Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Alzheimer's Association's hosts conference to educate and support NH people with the disease

Alzheimer's disease can be devastating to families who become caregivers. Anyone seeking more information about Alzheimer's is invited to attend the Alzheimer's Association's "Care to Cure: the latest in research and care giving" conference on Saturday, May 22 in Concord.

23 Apr 2010

Study describes relationship between gene expression and intelligence in WS patients

Although genetics is the most significant known determinant of human intelligence, how specific genes affect intelligence remains largely unknown. A multi-institution team led by a University of Utah USTAR researcher has found that the brain gene STX1A plays a significant role in the level of intelligence displayed by patients with Williams Syndrome.

23 Apr 2010

Researchers produce stem cells from eggs of aging mice for regenerative medicine

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have created stem cells from the eggs of aging mice that could be used for reproductive purposes and regenerative medicine. The study, published in April issue of Aging Cell, found that even though the eggs from older females were slightly less efficient at making stem cells than those from younger females, the capacity to create stem cells was sustained.

23 Apr 2010

Hospital for Special Care launches ALS Clinical Trials Unit at Neuromuscular Center

Hospital for Special Care announced today the launch of the region's first Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Clinical Trials Unit at its Neuromuscular Center. The new unit will be headed by Jinsy A. Andrews, M.D., a physician researcher recruited from Columbia University. Dr. Andrews, Director of Research & Clinical Trials Unit, Hospital for Special Care, specializes in neuromuscular research and will facilitate the hospital's first clinical trial for ALS upon her arrival.

23 Apr 2010

Mayo Clinic study finds changes in tissue damage throughout the course of MS

A new Mayo Clinic study has found that the type of tissue damage changes throughout the course of multiple sclerosis. In early relapsing disease stages, the plaques, or areas where the nervous system is inflamed or demyelinated, are predominantly active with distinct heterogeneous patterns of myelin damage.

23 Apr 2010

BUSM professor receives Individual Biomedical Research Award

Richard Goldstein, PhD, a professor of pediatrics, division of pediatric infectious diseases, at Boston University School of Medicine, has been awarded an Individual Biomedical Research Award by The Hartwell Foundation and will receive $300,000 over three years as a Hartwell Investigator for his project titled, "A Vaccine Against Streptococcus Pneumoniae Based on Bacterial Surface Proteins Phylogenically Certified as Highly Conserved."

23 Apr 2010

Sleep improves memory

The next time you want to remember what you were taught, take a nap and dream about it. You may just remember it better. That is what scientists at the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts had to say after a new study. Robert Stickgold the lead author confirmed that a nap would improve the chances of your remembering stuff if you dream it.

23 Apr 2010

Physical exercise and computer use may help protect against mild cognitive impairment: Mayo Clinic

A new Mayo Clinic study found that physical exercise and computer use may help protect against mild cognitive impairment, a disorder of the brain that affects nerve cells involved in thinking abilities.

23 Apr 2010

Amylin, Eli Lilly and Alkermes reply to FDA complete response letter for BYDUREON NDA

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. today announced that the companies have submitted their reply to a complete response letter issued last month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after review of the New Drug Application (NDA) submission for BYDUREON™ (exenatide for extended-release injectable suspension).

23 Apr 2010

Valor Medical's European cerebral aneurysm clinical trial finalized with 30 patients treated

Valor Medical's CEO, H. Clark Adams, announced today that Valor's European clinical trial was finalized with 30 patients treated. Mr. Adams stated, "The trial took longer than expected because there are current approved therapies which were used as a first line of therapy. Patients who were enrolled to be treated with Valor's Neucrylate were not always acceptable candidates for these standard-of-care therapies.

22 Apr 2010

Mild Cognitive Impairment Symposium is now 'Symposium on Early Alzheimer's Disease'

This year, the Miami Beach symposium kicked off on a rainy Friday with a new name and a new focus on biomarkers. For seven years, the meeting has been called the Mild Cognitive Impairment Symposium, but that changed this year to the Symposium on Early Alzheimer's Disease. The change comes as a nod to a recent and dramatic shift in how Alzheimer disease is perceived, and what researchers increasingly see as the most promising angle of attack for future therapeutics.

