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.

Common variations in genes associated with microcephaly may explain differences in brain size

A group of Norwegian and American researchers have shown that common variations in genes associated with microcephaly - a neuro-developmental disorder in which brain size is dramatically reduced - may explain differences in brain size in healthy individuals as well as in patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders.

22 Dec 2009

Depressed patients are unable to sustain positive emotions, says study

A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that depressed patients are unable to sustain activity in brain areas related to positive emotion.

22 Dec 2009

Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform for modern radiotherapy and radiosurgery unveiled

Slovenian Minister of Health Borut Miklavcic today officially unveiled the nation's first Novalis Tx(TM) radiosurgery platform for modern radiotherapy and radiosurgery at the Oncology Institute of Ljubljana.

22 Dec 2009

CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System brings new hope to patients with inoperable tumors

The CyberKnife Institute at Mercy Hospital, Miami’s first hospital-based CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System, will bring new hope to patients with inoperable or surgically complex tumors when it opens its doors January of 2010.

22 Dec 2009

Neurocrine to advance its NBI-98854 VMAT2 Inhibitor into a multiple repeated dose Phase 1 study

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. today announced their highly selective vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor, NBI-98854, will be advanced in clinical development.

21 Dec 2009

Investigation of IDH1 gene mutations in brain cancer receives new funds

Agios Pharmaceuticals, the leading biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in the emerging field of cancer metabolism, announced today that it has received funding from Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), a non-profit organization that supports brain cancer research. ABC2’s funding will enable new research investigating IDH1 gene mutations in brain cancer, with the goal of supplementing Agios’s ongoing research into the development of new IDH1 therapeutics and diagnostics.

21 Dec 2009

Intra-Cellular Therapies announces results of its ITI-007 antipsychotic drug Phase I study

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. (ITI) announced at a recent conference on neuropsychiatric diseases the results from a recently completed Phase I clinical study demonstrating ITI-007, the Company's lead antipsychotic drug, interacts with important targets in the living human brain. These key targets are critical to drug action in many neuropsychiatric and related disorders.

21 Dec 2009

Book on physiology of eating and weight regulation

The development of effective preventive and therapeutic measures to control eating and body weight involves basic physiology as well as cognitive and social psychology.

21 Dec 2009

Researchers follow steps that lead some tumor cells to establish metastases

Up to 25% of cancer patients develop metastases in the brain - often long after successful treatment of the primary tumor. In almost all such cases, the prognosis is poor. The mechanisms responsible for the appearance of brain metastases have long been mysterious.

21 Dec 2009

Researchers determine structures of two enzymes that customize histones

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell.

20 Dec 2009

Tips for preventing injury in winter sports

The tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson this past March put a spotlight on the potential risks inherent to skiing, as well as the deadly consequences that can result from head trauma. Richardson died two days after suffering an epidural hematoma and slipping into a coma. What at first appeared to be a minor bump on the head from a fall on a beginner ski slope in Quebec proved fatal.

19 Dec 2009

Research lays hope for developing drugs that can control apoptosis

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have identified a key step in the biological process of programmed cell death, also called apoptosis.

19 Dec 2009

Oral health care critical for pregnant women and infants

Most pregnant women in America don't see their dentists for important oral health care nearly as often as recommended, which can cause ongoing health problems for both mother and her baby.

19 Dec 2009

Headache on rare occasions can be a warning sign of potentially serious disorder

Headaches are extremely common. Almost everyone has experienced a severe headache at least once in his or her lifetime. In most cases, headaches are minor nuisances that resolve within a short time. However, a headache can on rare occasions be the warning sign of a potentially serious disorder that requires immediate medical attention.

19 Dec 2009

Diabetes patients at higher risk from glaucoma

An estimated 3 million Americans have glaucoma, which can stealthily cause vision loss even before people realize they have the disease. People with diabetes face special risks from glaucoma. This January during Glaucoma Awareness Month, through its EyeSmart™ campaign, the American Academy of Ophthalmology in partnership with the American Glaucoma Society and the Glaucoma Research Foundation, remind Americans that knowing your glaucoma risks can save your sight and that people with diabetes need to be extra-vigilant.

19 Dec 2009

IRB approves Neuralstem's Phase I trial to treat ALS with spinal cord stem cells

Neuralstem, Inc. today announced that its Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) with its spinal cord stem cells has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

19 Dec 2009

Physicians' bedside exams superior to high-tech CT scan, study finds

Sometimes, a simple bedside exam performed by a skilled physician is superior to a high-tech CT scan, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

19 Dec 2009

UVA acquires Extend to broaden the potential for Gamma Knife Perfexion

Patients with overly large benign skull base tumors, lesions too close to critical anatomy and those with multiple brain metastases are among those who will benefit first from a new "frameless" device for use with Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion systems.

From Elekta 18 Dec 2009

GSK receives European CHMP positive opinion for Revolade

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that its partner GlaxoSmithKline has received a positive opinion for Revolade® (eltrombopag/Promacta®) from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for the oral treatment of thrombocytopenia (reduced platelet count) in adults with the blood disorder chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

18 Dec 2009

New stem cell based technology may eliminate brain cancer

Using a novel stem cell based technology of Cellonis Biotechnologies, Beijing, a Chinese research/medical team may eliminate a glioma -- brain cancer -- of a 36 year old Norwegian patient in a hospital in Beijing.

18 Dec 2009