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.

New study unmasks molecule that can protect against epileptic seizure

For years brain scientists have puzzled over the shadowy role played by the molecule putrescine, which always seems to be present in the brain following an epileptic seizure, but without a clear indication whether it was there to exacerbate brain damage that follows a seizure or protect the brain from it. A new Brown University study unmasks the molecule as squarely on the side of good: It seems to protect against seizures hours later.

6 Mar 2011

Efficient medical treatments to be showcased at SIR's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting

The Society of Interventional Radiology will feature minimally invasive scientific advances and new discoveries in treating a host of diseases at its 36th Annual Scientific Meeting March 26–31 at McCormick Place (West) in Chicago, Ill. The theme of the meeting is "IR Rising: Leading Image-guided Medicine," chosen to reflect interventional radiology's continued revolutionizing of modern medicine.

5 Mar 2011

Summer Street Research announces recent closing of financing for IMUC

Summer Street Research Partners is pleased to announce the recent closing of a financing for ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a Los Angeles-based clinical-stage company that is developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers.

5 Mar 2011

Family left on sideline in health care crisis

Decision-making on behalf of patients in persistent vegetative states is always a delicate matter, especially if, like Ms. Nyirahabiyambere, they have not left a directive.

5 Mar 2011

New HQ of David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research officially dedicated

The new seven-story headquarters of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, where scientists and engineers are working together to pursue new ways to treat, detect and prevent cancer, will be officially dedicated today at 4 p.m.

5 Mar 2011

BNCT treatment proves effective in treating recurrent head, neck cancer

Biologically targeted BNCT treatment is based on producing radiation inside a tumour using boron-10 and thermal neutrons. Boron-10 is introduced into cancer cells with the help of a special carrier substance (phenylalanine), after which the tumour is irradiated with lowenergy neutrons.

5 Mar 2011

Bessel beam plane illumination microscopy reveals 3-D structures of living cells

A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light -- similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners -- to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail.

5 Mar 2011

Novel gene therapy can promote removal of amyloid plaques and prevent Alzheimer's disease

Gene therapy that boosts the ability of brain cells to gobble up toxic proteins prevents development of Alzheimer's disease in mice that are predestined to develop it, report researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the treatment - which is given just once - could potentially do the same in people at the beginning stages of the disease.

5 Mar 2011

Scientists detail role of TDP-43 in ALS pathology

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

5 Mar 2011

New research into drugs to prevent brain tumours in children wins vital funding

New research into drugs which could prevent the return of persistent brain tumours in children has won vital funding from two major brain tumour charities.

5 Mar 2011

Brain enzyme can restore even old, fading memories, say researchers

Even long after it is formed, a memory in rats can be enhanced or erased by increasing or decreasing the activity of a brain enzyme, say researchers supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health.

4 Mar 2011

Doctors at Beaumont Hospital, Troy perform robotic-assisted maze procedure to correct atrial fibrillation

Doctors at Beaumont Hospital, Troy have performed Michigan's first minimally invasive robotic procedure to correct atrial fibrillation, a prevalent and growing heart rhythm disorder. The new robotic maze procedure is an alternative to open-heart surgery. It's performed through tiny, keyhole incisions with fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay.

4 Mar 2011

First Edition: March 4, 2011

In today's headlines, a Florida federal judge stays his own order regarding the health law, clearing the way for it's implementation -- for now -- but also making clear that the appeals process should move forward at an expedited rate.

4 Mar 2011

Dramatic decrease in CP diagnoses provides evidence of quality of neonatal care

Cerebral palsy is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects motor function, more often in children born prematurely. Because cerebral palsy is a result of brain injury received shortly before, during, or soon after birth, the number of infants being diagnosed with the condition is a good indicator of the quality of perinatal and neonatal care.

4 Mar 2011

Longer looks: Best health policy picks from thought-provoking publications

Every Thursday, KHN's Jessica Marcy compiles this selection of interesting perspectives, from a variety of publications, on health care in America.

4 Mar 2011

Researchers investigate why immune system is blunted after spinal cord injury

Mobility is a challenge for spinal cord injured patients. Infection is another. Adam Thrasher, assistant professor of health and human performance, says infection is the leading cause of death for people living with spinal cord injuries for two years or more.

4 Mar 2011

Few primary care physicians pay adequate attention to patients taking prescription opioid drugs

Few primary care physicians pay adequate attention to patients taking prescription opioid drugs — despite the potential for abuse, addiction and overdose, according to a new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

4 Mar 2011

Boston Blades' new team to raise money, awareness for Alzheimer's research

The Alzheimer's Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter and the exciting new women's hockey team, the Boston Blades, announced they are teaming up to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's research.

4 Mar 2011

Researchers transform human embryonic stem cell into neuron that dies early in Alzheimer's disease

Northwestern Medicine researchers for the first time have transformed a human embryonic stem cell into a critical type of neuron that dies early in Alzheimer's disease and is a major cause of memory loss.

4 Mar 2011

New promising detection technology identifies cancer cells early

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal (March 1) published a lead article on page D1 entitled "Researchers Create Better Ways To Spot Cancer Cells", which described the research by Dr. Edward R. Flynn, of Senior Scientific LLC. The article was authored by Shirley S. Wang.

4 Mar 2011