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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.

MHAUS introduces new MH Mock Drill Training Kit to better prepare for MH emergencies

The Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States introduces a new MH Mock Drill Training Kit for Operating Room Staff to better prepare for MH emergencies

4 Mar 2010

New chemical classes of preclinical compounds identified for Alzheimer’s disease

In an announcement today, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Medisyn Technologies, Inc. said they have identified new chemical classes of preclinical compounds that may eventually lead to the first effective management of toxic amyloid aggregation and accumulation in the brain— an abnormal biological process long suspected by many researchers to be a major culprit in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

4 Mar 2010

Negative results from latrepirdine Phase III clinical trial: Alzheimer's Association disappointed

"The Alzheimer's Association is disappointed to learn of the negative results from the Phase III clinical trial of latrepirdine (Dimebon)," said William Thies, Ph.D., Alzheimer's Association Chief Medical and Scientific Officer. "People with Alzheimer's, their families and caregivers desperately need more and better treatment options for this devastating, fatal brain disease."

4 Mar 2010

Beta blockers improve heart function; eliminate need for implantable cardiac devices

New Saint Louis University research has found that beta blockers, a class of drugs used to prevent the progression of heart failure and manage arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) and hypertension (high blood pressure), are underused in heart failure patients who receive implantable cardiac devices.

4 Mar 2010

Study indicates ocular shingles may increase stroke risk

Having a shingles infection that affects the eyes may increase the risk of stroke, according to new research published in the March 3, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Mar 2010

NAEC elects Mayo Clinic as top epilepsy treatment center

Mayo Clinic has been designated a comprehensive epilepsy treatment center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). Only the top epilepsy programs - those that can provide the most complex and advanced care - are selected for this designation, according to the association.

3 Mar 2010

Winner of 2010 Thomas Parran Award

University of Washington's Dr. H. Hunter Handsfield, a long-time trailblazer in sexually transmitted diseases (STD) research, will receive the nation's highest honor in the STD field during the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2010 National STD Prevention Conference in Atlanta, March 8-11.

3 Mar 2010

Shock: Norepinephrine favored over dopamine

Physicians treating patients with shock should consider norepinephrine instead of dopamine as a tool for stabilizing blood pressure, according to an editorial in the March 4, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

3 Mar 2010

Pfizer, Medivation announce results of two dimebon Phase 3 trials in AD patients

Pfizer Inc. and Medivation, Inc. today announced results from two Phase 3 trials of the investigational drug dimebon (latrepirdine) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the CONNECTION trial, dimebon did not meet its co-primary or secondary efficacy endpoints compared to placebo. Co-primary endpoints were measures of cognition and global function.

3 Mar 2010

Blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 also activates brown adipose tissue metabolism

The blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 is also an activator of brown adipose tissue metabolism, according to the study featured on the cover of Cell Metabolism and directed by the lecturer Francesc Villarroya of the UB's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Faculty of Biology), the Institute of Biomedicine, and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition.

3 Mar 2010

Mood, behavioral problems after stressful interpersonal events: LPFC function may be a risk-factor

Think back to your last fight with someone you love. How did you feel afterwards? How did you behave? Conflict with a loved one often leaves a person feeling terrible and then behaving badly. So much so that these scenarios have become soap opera clich-s. After an argument, one partner may brood, slam the door, and then drive to a local bar to drown their sorrows in alcohol. These dramas rarely have happy endings. Given these stereotypes, how do people control their emotional reactions and prevent emotional storms and their attendant use of intoxicating substances?

3 Mar 2010

Toxins in K2: Saint Louis University professor warns parents to lookout for warning signs

In the last month, Anthony Scalzo, M.D., professor of toxicology at Saint Louis University, has seen nearly 30 cases involving teenagers who were experiencing hallucinations, severe agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, vomiting and, in some cases, tremors and seizures. All of these teens had smoked a dangerous, yet legal substance known as K2 or "fake weed."

