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.

Stay cool and live longer!

If new research is to be believed living longer may simply be a case of staying cool.

6 Nov 2006

Environment the culprit in women's higher risk of MS

Researchers in the UK are suggesting that there is an environmental link to the rising number of women being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Canada.

1 Nov 2006

New evidence says SIDS caused by abnormality in the brainstem

According to a new study by researchers in the U.S. some babies who die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) do so because of an abnormality in the serotonin system in their brains.

1 Nov 2006

Potential for first diagnostic DNA test to guide antidepressant treatment

Treatment of depression is difficult for both patients and for psychiatrists. While there are numerous drugs available that work, finding the right one -- or right combination -- is, at times, a matter of trial and error.

31 Oct 2006

Nanogen announces new patents for inventions related to diabetes and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers

Nanogen has announced that it has been issued four patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for inventions related to diabetes and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.

30 Oct 2006

Effective test for screening Huntington's disease drugs

A test using cultured cells provides an effective way to screen drugs against Huntington's disease and shows that two compounds - memantine and riluzole - are most effective at keeping cells alive under conditions that mimic the disorder, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

30 Oct 2006

Teen's radiation overdose down to paperwork

A report into the death of a teenage cancer patient who was given, in error, massive overdoses of radiation to treat a brain tumour, was apparently down to paperwork.

30 Oct 2006

Conjoined Canadian twins doing well

Canadian conjoined twins born in a complicated c-section procedure are apparently doing well.

26 Oct 2006

Birth of conjoined twins a medical and practical challenge

Another set of conjoined twins are expected to be born this week in Canada.

25 Oct 2006

Paroxetine effective in treating patients with compulsive hoarding syndrome

In a paper published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, Sanjaya Saxena, M.D., Director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD) Program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, reports the surprising finding that the serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medication, paroxetine, is effective in treating patients with compulsive hoarding syndrome.

24 Oct 2006

Implantable chip to establish new nerve connections in brain area that controls movement

Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) are working on an implantable electronic chip that may help establish new nerve connections in the part of the brain that controls movement.

24 Oct 2006

Biomarkers in blood indicate likelihood of having another stroke

People who have just suffered their first ischemic stroke, a blood clot in the brain, often have elevated inflammatory biomarkers in their blood that indicate their likelihood of having another stroke or an increased risk of dying, according to Columbia University Medical Center researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

24 Oct 2006

New method for targeting malignant brain tumors

A new method for targeting malignant brain tumors through inducing the cancerous cells to "commit suicide" has been developed by a team of researchers headed by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor of biochemistry.

24 Oct 2006

Link discovered between common cold viruses and Alzheimer's disease

According to new research memory loss and Alzheimer's disease may be linked to the very viruses which cause the common cold.

24 Oct 2006

Evolutionary connection between food supply and brain size

In a study of orangutans living on the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, scientists from Duke University and the University of Zurich have found what they say is the first demonstration in primates of an evolutionary connection between available food supplies and brain size.

23 Oct 2006

Period 2 gene - key component of the circadian time-keeping system

By investigating how animals can predict the timing of food availability, researchers have identified the first gene critical for anticipation of mealtime. This gene, called Period 2, is a key component of the circadian time-keeping system.

23 Oct 2006

New imaging technique reveals differences in brains of people with autism

Using a new form of brain imaging known as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), researchers in the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered that the so-called white matter in the brains of people with autism has lower structural integrity than in the brains of normal individuals.

23 Oct 2006

16 year old cancer victim dies after overdoses of radiation

A 16 year old cancer victim who was inadvertently given more than 17 overdoses of radiation during treatment for a brain tumour, has died at home nine months later.

23 Oct 2006

Otoferlin, defective in a human deafness form, is essential for exocytosis at the auditory ribbon synapse

By studying a gene earlier linked to deafness in humans, researchers now have new insight into the molecular process by which components of the inner ear send messages to the brain.

20 Oct 2006

Scientists discover how brain turns on system designed to protect nerve cells from toxic "free radicals"

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report they have found how the brain turns on a system designed to protect its nerve cells from toxic "free radicals," a waste product of cell metabolism that has been implicated in some degenerative brain diseases, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and aging.

20 Oct 2006