Central Nervous System News and Research

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Should medical workers participate in the development of "medicalized" weapons?

(Garrison, NY) The latest issue of the Hastings Center Report features articles on "medicalized" weapons that temporarily incapacitate targets, sharing the benefits of newly found biological resources, and applications of GINA (the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act).

29 Jan 2010

Researchers to test newest implant in restoring vision damaged by disease

Researchers trying to restore vision damaged by disease have found promise in a tiny implant that sows seeds of new cells in the eye.

28 Jan 2010

Children with cancer are treated with proton therapy at ProCure Proton Therapy Center

Children with cancer are now being accepted for treatment at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma, where a wide range of tumors are treated with proton therapy, an alternative to X-ray radiation that spares healthy tissue and results in far fewer short- and long-term treatment side effects.

28 Jan 2010

Abbott declares quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share

Abbott today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009.

27 Jan 2010

US PTO grants new allowances to intellectual property covering Neurologix' GAD based delivery systems

Neurologix, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the development of innovative therapies for the brain and central nervous system, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) has expanded the intellectual property protections enabled by a previously issued patent that is central to Neurologix’s Parkinson’s disease program. The new allowances to U.S. Patent Number 765,446, entitled “Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) based delivery systems,” broaden the patent’s coverage beyond Parkinson’s disease to include the use of GAD65 in the treatment of other neurological and related disorders.

27 Jan 2010

Geron collaborates to explore hESC-based product for Alzheimer’s disease

Geron Corporation today announced that it has entered into a collaboration jointly funded by Geron and a University of California Discovery Research and Training Grant to investigate the therapeutic potential of its human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based product, GRNOPC1, for Alzheimer’s disease. The company is currently developing GRNOPC1 for the potential treatment of spinal cord injury.

27 Jan 2010

Heart research news and updates from University of Houston

Matters of the heart dominate in February with Valentine's Day and the American Heart Association's 'Heart Month' topping the list. As you consider story ideas ranging from heart disease to relationships, keep in mind these resources from the University of Houston.

23 Jan 2010

FDA approves fampridine-SR drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug fampridine-SR for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have been evaluating the effects of the drug in MS for more than 10 years- it is the first medication shown to enhance some neurological functions in people with the disease - and their efforts helped pave the way for today's action by the FDA.

23 Jan 2010

Ampyra receives FDA approval for improving walking in MS patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ampyra (dalfampridine) extended release tablets to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, patients treated with Ampyra had faster walking speeds than those treated with an inactive pill (placebo). This is the first drug approved for this use.

23 Jan 2010

The American Journal of Pathology: Highlights from February 2010 issue

A group led by Dr. Peter Lloyd Jones at the University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland; the University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO; and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA has demonstrated that tenascin-C affects proto-oncogene function in breast cancer. Their report can be found in the February 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

22 Jan 2010

Postdoctoral scientists receive prestigious award; grants totaling $1.54 million will help in funding innovative projects

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting exceptional early career researchers and innovative cancer research, named 11 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its November 2009 Fellowship Award Committee review.

22 Jan 2010

Vitamin D insufficiency associated with higher risk of relapse attacks in patients with MS

Low vitamin D blood levels are associated with a significantly higher risk of relapse attacks in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who develop the disease during childhood, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

22 Jan 2010

Efficacy of neurofeedback in treating ADD/ADHD

On January 22, the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies will present a guest lecture by Don DuRousseau, founder and CEO of Human Bionics LLC, a neurotechnology company specializing in brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. Mr. DuRousseau will explore the use of neurotechnology techniques, including the increasingly popular neurofeedback, as a treatment for ADD/ADHD.

21 Jan 2010

Results of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 published

Results of the TRANSFORMS and FREEDOMS studies, the two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 (fingolimod), have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, providing comprehensive evidence to support the efficacy and safety profile of this first-in-class therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS).

21 Jan 2010

Ferrer inCode obtains exclusive distribution rights for ADtect test

DiaGenic ASA and Ferrer inCode today announced that they have signed a distribution agreement for the blood-based ADtect® test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease covering a total of 32 countries.

20 Jan 2010

European Patent Office grants a patent for Rexahn Pharmaceuticals' RX-3117

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that the European Patent Office has granted a patent for its novel anti-cancer compound, RX-3117.

20 Jan 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents data on multiple therapeutic programs at RNAi Symposium

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced that it presented data from multiple pre-clinical and clinical programs at the “RNA Silencing: Mechanism, Biology, and Application” Keystone Symposium held January 14-19, 2010 in Keystone, Colorado. Alnylam and its collaborators presented data from Alnylam’s therapeutic programs including transthyretin (TTR)-mediated amyloidosis and Huntington’s disease, as well as new data on delivery approaches for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

20 Jan 2010

National Institutes of Mental Health awards $8M for HIV research

A multidisciplinary research team at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has been awarded $8 million in funding by the National Institutes of Mental Health to develop methods to rid the body of HIV.

20 Jan 2010

New analysis reveals high rates of CNS disorders in autistic children

Nearly two-thirds of the children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders recorded in the National Birth Defect Registry (NBDR) also suffer from structural birth defects, according the national nonprofit, Birth Defect Research for Children (BDRC).

20 Jan 2010

Scientists determine structure of enzyme essential to the survival of protozoan parasites

After many years of study, a team of researchers is releasing data today that it hopes will lead to new drug therapies that will kill the family of parasites that causes a deadly trio of insect-borne diseases and has afflicted inhabitants of underdeveloped and developing nations for centuries.

18 Jan 2010