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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.

Geisinger Medical Center opens new ‘Vestibular and Balance Center’

Geisinger Medical Center recently opened a new Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery - Vestibular and Balance Center to help patients who are affected by vertigo, dizziness or balance problems.

4 Dec 2009

Combination of green tea and DAPH-12 chemicals may help prevent brain disorders

Scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) and the University of Pennsylvania have found that combining two chemicals, one of which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of protein structures known as amyloids. Amyloids are the primary culprits in fatal brain disorders such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases.

4 Dec 2009

New biochemical probe may help in identifying toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most heartbreaking diagnoses a person can receive. This irreversible, progressive brain disease slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks

4 Dec 2009

Multicenter study evaluates effectiveness of therapeutic hypothermia in reducing brain injury in children

When the heart is stopped and restarted, the patient's life may be saved but their brain is often permanently damaged. Therapeutic hypothermia, a treatment in which the patient's body temperature is lowered and maintained several degrees below normal for a period of time, has been shown to mitigate these harmful effects and improve survival in adults.

4 Dec 2009

Lightlake Therapeutics granted ethical approval for gene testing subjects in obesity treatment trial

After two decades of scientifically and medically proven success in their field, Lightlake Therapeutics' experts have been granted ethical approval to begin selecting and gene testing subjects for a trial of a simple, safe and effective treatment for what the World Health Organisation has described as a global epidemic of unhealthy eating and obesity.

3 Dec 2009

NIH approves new stem cell lines for research

The National Institutes of Health announced approval of embryonic stem cell lines for federally funded research. The Washington Post reports the decision is "opening the way for millions of taxpayer dollars to be used to conduct research that was put off-limits by President George W. Bush.

3 Dec 2009

Don't stop dieting during the holiday season

As Americans gear up for the holiday season this month, Dr. Sasson Moulavi, a Board Certified Bariatric Physician, cautions that overweight and obese patients not give in to temptation and forget their dieting. Rather, Dr. Sass, founder of the Smart for Life(R) Cookie Diet, recommends alternative behavior for a positive outcome when it is time to ring in the New Year.

3 Dec 2009

Hyperion Therapeutics commences enrollment in its HPN-100 episodic hepatic encephalopathy trial

Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its phase II clinical trial of investigational compound HPN-100 (glycerol phenylbutyrate).

3 Dec 2009

Fruit flies are valid models for studying drug addiction in humans, says scientists

Fruit flies may seem like unlikely heroes in the battle against drug abuse, but new research suggests that these insects - already used to study dozens of human disease - could claim that role. Scientists are reporting that fruit flies can be used as a simpler and more convenient animal model for studying the effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse on the brain.

3 Dec 2009

Body needs fasting periods to stay healthy

A body that is provided with food too often gets caught up in the maelstrom of a lack of exercise, obesity and ultimately diabetes. The trigger is a molecular switch that is controlled by insulin, a new study by scientists from ETH Zurich has revealed.

3 Dec 2009

Analysis shows fewer victims survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrests

The chance of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has not improved since the 1950s, according to a report by the University of Michigan Health System.

3 Dec 2009

TGen scientists win $1,000 prize for best scientific paper presented at BIBM09

A team of scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) won a $1,000 prize for best scientific paper presented at BIBM09, a premier bioinformatics and biomedicine conference.

3 Dec 2009

Videos can help overcome communication barriers and influence patients' choices for medical care

Patients with terminal brain cancer who watched a brief video illustrating options for end-of-life care were significantly more likely to indicate a preference for comfort measures only than were patients who listened to a verbal description of treatment choices.

3 Dec 2009

Study shows CIMT may be effective for treating hemiplegic cerebral palsy, but calls for more research

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a potentially effective form of intervention for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, but more research is needed, according to a new systematic review published in the November issue of Physical Therapy (PTJ), the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

3 Dec 2009

MaRS teams up with Baycrest to develop and market brain fitness products

One of the world's leading cognitive science institutes announced today it has created a new company with MaRS, Canada's premiere innovation centre, to develop and market brain fitness products to help adults extend their memory and cognitive abilities longer in the lifespan.

3 Dec 2009

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics options immunotherapy targeting CSCs using abnormal Notch and Numb pathways

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company that is focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, announced today that it has entered into an option agreement with The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center relating to an immunotherapy targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs) which has demonstrated in pre-clinical animal models significant abilities to target and destroy CSCs.

3 Dec 2009

Breast Cancer Fund: Congress must enforce BPA ban in food and beverage containers

In the wake of the first evidence that American babies are born contaminated with a plastics chemical linked to birth defects and breast cancer, Congress must act immediately to protect infants and mothers.

3 Dec 2009

AstraZeneca and Targacept enter into agreement to develop and commercialize TC-5214

AstraZeneca and Targacept, Inc. today announced a collaboration and license agreement for the global development and commercialization of TC-5214, Targacept’s late-stage investigational product for major depressive disorder (MDD).

3 Dec 2009

AclarusDx Alzheimer’s test now available as RUO product

ExonHit Therapeutics is pleased to announce that AclarusDx™ Alzheimer’s test (formerly known as EHT Dx21), its blood-based test for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is now available as a Research Use Only (RUO) product for pharmaceutical companies and leading academic centers conducting clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease.

3 Dec 2009

First computerized crash model to test how crash forces affect the human body

Although states are not required to report fetal deaths in accident data, between 300 and 1,000 unborn babies die in car accidents each year. This accident fatality rate is about four times the rate for victims between infancy and four years old, said Stefan Duma, head of the Virginia Tech --- Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Science (SBES).

3 Dec 2009

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Geisinger Medical Center opens new ‘Vestibular and Balance Center’

Combination of green tea and DAPH-12 chemicals may help prevent brain disorders

New biochemical probe may help in identifying toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease

Multicenter study evaluates effectiveness of therapeutic hypothermia in reducing brain injury in children

Lightlake Therapeutics granted ethical approval for gene testing subjects in obesity treatment trial

NIH approves new stem cell lines for research

Don't stop dieting during the holiday season

Hyperion Therapeutics commences enrollment in its HPN-100 episodic hepatic encephalopathy trial

Fruit flies are valid models for studying drug addiction in humans, says scientists

Body needs fasting periods to stay healthy

Analysis shows fewer victims survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrests

TGen scientists win $1,000 prize for best scientific paper presented at BIBM09

Videos can help overcome communication barriers and influence patients' choices for medical care

Study shows CIMT may be effective for treating hemiplegic cerebral palsy, but calls for more research

MaRS teams up with Baycrest to develop and market brain fitness products

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics options immunotherapy targeting CSCs using abnormal Notch and Numb pathways

Breast Cancer Fund: Congress must enforce BPA ban in food and beverage containers

AstraZeneca and Targacept enter into agreement to develop and commercialize TC-5214

AclarusDx Alzheimer’s test now available as RUO product

First computerized crash model to test how crash forces affect the human body

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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