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.

Spinal cord sugar residues regulate growth and survival of nerve cells: Study

Researchers in Bochum have found out that certain sugar residues in the spinal cord regulate the growth and survival of nerve cells which control the movement of muscles. "We hope that our findings can improve regenerative treatment of nerve injuries", explains Prof. Dr. Stefan Wiese from the Molecular Cell Biology study group.

14 Feb 2011

Researchers discover mechanism for normalizing blood sugar without insulin need

Diabetes can result from either a deficiency of insulin or decreased sensitivity to insulin. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered a mechanism for normalizing blood sugar that doesn't involve insulin and could offer a new therapeutic approach to both kinds of diabetes.

14 Feb 2011

Neurologic and neurosurgical patients do not receive therapy to prevent VTE: Study

Patients with strokes, brain tumors and spinal cord injuries are at high risk for life-threatening blood clots, but many do not receive preventive therapy, Loyola University Health System researchers report.

14 Feb 2011

Study: Leptin resistance may help prevent ARDS, ALI development in patients with type II diabetes

Resistance to leptin, a protein that plays a key role in regulating metabolism and appetite, may help prevent the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute lung injury in individuals with type II diabetes, according to a study conducted by researchers in Chicago.

13 Feb 2011

Men and women who eat berries may have lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease

New research shows men and women who regularly eat berries may have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease, while men may also further lower their risk by regularly eating apples, oranges and other sources rich in dietary components called flavonoids.

13 Feb 2011

Silent strokes can cause long-term cognitive, learning deficits in children with sickle cell disease

Silent strokes, which have no immediate symptoms but could cause long-term cognitive and learning deficits, occur in a significant number of severely anemic children, especially those with sickle cell disease, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2011.

13 Feb 2011

Study finds LC damage and reduction in noradrenaline levels in brain are linked with MS

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have shown for the first time that damage to a particular area of the brain and a consequent reduction in noradrenaline are associated with multiple sclerosis.

13 Feb 2011

Scientists produce SR-3306 compound to protect brain cells from Parkinson's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have produced the first known compound to show significant effectiveness in protecting brain cells directly affected by Parkinson's disease, a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

13 Feb 2011

Ski helmets prevent head injuries by 35%: Study

According to experts there is evidence that helmets help protect downhill skiers and snowboarders from head injuries, but more needs to be done to encourage helmet use.

13 Feb 2011

HIV infection in mothers reduces disease resistance in babies: Study

New research suggests that babies whose mothers have HIV, but are not HIV-infected themselves, are born with lower levels of specific proteins in their blood called antibodies, which fight infection, compared with babies not exposed to HIV.

13 Feb 2011

Gene GFPT1 crucial in causing variation of Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome

The gene, GFPT1, has been identified by researchers at Newcastle University working with international colleagues, as crucial in causing a variation of Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome (CMS).

11 Feb 2011

Guide star and time-reversal mirror in biomedical imaging

Astronomers have a neat trick they sometimes use to compensate for the turbulence of the atmosphere that blurs images made by ground-based telescopes. They create an artificial star called a guide star and use its twinkling to compensate for the atmospheric turbulence.

11 Feb 2011

More research needed to determine link between folic acid and breast cancer

Surgical procedure to repair spina bifida while still in the uterus may help the baby walk after birth

More than two thousand physicians, some of the top obstetric/gynecologists in the world who specialize in maternal-fetal medicine, especially high risk pregnancies, gathered today for their annual meeting in San Francisco to begin four days of intensive research presentations. Presentations each year at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, represent major findings in reducing high-risk pregnancies and complications.

11 Feb 2011

Women need good nutrition and regular exercise

Obesity levels are at an all-time high among men, women, and children in the United States. The need for good nutrition and regular exercise is paramount for maintaining proper health and for keeping those extra pounds at bay, especially for women.

11 Feb 2011

Pyrethroid insecticides linked to delayed mental development in children

When the EPA phased out the widespread residential use of chlorpyrifos and other organophosphorus (OP) insecticides in 2000-2001 because of risks to child neurodevelopment, these compounds were largely replaced with pyrethroid insecticides. But the safety of these replacement insecticides remained unclear, as they had never been evaluated for long-term neurotoxic effects after low-level exposure.

11 Feb 2011

Looking at your body reduces pain

Simply looking at your body reduces pain, according to new research by scientists from UCL (University College London) and the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.

11 Feb 2011

New tool helps doctors assess likelihood of death from stroke

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto have developed a new tool that will help doctors predict the probability of death in patients after an ischemic stroke.

11 Feb 2011

The .brain format may be the best compression algorithm, for now

Most of us are familiar with the idea of image compression in computers. File extensions like ".jpg" or ".png" signify that millions of pixel values have been compressed into a more efficient format, reducing file size by a factor of 10 or more with little or no apparent change in image quality. The full set of original pixel values would occupy too much space in computer memory and take too long to transmit across networks.

11 Feb 2011

Researchers find 2 neural pathways that play role in developing phobias

Why do some people fret over the most trivial matters while others remain calm in the face of calamity? Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified two different chinks in our brain circuitry that explain why some of us are more prone to anxiety.

11 Feb 2011