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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.

Pacemaker in stomach can help treat severe stomach disorders and chronic vomiting

People with severe stomach disorders can sometimes suffer from chronic vomiting. This symptom can be treated with electrical impulses from a pacemaker in the stomach. A new method enables patients who could benefit from this treatment to be identified, and electrical stimulation leads to reduced nausea and fewer days in hospital, shows a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

29 Mar 2010

Cortex signs agreement to sell certain AMPAKINE compounds to Biovail

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with Biovail Laboratories International SRL in which Biovail acquired certain AMPAKINE compounds and the rights to the patent filing for respiratory depression and vaso-occlusive crises associated with sickle cell disease.

29 Mar 2010

People with multitasking ability can safely drive while chatting on cell phone

A new study from University of Utah psychologists found a small group of people with an extraordinary ability to multitask: Unlike 97.5 percent of those studied, they can safely drive while chatting on a cell phone.

29 Mar 2010

Medical communications expert honored with 2010 "40 Under Forty" award

Medical communications expert Alicia Lane-Outlaw has been recognized in part for her rare expertise in making websites accessible to people with disabilities as well as mobile phone users.

29 Mar 2010

Diagnostic test for alcohol consumption: Measuring protein changes in blood

Measuring a set of protein changes in the blood linked to alcohol use may potentially lead to a more accurate diagnostic test than those currently available, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

29 Mar 2010

Study provides new clues to obesity epidemic

In a newly published study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shown for the first time that the same molecular mechanisms that drive people into drug addiction are behind the compulsion to overeat, pushing people into obesity.

29 Mar 2010

New approach may circumvent lost response in insulin due to obesity

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have identified a new strategy for treating type 2 diabetes, identifying a cellular pathway that fails when people become obese. By activating this pathway artificially, they were able to normalize blood glucose levels in severely obese and diabetic mice. Their findings will be published online by Nature Medicine on March 28.

29 Mar 2010

UCSF approach may one day be used to create new periods of plasticity in human brain

UCSF scientists report that they were able to prompt a new period of "plasticity," or capacity for change, in the neural circuitry of the visual cortex of juvenile mice. The approach, they say, might some day be used to create new periods of plasticity in the human brain that would allow for the repair of neural circuits following injury or disease.

27 Mar 2010

New scientific discoveries show that Canadian maple syrup can be good for health

The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers is pleased to report on two new scientific discoveries which show that Canadian maple syrup can be good for you. These studies build on recent findings on the nutritional value of maple products, which have revealed both the antioxidant properties of maple syrup as well as the discovery of substantial quantities of abscisic acid.

27 Mar 2010

ThisCaringHome.org: Interactive web site for caregivers of Alzheimer's

It is estimated that Alzheimer's disease affects 5.3 million Americans and that number is expected to double by 2050. Caregivers shoulder a particularly heavy burden as the illness alters the dementia patient's behavior, mood and judgment, impeding his or her ability to engage in normal, everyday activities.

27 Mar 2010

Biophotonics: Light to cure disease

Biophotonics, or photomedicine, is a relatively unknown discipline, though it has existed for years now. You may have even benefited from it without realizing it. Some of the greatest advances of this field can be found in applications for the areas of oncology, dermatology, ophthalmology, surgery and cardiology.

27 Mar 2010

MHN, Health Net Federal Services to serve as host sponsors of National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic

Health Net Federal Services, LLC, part of the Government Contracts segment of Health Net, Inc., and Managed Health Network, Inc., Health Net’s behavioral health subsidiary, are honored to serve as host sponsors of the 24th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Village, Colo., March 28 – April 2, 2010.

27 Mar 2010

Enrollment ceremony held to sign revised Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Leaders, Committee Chairs and newer Members of Congress held an enrollment ceremony in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol this morning to sign the revised Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act and send it to President Obama for his signature into law.

27 Mar 2010

Ford Motor donates $255,000 to fund completion of Oakwood Healthcare System's research study

Ford Motor Company announced today it is donating an additional $255,000 to fund the completion of a pioneering multi-year Oakwood Healthcare System research study into the prevention of heart disease – a leading cause of death among American women.

27 Mar 2010

Innovative biotechnology leading to better understanding of complex diseases

As recently stated in the Glenville Democrat, innovative biotechnology is leading to a greater understanding of complex diseases and better tools for diagnosing and treating conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

27 Mar 2010

Inflamed tissues linked to increased production of protein involved in pain signaling

Using a novel animal model to study craniofacial pain, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry have discovered that when tissues are inflamed, the nerve cells carrying pain information from the head to the brain produce in large quantities a protein involved in pain signaling.

26 Mar 2010

Neurologix reports net loss of $13.5M for year ended December 31, 2009

Neurologix, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the development of innovative therapies for the brain and central nervous system, today announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009.

26 Mar 2010

Anxiety may rise again, says Rutgers University dean

Poet W.H Auden dubbed the post-World War II nuclear era the "age of anxiety" and indeed, at the time, anxiety disorders were the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses. Yet, by the 1990s, American psychiatry was "Listening to Prozac" and instead of obsessing about angst, it focused its attention on depression.

26 Mar 2010

Medtronic announces enrollment of first European patients in randomized controlled trial of ITB Therapy

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the enrollment of the first European patients in the largest randomized controlled trial to date to investigate the benefits of ITB Therapy(R) (Intrathecal Baclofen) in post-stroke patients affected by spasticity. The announcement comes as the World Congress for Neurorehabilitation is taking place in Vienna, Austria.

26 Mar 2010

Avid, Cardinal Health partner to detect Alzheimer's disease in living patients

Currently, Alzheimer's disease cannot be definitively diagnosed until after death, when a brain autopsy is performed on a patient and evidence of beta-amyloid plaque deposits in the brain – which are a characteristic pathology of the disease – can be found. Accurate diagnosis during life can be challenging, particularly in the early stages of Alzheimer's, when symptoms are mild and non-definitive. However, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cardinal Health are working together to change that.

26 Mar 2010

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Pacemaker in stomach can help treat severe stomach disorders and chronic vomiting

Cortex signs agreement to sell certain AMPAKINE compounds to Biovail

People with multitasking ability can safely drive while chatting on cell phone

Medical communications expert honored with 2010 "40 Under Forty" award

Diagnostic test for alcohol consumption: Measuring protein changes in blood

Study provides new clues to obesity epidemic

New approach may circumvent lost response in insulin due to obesity

UCSF approach may one day be used to create new periods of plasticity in human brain

New scientific discoveries show that Canadian maple syrup can be good for health

ThisCaringHome.org: Interactive web site for caregivers of Alzheimer's

Biophotonics: Light to cure disease

MHN, Health Net Federal Services to serve as host sponsors of National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic

Enrollment ceremony held to sign revised Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act

Ford Motor donates $255,000 to fund completion of Oakwood Healthcare System's research study

Innovative biotechnology leading to better understanding of complex diseases

Inflamed tissues linked to increased production of protein involved in pain signaling

Neurologix reports net loss of $13.5M for year ended December 31, 2009

Anxiety may rise again, says Rutgers University dean

Medtronic announces enrollment of first European patients in randomized controlled trial of ITB Therapy

Avid, Cardinal Health partner to detect Alzheimer's disease in living patients

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st 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

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