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.

Elsevier announces special Issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Elsevier Inc., the world's leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, announced today that Alcohol has published a special year-end double issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). It fills an urgent need to bring the widest possible readership current perspectives on using new research methods to improve identification and diagnosis of offspring at risk for FASD and its associated brain damage and behavioral dysfunction.

13 Dec 2010

Depression in mothers during pregnancy associated with higher levels of stress hormones in children

The cocktail of hormones cascading through depressed mothers' bodies may play an important role in the development of their unborn children's brains.

13 Dec 2010

Man Up Now capsules can dangerously lower blood pressure

Product marketed for sexual enhancement contains potentially dangerous ingredient The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use Man Up Now capsules, marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, because they contain a variation of an active drug ingredient found in Viagra that can dangerously lower blood pressure.

13 Dec 2010

No safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke

The following is a statement by Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy on the U.S. Surgeon General's Report:

13 Dec 2010

Stem cell biology offers great hope for eventual repair of body parts

Remarkable progress in understanding how stem cell biology works has been reported by a team of leading scientists, directed by experts at UC Santa Barbara. Their research has been published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

13 Dec 2010

Excess weight gain during winter holidays increases back injury

Thousands of Americans sustain winter-related back injuries every year, including many injuries directly related to holiday activities. But there are often simple things that can be done to reduce injury risk and minimize or eliminate back pain.

13 Dec 2010

Research programs embody the promise of anti-aging medicine.

Sometimes the value of research lies as much in exposing false remedies as in discovering true breakthroughs. Scientists at the country's first school of gerontology and in laboratories around the University of Southern California do both, mindful of their responsibility to a society focused on healthful aging.

13 Dec 2010

New MyHospitals website stumbles against criticism

The government’s brand new MyHospitals website faced criticism on its first day, with allegations that old data is being displayed that is far from the current truth. The site is comparing emergency department and elective surgery care in 769 public and 153 private hospitals across the country.

12 Dec 2010

New challenges to FDA's 'no risk' classification of mercury fillings

FDA Device Division, still concerned about mercury toxicity in American dentistry, is convening yet another professional panel review regarding safety issues. A nationwide convergence of scientists, dental and medical professionals, lead by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) are provoking new challenges to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) July'09 "no risk" classification of mercury fillings .

10 Dec 2010

Sound masking therapy is of uncertain benefit when used alone to treat tinnitus

Tinnitus — what many think of as "ringing in the ears" — is the perception of sound without any real acoustic stimulation. Sound masking therapy, a common component of tinnitus treatment, is of uncertain benefit when used on its own, a new evidence review finds.

10 Dec 2010

Toshiba to market Elekta's products and clinical solutions in Japanese radiotherapy market

Elekta K.K., a wholly owned subsidiary of Elekta AB, has entered into a sales and marketing agreement with Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation in Japan.

From Elekta 10 Dec 2010

First genetic test on developing risk of Alzheimer's disease and heart attacks

Alzheimer and heart attacks have been found to share common genetic basis. The research leads the way to the first genetic test on developing the risk of the diseases even at a young age. According to Federico Licastro, an immunologist at the University of Bologna who coordinated the study published in the scientific journal, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, a test is now ready. "They are already selling it in America", he says, citing the case of a private firm in New Mexico (USA) that collaborated on the study. "But the tests could easily be also conducted wherever, using a simple blood test".

10 Dec 2010

New 5-minute Memory Orientation Screening Test to identify elderly patients with dementia

A new 5-minute test to identify elderly patients with dementia promises to give doctors a more sensitive tool to use in the Annual Wellness Examination. The Memory Orientation Screening Test (MOST™) developed by Mitchell Clionsky, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, and Emilymarie Clionsky, MD, an internist/psychiatrist, is based on their clinical experience with thousands of patients who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias, which now afflicts more than 5 million Americans.

10 Dec 2010

Exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate damage leading to serious illness or death

Exposure to tobacco smoke - even occasional smoking or secondhand smoke - causes immediate damage to your body that can lead to serious illness or death, according to a report released today by U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin. The comprehensive scientific report - Benjamin's first Surgeon General's report and the 30th tobacco-related Surgeon General's report issued since 1964 - describes specific pathways by which tobacco smoke damages the human body and leads to disease and death.

10 Dec 2010

New molecular tools show promise for cleansing brain of amyloid plaques

New molecular tools developed at the University of Michigan show promise for "cleansing" the brain of amyloid plaques, implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

10 Dec 2010

Oxygen Biotherapeutics reports net revenue of $27,126 for second quarter of fiscal 2011

Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc., a development stage biomedical company focused on developing oxygen-rich intravenous and topical products, today announced results for the fiscal year second quarter ended October 31, 2010.

10 Dec 2010

Clearance of plaque-forming substance is impaired in Alzheimer's disease

"Clearance is impaired in Alzheimer's disease," says Randall Bateman, MD, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

10 Dec 2010

Researchers verify several factors associated with increased risk of brain metastases in breast cancer patients

Nearly one-fifth of all metastatic breast cancer patients develop brain metastases and have significantly shorter overall survival than patients who do not have brain involvement. One way to improve the affected patients' survival might be to prevent the brain metastases from arising in the first place. With that in mind, researchers have been working on a predictive model that accurately identifies these high risk patients.

10 Dec 2010

The Joint Commission names AMC as Certified Primary Stroke Center

Adventist Medical Center, a nonprofit, 302-bed acute care hospital in southeast Portland, Ore., has been named a Certified Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission. This distinction means AMC offers fast and effective stroke care, and has a commitment to continuing education and improvement to issues connected with stroke.

9 Dec 2010

Acorda initiates enrollment in GGF2 Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with heart failure

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the first clinical trial of Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2). Acorda is collaborating with the Vanderbilt University Heart and Vascular Institute to conduct this Phase 1 single-dose trial in patients with heart failure.

9 Dec 2010