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.

NIH awards CYCORE project for cancer research $2.6M

Nearly four decades after President Richard Nixon declared a "War on Cancer," the disease still claims the lives of 560,000 Americans every year, despite an annual expenditure of $5 billion by the U.S. government on research to battle it.

4 Feb 2010

Defective chromosome cause of severe obesity

A new cause of obesity due to a defect on chromosome 16 has just been discovered. It is thought to explain close to 1% of obesity cases. For carriers of the defect, the risk of becoming overweight is 50 times higher. This research is the result of close cooperation between the team of Professor Froguel, a CNRS researcher, in Lille, and colleagues at Imperial College in London and Vaudois University Hospital in Lausanne, with the support of ten other European research groups. The findings of the study are to be published in Nature on February 4, 2010.

4 Feb 2010

Study sheds new light on cancer metastasis

Some cells are natural rule-breakers. Neural crest cells for example, not only migrate throughout the body during development (most cells are more selective in their wandering), they are also more developmentally flexible than their predecessors (a no-no for nearly all cell types).

4 Feb 2010

Neuroscience research and clinical care launched at UT Medical School

Innovative neuroscience research and expanded clinical care have been launched at the new Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

4 Feb 2010

Anomalies causing motivational deficiencies may also cause ADHD

Until now, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was related to alterations in the brain affecting attention and cognitive processes. Researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital for the first time have discovered anomalies in the brain's reward system related to the neural circuits of motivation and gratification. In children with ADHD, the degree of motivation when carrying out an activity is related to the immediacy with which the objectives of the activity are met. This would explain why their attention and hyperactivity levels differ depending on the tasks being carried out.

4 Feb 2010

Micrus Endovascular reports financial results for three and nine months ended December 31, 2009

Micrus Endovascular Corporation today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2009 and raised fiscal 2010 revenue guidance.

4 Feb 2010

Scientists identify potential drug therapy target for malaria

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a protein made by the malaria parasite that is essential to its ability to take over human red blood cells.

4 Feb 2010

Immigrants may be healthier than long-term residents

New immigrants to North America may be less likely to have a stroke at a young age than long-time residents, according to a study published in the February 3, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Feb 2010

PLX cell therapy may be an effective treatment for ischemic stroke disorder

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. today announced that the results of a pre-clinical study in an animal model of ischemic stroke demonstrated that its PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cell therapy may be an effective treatment for this disorder.

4 Feb 2010

Transplantation of pulmonary progenitor cells derived from hESCs promising for acute lung injury

Stem cell researchers exploring a new approach for the care of respiratory diseases report that an experimental treatment involving transplantable lung cells was associated with improved outcomes in tests on mice with acute lung injury. The lung cells were derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Findings by investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are scheduled to appear in the March issue of Molecular Therapy.

4 Feb 2010

UTMB: Mother's exposure to BPA increases risks of asthma in her children

For years, scientists have warned of the possible negative health effects of bisphenol A, a chemical used to make everything from plastic water bottles and food packaging to sunglasses and CDs.

4 Feb 2010

Researchers discover anomalies that cause lack of motivation in ADHD children

3 Feb 2010

Study shows Cymbalta reduces chronic low back pain

In a new study, 60 mg of Cymbalta® (duloxetine HCl) taken once daily significantly reduced chronic low back pain, as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain rating, compared with placebo.

3 Feb 2010

House Dems' next step in health reform: Repeal of insurance antitrust exemption

Lawmakers "hoping to revive President Barack Obama's stalled health care overhaul have started writing a compromise bill, but it's unclear when the legislation will be ready for votes, a top House Democrat said Tuesday," The Associated Press reports. "The measure would change the massive Senate-approved health bill to what bargainers from the White House, Senate and House agreed to last month, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said in a brief interview.

3 Feb 2010

AMPYRA for MS: Acorda Therapeutics announces wholesale pricing and patient assistance program

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) for AMPYRA™ (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets will be $1,056 per 30-day supply (60-count pill bottle), an annual cost of $12,850. AMPYRA was approved on January 22, 2010 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This was demonstrated by an increase in walking speed. AMPYRA is expected to be available in March 2010.

3 Feb 2010

Penn Medicine experts available to offer medical insight and commentary during 2010 Winter Olympics

Experts from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are available to offer expert medical insight and commentary during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on issues ranging from the effects of performance enhancing drugs to concerns about the spread of novel H1N1, head trauma and more.

3 Feb 2010

Dopamine plays a critical role in behavioral processes

People have typically viewed the benefits that accrue with social status primarily from the perspective of external rewards. A new paper in the February 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier suggests that there are internal rewards as well.

3 Feb 2010

Gene variants protect sexually-abused victims from alcohol dependence, says study

Exposure to severe stress early in life increases the risk of alcohol and drug addiction. Yet surprisingly, some adults sexually abused as children - and therefore at high risk for alcohol problems - carry gene variants that protect them from heavy drinking and its effects, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Feb 2010

Is there a link to rising rates of autism, ADHD and other learning and developmental disabilities?

Jeff Sell, father of twin sons with autism ,Vice President for Policy at the Autism Society; Maureen H. Swanson, Healthy Children Project Coordinator, Learning Disabilities Association of America; Larry Silver MD, author of the Understanding and Coping with Your Child's Learning Disabilities; and others will join Andy Igrejas, National Campaign Director of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Campaign on a national telephone news briefing for the release of Mind, Disrupted: How Toxic Chemicals May Affect How We Think and Who We Are, produced by the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI).

3 Feb 2010

New resources to support Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Tjet injector system now available

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today the availability of new resources to support the recently introduced Tjet® injector system, a needle-free device designed to deliver Teva’s TEV-TROPIN® [somatropin (rDNA origin) for injection] brand human growth hormone (hGH) to children who have growth failure due to inadequate secretion of normal endogenous growth hormone.

3 Feb 2010