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.

Neuroscientists investigate alcohol dependency, withdrawal in C. elegans worms

Drinking alcohol over a long period of time profoundly affects the brain, which adapts to the intoxicant and causes withdrawal symptoms when consumption stops.

6 May 2010

Researchers use new tools to study how brain responds when injury occurs

Researchers at four institutions, led by Stanford University and Brown University, have begun an effort with more than $14 million of federal funding to learn both how the brain and its microcircuitry react to sudden physiological changes and what can be done to encourage recovery from injury.

6 May 2010

Swedish Cancer Institute, Elekta renew partnership to continue flow of technology, services to cancer patients

Swedish Cancer Institute and Elekta launch renewed partnership agreement to continue the flow of world-class technology, services to cancer patients in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

From Elekta 6 May 2010

New research to improve effectiveness of nicotine vaccination for cigarette smokers

If Pradeep K. Garg, Ph.D., of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center figures out why some smokers are more addicted to nicotine than others, it could lead to more successful smoking cessation treatments.

6 May 2010

Neuroscientist Snyder presents annual Ellis S. Grollman Lecture at UMB

If a drug was developed to block a key protein linked to the onset of Huntington's Disease, it could have a clear path to the part of the brain most affected by the disease, while not bothering other parts of the brain and body, said distinguished neuroscientist Solomon H. Snyder, MD, to an audience of about 300 students and faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).

6 May 2010

Micrus Endovascular reports 24% increase in fourth-quarter neurovascular revenues

Micrus Endovascular Corporation today reported financial results for the three and 12 months ended March 31, 2010 and introduced fiscal 2011 financial guidance.

6 May 2010

Southeast Pain Care offers non-addictive alternatives to pain relief

The untimely death of Michael Jackson has brought the issue of pain medication addiction to the forefront of American media recently. The good news for people suffering with pain is that there are several non-addictive alternatives to pain relief.

6 May 2010

Researchers to identify rare genetic mutation to produce histamine against TS

A single, very unusual family with Tourette syndrome has led Yale School of Medicine researchers to identify a rare mutation in a gene that is required to produce histamine. The finding provides a new framework to understand many years of data on the role of histamine function in the brain and points to a potentially novel approach to treatment of tics and Tourette.

6 May 2010

Dark chocolate may protect brain after stroke by increasing cellular signals: Researchers

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a compound in dark chocolate may protect the brain after a stroke by increasing cellular signals already known to shield nerve cells from damage.

6 May 2010

Research may promote better diagnosis and treatment for glaucoma

Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, tends to progress silently until decreased vision indicates trouble, said Dr. Kathryn Bollinger, Medical College of Georgia clinician-scientist specializing in glaucoma.

6 May 2010

Researchers discover link between sporadic and familial forms of ALS

Researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered a link between sporadic and familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

6 May 2010

New study reveals facial skin cancer occurs predominantly on left-side

In a study appearing in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology a Saint Louis University doctor found that facial skin cancers were predominantly on the left-side, and especially in men.

6 May 2010

Whole body MRI helps physicians diagnose and treat breast cancer: Study

Whole body magnetic resonance imaging should be the imaging modality of choice for the detection of breast cancer metastases (when the cancer has spread beyond the breast) as it is highly accurate and can detect bone metastases while a patient is still asymptomatic (shows no symptoms), according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

6 May 2010

New research suggests tPA can act as neuroprotectant against stroke

New research on the properties of the clot-busting stroke drug tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) suggests that tPA can act as a neuroprotectant and may form the keystone of an adaptive response to a reduction in blood flow.

6 May 2010

Scientists use specialized fluorescent protein to study nerve cell activity

Electrical currents are invisible to the naked eye - at least they are when they flow through metal cables. In nerve cells, however, scientists are able to make electrical signals visible. Working with fellow experts from Switzerland and Japan, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg successfully used a specialized fluorescent protein to visualize electrical activity in neurons of living mice.

6 May 2010

CAS Medical Systems reports revenues of $8.5 million for first-quarter 2010

CAS Medical Systems, Inc., today reported first quarter 2010 revenues of $8.5 million, an increase of $0.1 million, or 1%, compared to revenues of $8.4 million for the first quarter of 2009. The Company reported net income of $0.2 million, or $0.02 per basic and diluted common share, compared to a net loss of $0.9 million, or ($0.08) per basic and diluted common share, reported for the first quarter of the prior year.

5 May 2010

New data on Surfaxin LS presented at 2010 PAS Annual Meeting

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., announced that new data regarding Surfaxin LS (its novel, lyophilized KL4 surfactant dosage form) were presented at the 2010 Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting. The two studies presented demonstrate that Surfaxin LS improves lung function and oxygenation while attenuating lung inflammation in the preterm lamb model of respiratory distress syndrome.

5 May 2010

Survey reveals need for educating U.S. women about stroke symptoms

Although more than 425,000 women suffer from stroke each year, 55,000 more than men, a new survey showed that women may be dramatically underestimating their risk of this medical emergency, the third leading cause of death in the United States. Only 27 percent of women who were surveyed could name more than two of the six primary stroke symptoms. Moreover, seven out of 10 women who were surveyed said they are not aware they are more likely than men to have a stroke, and were not at all or only somewhat knowledgeable about risk factors.

5 May 2010

STEM reports net loss of $6,124,000 for first-quarter 2010: MicroStockProfit.com

MicroStockProfit.com announces an investment report featuring StemCells Inc. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

5 May 2010

Study reveals changes in brain activity in response to withdrawal of life support

At a time when "donation after cardiac death" (DCD) has become an important approach to increasing the number of transplant organ donors, a provocative new study shows changes in brain activity occurring in response to withdrawal of life support, reports the May issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

5 May 2010