Fainting, or syncope, is quite common. About 50% of people will experience fainting at some point during their lifetime. The most common type of fainting is vasovagal syncope that is caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain.

8 Mar 2011

Study: Moderate drinking can reduce risk of dementia even among older adults

3202 German individuals attending general practitioners , who were free of dementia were studied at baseline, were followed up 1.5 years and 3 years later by means of structured clinical interviews including detailed assessment of current alcohol consumption and DSM-IV dementia diagnoses.

8 Mar 2011

UTHealth study: Children with H. pylori infection have lower levels of iron

Children without previous iron deficiencies or anemia who remained infected with Helicobacter pylori had significantly lower levels of iron compared to children who had the infection eradicated, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

8 Mar 2011

hUCBs and MenSCs transplant may offer future therapeutic benefit for AD, stroke, ALS

Transplanting stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood cells and menstrual blood cells may offer future therapeutic benefit for those suffering from stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, says a team of neuroscience researchers from the University of South Florida's Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and collaborators from three private-sector research groups, Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., Tampa, FL, Cryo-Cell International, Inc., Oldsmar, FL, and Cryopraxis, Cell Praxis, BioRio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

8 Mar 2011

Prevalence of eating disorders higher than previously thought

A new study shows that many American adolescents suffer from an eating disorder and struggle with related psychiatric disorders, including suicidal tendencies. The researchers write, “The prevalence of these disorders is higher than previously expected in this age range, and the patterns of [co-existing illnesses], role impairment and suicidality indicate that eating disorders represent a major public health concern.” Led by Sonja A. Swanson, of the National Institute of Mental Health, the research team reported the findings online March 7 in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Mar 2011

Poll explores link between Americans' use of communication technologies and sleep habits

The 2011 Sleep in America- poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation finds pervasive use of communications technology in the hour before bed. It also finds that a significant number of Americans aren't getting the sleep they say they need and are searching for ways to cope.

7 Mar 2011

CPCHE launches multi-year project to promote healthier home energy retrofits

Home energy retrofits tackle climate change and when done right they should make homes healthier, while aiding families struggling with utility bills.

6 Mar 2011