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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.

Mathematical models to predict fatigue could reduce risk of accidents

Washington State University sleep researchers have determined that the air traffic controller in the crash of a Lexington, Ky., commuter flight was substantially fatigued when he failed to detect that the plane was on the wrong runway and cleared it for takeoff.

24 Jan 2011

Northwest Biotherapeutics resumes enrollment in DCVax Phase II clinical trial for GBM brain cancer

Northwest Biotherapeutics announced today that the Company is resuming enrollment of additional new patients into its ongoing 240-patient, double blind, randomized, placebo controlled Phase II clinical trial of DCVax for Glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer.

24 Jan 2011

Raptor completes enrollment in DR Cysteamine Phase 3 clinical trial in cystinosis

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., today announced it has completed enrollment in its Phase 3 clinical trial of its proprietary delayed-release oral formulation of cysteamine bitartrate ("DR Cysteamine") in patients with nephropathic cystinosis ("cystinosis").

24 Jan 2011

FDA approves Clinical Data's Viibryd for major depressive disorder

Clinical Data, Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vilazodone HCl tablets, to be marketed under the brand name Viibryd™, for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).

24 Jan 2011

Psychological Science journal releases new research findings

The insula has been implicated in evaluative and affective processes. New findings indicate that the insula may be broadly involved in integrating affective and cognitive processes. Participants rated the positivity and negativity of picture stimuli and how emotionally arousing they found the pictures to be.

24 Jan 2011

MGH research sheds light on mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training

Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.

24 Jan 2011

Bayer's gadobutrol injection for CNS imaging receives FDA Advisory Committee approval

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously that clinical trial and postmarketing data for gadobutrol injection, a macrocyclic 1.0 molar gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA), support approval of the product for proposed use in diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in adults and children.

24 Jan 2011

New research shows how humans readily learn to throw long distances

Can't help molding some snow into a ball and hurling it or tossing a stone as far into a lake as you can? New research from Indiana University and the University of Wyoming shows how humans, unlike any other species on Earth, readily learn to throw long distances. This research also suggests that this unique evolutionary trait is entangled with language development in a way critical to our very existence.

24 Jan 2011

Researchers identify key player that lead to increased bleeding in diabetes patients with stroke injury

Strokes are a leading cause of mortality and adult disability. Those that involve intracerebral hemorrhage are especially deadly, and there are no effective treatments to control such bleeding. Moreover, diabetes and hyperglycemia are associated with increases in bleeding during hemorrhagic stroke and worse clinical outcomes.

24 Jan 2011

CRI, Oncovir sign new investment agreement to produce immunological stimulant

Cancer Research Institute, a U.S. nonprofit organization founded in 1953 to advance the science of tumor immunology and foster the discovery and development of new cancer immunotherapies, announced today that its Cancer Vaccine Acceleration Fund, a joint initiative with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, has completed a new investment agreement with Oncovir, a biotechnology company based in Washington, D.C., to enable the production of the immunological stimulant Hiltonol- (Poly-ICLC).

24 Jan 2011

Mutation of microRNA miR-96 causes deafness

New research from the University of Sheffield has revealed that the molecular mechanism underlying deafness is caused by a mutation of a specific microRNA called miR-96. The discovery could provide the basis for treating progressive hearing loss and deafness.

21 Jan 2011

CVAF completes new investment agreement with Oncovir for production of Hiltonol

Cancer Research Institute, Inc. (CRI), a U.S. nonprofit organization founded in 1953 to advance the science of tumor immunology and foster the discovery and development of new cancer immunotherapies, announced today that its Cancer Vaccine Acceleration Fund (CVAF), a joint initiative with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), has completed a new investment agreement with Oncovir, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Washington, D.C., to enable the production of the immunological stimulant Hiltonol® (Poly-ICLC).

21 Jan 2011

Anti-depressants are passing into waterways and affecting fish

Around one in four Montrealers take some kind of anti-depressant, and according to new research, the drugs are passing into the waterways and affecting fish. The findings are internationally significant as the city's sewage treatment system is similar to that in use in other major cities, and moreover, it is reputed to be the third largest treatment system in the world.

21 Jan 2011

NIMH awards Case Western Reserve $7.8M renewal grant to study manic symptoms in children

The Department of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has received a $7.8 million renewal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for the long-term study of manic symptoms in children.

21 Jan 2011

Novel FAK inhibitors targeting binding site of VEGFR-3 reduce growth of pancreatic cancer cells

CureFAKtor Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) inhibitors for cancer, today presented research results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco demonstrating that novel FAK inhibitors targeting the binding site of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) reduced the growth of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers reveal how genetic mutation contributes to cancer development

Scientists around the world have been hot on the trail of a genetic mutation closely associated with some brain cancers and leukemia since the mutation's discovery in 2008. The hunt is now yielding fruit. In the Jan. 18, 2011 issue of Cancer Cell, researchers reveal how the mutation contributes to cancer development and suggest potential ways to counter its effects.

21 Jan 2011

Perceived threat, rather than actual events, predict brain adaptation

A study of soldiers who took part in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2010 has found that their brains adapt when they are continuously exposed to stress. The perceived threat appears to be the major predictor of brain adaptation, rather than the actual events. In other words, if a roadside bomb goes off right in front of you, the degree to which you perceive this as threatening is what counts. This is what determines how the brain and the stress system adapt.

21 Jan 2011

NYC Council Member introduces legislation to prohibit fluoridation of water supply

On January 18, 2011, NYC Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. introduced legislation (Int 0463-2011) "prohibiting the addition of fluoride to the water supply

21 Jan 2011

GSK, Valeant receive European CHMP positive opinion for Trobalt

GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. announced today that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion, recommending marketing authorisation for Trobalt™ (retigabine) as an adjunctive treatment of partial onset seizures, with or without secondary generalisation in adults aged 18 years and above with epilepsy.

21 Jan 2011

Math may help assess how rapidly stem cells and cancer-causing cousins increase numbers

The difficult task of sorting and counting prized stem cells and their cancer-causing cousins has long frustrated scientists looking for new ways to help people who have progressive diseases.

21 Jan 2011

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Mathematical models to predict fatigue could reduce risk of accidents

Northwest Biotherapeutics resumes enrollment in DCVax Phase II clinical trial for GBM brain cancer

Raptor completes enrollment in DR Cysteamine Phase 3 clinical trial in cystinosis

FDA approves Clinical Data's Viibryd for major depressive disorder

Psychological Science journal releases new research findings

MGH research sheds light on mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training

Bayer's gadobutrol injection for CNS imaging receives FDA Advisory Committee approval

New research shows how humans readily learn to throw long distances

Researchers identify key player that lead to increased bleeding in diabetes patients with stroke injury

CRI, Oncovir sign new investment agreement to produce immunological stimulant

Mutation of microRNA miR-96 causes deafness

CVAF completes new investment agreement with Oncovir for production of Hiltonol

Anti-depressants are passing into waterways and affecting fish

NIMH awards Case Western Reserve $7.8M renewal grant to study manic symptoms in children

Novel FAK inhibitors targeting binding site of VEGFR-3 reduce growth of pancreatic cancer cells

Researchers reveal how genetic mutation contributes to cancer development

Perceived threat, rather than actual events, predict brain adaptation

NYC Council Member introduces legislation to prohibit fluoridation of water supply

GSK, Valeant receive European CHMP positive opinion for Trobalt

Math may help assess how rapidly stem cells and cancer-causing cousins increase numbers

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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