22 Apr 2010

Larger sized intravenous anesthetic diazepam incubated in isolation with Aβ peptide does not promote aggregation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of people worldwide and has become a major global concern. Uncontrolled oligomerization (aggregation) of Aβ peptide is the hallmark of AD and it is believed to be causally related to AD pathomechanism.

22 Apr 2010

Removable methyl groups on specific genes of autistic individuals that led to gene silencing identified

A new study by researchers at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences' Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought.

22 Apr 2010

GUMC researchers awarded grant to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs

A Georgetown University Medical Center research team has been awarded a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs based on an unconventional theory about nicotine addiction. Kenneth Kellar, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at GUMC is principal investigator of the five year grant totaling $4.6 million.

22 Apr 2010

StemCells to initiate second clinical trial of HuCNS-SC human neural stem cells in NCL

StemCells, Inc. announced today that it has submitted a protocol to the FDA for initiation of a second clinical trial of its proprietary HuCNS-SC human neural stem cells in neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, which is also often referred to as Batten disease.

22 Apr 2010

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have discovered why statins -- popular drugs that lower cholesterol and appear to protect against colorectal cancer development -- work for some people, but not for all.

22 Apr 2010

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, UPENN sign research agreement

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of various forms of cancer, announced today that the Company has entered into a sponsored research agreement and an option agreement with The University of Pennsylvania to support process development and manufacturing in a planned Phase II clinical trial of ICT-107, the Company's dendritic-cell based cancer vaccine product candidate for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.

22 Apr 2010

Agios Pharmaceuticals presents data on cancer-associated IDH1 mutations at 101st AACR meeting

Agios Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in the field of cancer metabolism, today announced multiple presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting that highlight cancer metabolism as an approach to identify new ways to treat cancer, opening the potential for a new class of cancer drugs targeting metabolic enzymes.

22 Apr 2010

Stopping smoking may be harder than quitting heroin

An addiction is an addiction and it may be tougher to quit smoking cigarettes compared to beating a heroin addiction. An Australian study found that many long term smokers have tried to quit 7.4 times but are still unable to do so. Sydney GP Raymond Seidler actually feels that people do not realize that quitting smoking is just as bad as kicking heroin out of your life.

22 Apr 2010

Red wine consumption may protect brain from stroke damage, say Johns Hopkins researchers

Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have discovered the way in which red wine consumption may protect the brain from damage following a stroke.

22 Apr 2010

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Alzheimer's Association's hosts conference to educate and support NH people with the disease

Study describes relationship between gene expression and intelligence in WS patients

Researchers produce stem cells from eggs of aging mice for regenerative medicine

Hospital for Special Care launches ALS Clinical Trials Unit at Neuromuscular Center

Mayo Clinic study finds changes in tissue damage throughout the course of MS

BUSM professor receives Individual Biomedical Research Award

Sleep improves memory

Physical exercise and computer use may help protect against mild cognitive impairment: Mayo Clinic

Amylin, Eli Lilly and Alkermes reply to FDA complete response letter for BYDUREON NDA

Valor Medical's European cerebral aneurysm clinical trial finalized with 30 patients treated

Mild Cognitive Impairment Symposium is now 'Symposium on Early Alzheimer's Disease'

Larger sized intravenous anesthetic diazepam incubated in isolation with Aβ peptide does not promote aggregation

Removable methyl groups on specific genes of autistic individuals that led to gene silencing identified

GUMC researchers awarded grant to discover and develop new smoking cessation drugs

StemCells to initiate second clinical trial of HuCNS-SC human neural stem cells in NCL

Research findings may help personalize use of statins, scientists say

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, UPENN sign research agreement

Agios Pharmaceuticals presents data on cancer-associated IDH1 mutations at 101st AACR meeting

Stopping smoking may be harder than quitting heroin

Red wine consumption may protect brain from stroke damage, say Johns Hopkins researchers

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Latest News