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.

MultiStem multipotent adult progenitor cell therapy preserves 'blood brain barrier'

Athersys, Inc. announced today the publication of a key study in the October issue of Experimental Neurology conducted by researchers at Athersys, the University of Texas Medical School, the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices, and Texas A&M University.

20 Sep 2010

Sanofi-aventis releases Lantus(R) study results for type 2 diabetes

Sanofi-aventis announced today results of two studies presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 46th Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

20 Sep 2010

Oxygen Biotherapeutics announces CRADA Agreement amendment

Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. today announced it has amended an existing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) to include preclinical trials using swine models to assess the safety and efficacy of Oxygen Biotherapeutics' proprietary Oxycyte perfluorocarbon emulsion (PFCE) for spinal cord injury (SCI) due to decompression sickness (DCS), and for hemorrhagic shock.

20 Sep 2010

URB937 drug boosts natural painkiller level: Study

A new study has shown how a novel compound boosts levels of a natural painkiller at the site of an injury. The ground-breaking study published today in Nature Neuroscience shows how the potential drug URB937 acts in peripheral tissue and may have the potential to relieve pain without the side effects associated with many current painkillers that act centrally on the nervous system.

20 Sep 2010

Gene deletion may make you smarter: Study

A new study has shown that switching off a single gene in mice unlocks a part of their brain that is otherwise inactive, boosting learning and memory. Considering the fact that humans have a similar gene, this sparks hope for many especially those who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s.

20 Sep 2010

Improper biological clocks tend to develop diabetes, obesity: Research

Biologists have found that a key protein that regulates the biological clocks of mammals also regulates glucose production in the liver and that altering the levels of this protein can improve the health of diabetic mice.

20 Sep 2010

New findings in brain plasticity and development

Brain plasticity – the brain’s ability to reorganise neural pathways – will be discussed at a major symposium this week at the University of New South Wales (Friday 24 September).

19 Sep 2010

$ONS trial results show promise for treating medically refractory chronic migraines: ONSTIM study$

ONS trial results show promise for treating medically refractory chronic migraines: ONSTIM study

Medtronic, Inc. announced that data from a multicenter, prospective, randomized, blinded, feasibility trial published today show promise for occipital nerve stimulation for treating medically refractory chronic migraines and support the need for further controlled study of the treatment. The study, called Occipital Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Intractable Migraine, included severely debilitated patients who had regularly experienced 15 or more headache days per month that were not responsive to currently available medical therapies.

18 Sep 2010

PNNL, 59th Medical Wing collaborate to improve drug tests for illicit usage

A new collaboration between the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Air Force's 59th Medical Wing hopes to improve on drug tests for illicit drug use and abuse. Not only are the researchers looking for a better indicator of current or past use, but they'd like to be able to identify people prone to abusing drugs in the first place.

18 Sep 2010

Tips to keep students healthy, from brain to body

With kids back in school, good health starts with clean hands. Now that the new school year has begun, many moms are looking for an extra hand to help keep their kids healthy and reduce sick days. In fact, elementary school students who do not use proper hand hygiene will miss more school than those that do employ good hand-washing habits, according to an American Journal of Infection Control study.

18 Sep 2010

FAU, Max Planck Florida Institute to host Neuroscience Symposium

To mark the launch of a new, joint Integrative Biology and Neuroscience graduate program, Max Planck Florida Institute and Florida Atlantic University (FAU) are hosting an inaugural Neuroscience Symposium, September 28-29 in the Senate Chambers of the Student Union at FAU's Boca Raton campus.

18 Sep 2010

UCLA conference to provide information about latest developments to help enhance quality of life of seniors

While aging impacts everyday living in many ways, the latest technologies in the medical, consumer and lifestyle fields have the potential to help older adults live better for longer.

18 Sep 2010

Researchers suggest potentially valuable role for minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine to treat TBI

Traumatic brain injury is a serious public health problem in the United States. Recent data show that approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. While the majority of TBIs are concussions or other mild forms, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability.

18 Sep 2010

Carter blames Ted Kennedy for delay in passing health bill

A decades old grudge between former president Jimmy Carter and the late senator Edward Kennedy was renewed again Thursday when Carter criticized Kennedy's stand on the former president's health care proposal. CBS "60 Minutes" quotes Carter as saying "that Kennedy delayed comprehensive coverage for Americans for decades.

18 Sep 2010

Disabling RGS14 gene helps mice remember better

Deleting a certain gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.

18 Sep 2010

Emisphere’s SNAC drug successful in reducing food intake; increasing satiety

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. today announced that a clinical study found that the company's proprietary oral SNAC (Sodium N-[8-(2-hydroxybenzoyl) Amino] Caprylate ("SNAC") additive, in combination with two digestive hormones, was successful in reducing food intake and increasing satiety in healthy male subjects.

18 Sep 2010

Minocycline plus N-acetylcysteine may help treat TBI

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem in the United States. Recent data show that approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. While the majority of TBIs are concussions or other mild forms, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability.

18 Sep 2010

FDA decides to review information on Avastin for advanced HER2-negative breast cancer

Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, today announced that information submitted by the company to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during the review of the supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) for Avastin (bevacizumab) for previously untreated (first-line) advanced HER2-negative breast cancer has been deemed a major amendment.

18 Sep 2010

Opiate usage increases in workplace and ER

More American workers and job applicants are testing positive for prescription opiates, according to U.S. general workforce data in the 2009 annual Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) released today by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services. Results from more than 5.5 million urine drug tests reveal an 18 percent jump in opiate positives in the general U.S. workforce in a single year (2008 to 2009), and a more than 40 percent climb from 2005 to 2009.

17 Sep 2010

Wounded Warrior Project applauds introduction of traumatic brain injury bill

Wounded Warrior Project applauds Congressman Tim Walz (D – MN) for introducing legislation today in the U.S. House of Representatives that would ensure fuller lives for warriors who sustained severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in Iraq and Afghanistan, and urges speedy action on this measure.

17 Sep 2010