3 Mar 2010

MSU risk assessment: Reliable method to assess lead-poisoning risk in children

As health departments across the United States seek a better way to determine which children should be tested for lead poisoning, a method created by Michigan State University scientists has proven to be more accurate and cost-effective than current strategies.

3 Mar 2010

PINC trial to test anti-malarial drug in women with DCIS

Can a drug that has been used to treat malaria for years possibly be used to treat breast cancer before it becomes invasive? That's what researchers at George Mason University's Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM) and Inova Breast Care Institute (IBCI) are trying to prove.

3 Mar 2010

Robotic surgery does not compromise clinical outcomes for prostate cancer surgery

Robotic surgical technology with its three-dimensional, high-definition view gives surgeons the sensation of touch, even as they operate from a remote console. A new study describes the phenomenon, called intersensory integration, and reports that surgical outcomes for prostate cancer surgery using minimally invasive robotic technology compare favorably with traditional invasive surgery.

3 Mar 2010

MJFF for Parkinson's Research awards $500,000 grant to neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic

For his work contributing to a potential new treatment approach for Parkinson's disease, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has awarded a $500,000 grant to a neuroscientist at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida.

3 Mar 2010

New dental device takes fear and pain out of anesthetic injections

DentalVibe™ a new dental device now on the market takes the fear and pain out of dental injections. The product design firm, Bresslergroup, teamed with Dr. Steven G. Goldberg, DDS, to design the easy to use tool. Research shows that fear of a painful anesthetic injection keeps 50% of the patient population away from the dentist.

3 Mar 2010

Investigators use ANNs to recognize risk factors of AD in patients with MCI

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often considered an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD). An analysis of genetic risk factors predisposing to MCI is critical for accessing individual predisposition and reliably evaluating the effectiveness of early treatment. In a groundbreaking study published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease investigators successfully used artificial neural networks (ANNs) to help understand the causal relation between multiple factors and the occurrence of neurodegenerative disorders.

3 Mar 2010

Pioneering stem cell research could revolutionize treatments for diabetes and Alzheimer's disease

A heart patient's own skin cells soon could be used to repair damaged cardiac tissue thanks to pioneering stem cell research of the University of Houston's newest biomedical scientist, Robert Schwartz.

3 Mar 2010

BGU study: Healthy, long-term weight loss diets can significantly reverse carotid atherosclerosis

A two-year study led by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) found that healthy, long-term weight loss diets can significantly reverse carotid (main brain artery) atherosclerosis, a direct risk factor for strokes and heart attacks. The study is one of the first to prove the potential of moderate weight loss as a strategy to reverse atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) in overweight and mildly obese people.

3 Mar 2010

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

MHAUS introduces new MH Mock Drill Training Kit to better prepare for MH emergencies

New chemical classes of preclinical compounds identified for Alzheimer’s disease

Negative results from latrepirdine Phase III clinical trial: Alzheimer's Association disappointed

Beta blockers improve heart function; eliminate need for implantable cardiac devices

Study indicates ocular shingles may increase stroke risk

NAEC elects Mayo Clinic as top epilepsy treatment center

Winner of 2010 Thomas Parran Award

Shock: Norepinephrine favored over dopamine

Pfizer, Medivation announce results of two dimebon Phase 3 trials in AD patients

Blood glucose-lowering hormone FGF21 also activates brown adipose tissue metabolism

Mood, behavioral problems after stressful interpersonal events: LPFC function may be a risk-factor

Toxins in K2: Saint Louis University professor warns parents to lookout for warning signs

MSU risk assessment: Reliable method to assess lead-poisoning risk in children

PINC trial to test anti-malarial drug in women with DCIS

Robotic surgery does not compromise clinical outcomes for prostate cancer surgery

MJFF for Parkinson's Research awards $500,000 grant to neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic

New dental device takes fear and pain out of anesthetic injections

Investigators use ANNs to recognize risk factors of AD in patients with MCI

Pioneering stem cell research could revolutionize treatments for diabetes and Alzheimer's disease

BGU study: Healthy, long-term weight loss diets can significantly reverse carotid atherosclerosis

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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