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.

Chao BRAIN Center receives $5M gift for study of progressive neurodegenerative diseases

Dr. Stephen Wong has received a $5 million gift from the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation to study progressive neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's Disease. The gift will support The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Center for Bioinformatics Research and Imaging for Neurosciences (BRAIN) at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.

22 Mar 2010

Toshiba’s new V-TRACE MRA for brain imaging

When imaging the brain, time is critical as vascular abnormalities can have a profound effect on patients’ lives if not diagnosed quickly. To help health care facilities diagnose disease with greater accuracy and speed, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. has introduced Variable True Rate Angiography with Combined Encodings, an exclusive MRA sequence available on all Vantage TitanTM and Vantage Atlas® MR systems.

22 Mar 2010

Lab on a Chip for research on oxygen impact on brain cells

A mini-laboratory that makes it possible, among other things, to study how brain cells in stroke patients are affected by lack of oxygen is being developed by a research team at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. Lab on a Chip is what the scientists are calling their mini-lab, which is expected to facilitate studies of all sorts of biological cells and how they are affected by different medicines, chemical substances, etc.

22 Mar 2010

Cancer radiotherapy can increase risk of cardiovascular disease later in life

For an as yet unknown reason, cancer radiotherapy can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life, a problem that is growing as more and more people survive their cancer diagnosis. New research from Karolinska Institutet now suggests that sustained inflammation induced by post-radiotherapy changes in the gene expression in the arteries could be the cause.

22 Mar 2010

'Doublesex' gene also sculpts brain and nervous system architecture leading to sex-specific behaviours

The brains of males and females, and how they use them, may be far more different then previously thought, at least in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust.

22 Mar 2010

Novel ways of killing TB causing bacteria discovered

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found two novel ways of killing the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), a disease responsible for an estimated two million deaths each year. The findings, published in the March 21 online issue of Nature Chemical Biology, could lead to a potent TB therapy that would also prevent resistant TB strains from developing.

22 Mar 2010

Impact of plastics on human health and ecosystems

Plastics surround us. A vital manufacturing ingredient for nearly every existing industry, these materials appear in a high percentage of the products we use every day. Although modern life would be hard to imagine without this versatile chemistry, products composed of plastics also have a dark side, due in part to the very characteristics that make them so desirable-their durability and longevity.

20 Mar 2010

Effective defense against HIV: Acne drug minocycline

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating.

20 Mar 2010

Mental activity during meditation is wakeful and relaxed, says study

Forget about crystals, candles, Eastern philosophy, and about sitting and breathing in awkward ways. Meditation research explores how the brain works when we refrain from concentration, rumination and intentional thinking.

20 Mar 2010

Melancholy - not just a ‘state of mind’ but maybe a mental illness

Melancholia was first identified by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who described sufferers as being plagued with ''fears and despondencies''. But due to lack of exact biochemical and clinical features this condition has been struck off the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used worldwide to diagnose mental illnesses.

19 Mar 2010

Cedars-Sinai Neurovascular Center's clinical trial of minimally invasive stenting procedure for TIA

Individuals between 30 and 80 years of age, who have had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or non-severe stroke within the past 30 days, and who cannot be treated surgically, may be eligible to participate in a Phase III clinical trial of a minimally invasive stenting procedure at the Cedars-Sinai Neurovascular Center. The study will focus specifically on patients who have had an intracranial artery narrowed by at least 70 percent and who are experiencing recurrent strokes or TIAs despite being on anti-clotting medication.

19 Mar 2010

Hip-hop and neuroscience

The tweets flew fast and furious at the famous South By Southwest Music, Film, & Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas when "Listen To Your Brain" began playing on the big screen.

19 Mar 2010

Genes role in protecting intestinal tract from colitis may lead to potential targets for treatment

Scientists report a protein made by a gene already associated with a handful of human inflammatory immune diseases plays a pivotal role in protecting the intestinal tract from colitis.

19 Mar 2010

Physical education classes slim down America's children, not obesity boot camps

Obesity boot camps are not the answer to the nation's waistline problem, says Deborah J. Wray, associate professor in the department of kinesiology at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

19 Mar 2010

Global halt on Molybdenum-99 production: Discussion of implications

Discuss the severe Tc-99m shortage that will occur over a two-week period when cancer, heart and brain disease patients will experience delayed imaging tests because of a worldwide halt on Molybdenum-99 production

19 Mar 2010

Researchers use optogenetics technology to troubleshoot neural circuits

Recently, brain researchers have gained a powerful new way to troubleshoot neural circuits associated with depression, Parkinson's disease and other conditions in small animals such as rats. They use an optogenetics technology, invented at Stanford University, that precisely turns select brain cells on or off with flashes of light. Although useful, the optogenetics tool set has been limited.

19 Mar 2010

Robertson Foundation commits $10.2M for Duke Medicine's cell therapy research

A $10.2 million commitment from the Robertson Foundation to create a state-of-the-art Translational Cell Therapy Center (TCTC) will advance Duke Medicine's pioneering cell therapy research and treatment programs for children and adults with cancer, cerebral palsy, stroke and brain injuries suffered at birth.

19 Mar 2010

Study results of Medtronic DBS Therapy for epilepsy published in Epilepsia

Medtronic, Inc. today announced that a landmark publication highlighting results from the pivotal study for Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Therapy for epilepsy, known as SANTE® (Stimulation of the Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in Epilepsy), was published online today in the medical journal, Epilepsia. The SANTE study, sponsored by Medtronic, is the largest and most rigorous clinical study of DBS therapy for epilepsy in adults with medically refractory epilepsy with partial-onset seizures.

19 Mar 2010

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center announces clinical trial of minimally invasive procedure for opening carotid arteries

Patients who suffer from plaque-related narrowing of a carotid artery but are not good candidates for open surgery may be eligible to participate in a clinical trial at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of a minimally invasive procedure designed to open carotid arteries the way angioplasty and stenting clear arteries of the heart.

19 Mar 2010

Cameron Health initiates clinical trial of minimally invasive S-ICD System for patients at risk of SCA

Cameron Health, Inc. today announced the commencement of the company's pivotal clinical trial to gain U.S. approval of its Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD®) System. The minimally invasive S-ICD System is prescribed for use in patients at risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). The S-ICD System is unique in that the implantation of the system is entirely subcutaneous; no leads are in or on the heart.

19 Mar 2010