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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.

New bone matrix implant offers hope for babies born with skull deformities

A synthetic bone matrix offers hope for babies born with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes the plates in the skull to fuse too soon. Implants replacing some of the infant's bone with the biodegradable matrix could eliminate some of the operations currently used to treat the condition.

19 Nov 2009

EIN News launches "Mesothelioma News Today"

EIN News, an online leader in industry news monitoring and press syndication, has today added a new publication to its portfolio of health-related international news sites for industry professionals and analysts: Mesothelioma News Today (http://mesothelioma.einnews.com).

19 Nov 2009

UCLA study: Structural changes in brain may help offset vision loss and strengthen other senses

Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a cane as a guide. The reason they can do this, researchers suggest, is that in at least some circumstances, blindness can heighten other senses, helping individuals adapt.

19 Nov 2009

Brain uses a mechanism to filter out distracting thoughts to focus on single information

The human brain is bombarded with all kinds of information, from the memory of last night's delicious dinner to the instructions from your boss at your morning meeting. But how do you "tune in" to just one thought or idea and ignore all the rest of what is going on around you, until it comes time to think of something else?

19 Nov 2009

System to help identify patients at high risk of developing delirium

A specialist in caring for elderly patients, Turner-Hubbard is a geriatric nurse practitioner trained to quickly spot the sudden changes in mental status that signal the onset of the sudden, severe confusion known as delirium. She knows the hospital “triggers” that can bring on fluctuations in behavior: blood loss during surgery, anesthesia, pain medications and anti-anxiety drugs, infections, dehydration, IV lines and catheters, as well as being immobilized for an extended period of time.

19 Nov 2009

Global 'phase down' of dental mercury use finds support

Hailed as "a breakthrough" by Green Groups, an agreement in concept was reached yesterday by a World Health Organization (W.H.O.)-convened international expert group, supporting the "phase down" of dental mercury use worldwide. However, the groups note that there is still much work to be done in deciding how and when a global dental amalgam phase down will occur.

19 Nov 2009

NeuroRehabilitation: A one-stop resource for persons with neurodisabilities

IOS Press announces the November 2009 publication of a special issue of NeuroRehabilitation: An International Journal devoted to residential design for persons with neurodisability.

19 Nov 2009

Possible new approach to slow the progression of cognitive decline in Down's syndrome

A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome.

19 Nov 2009

Diagnosing patients with syndrome similar to neurofibromatosis type 1 may be difficult

An analysis of patients with a syndrome similar to the genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1, indicates that diagnosis may be difficult because of shared clinical findings, such as certain pigmentary characteristics, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA.

19 Nov 2009

BIMR wins a GO grant from the National Institute of Mental Health

Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the California Bipolar Foundation (CBF) to post-doctoral research fellow Dr. Illyas Singec at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (BIMR), a research team headed by Dr. Evan Snyder (along with co-investigators Drs. Dieter Wolfe and Lawrence Brill), was able to accumulate sufficient preliminary data to win an extremely competitive Grand Opportunities (GO) grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to explore the molecular basis of Bipolar Disorder (BPD).

19 Nov 2009

UAB expert recommends research and evidence to interpret new mammography guidelines

The public may have problems this week sorting through news articles about a government task force's opposition to routine mammograms for women under 50 and articles about breast cancer survivors touting the benefits of early mammograms. But to properly interpret the news, the public must learn to balance the research with the anecdotal evidence says University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Associate Professor of English Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D.

19 Nov 2009

FDA issues complete response for Rituxan, a drug for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), and Biogen Idec announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a complete response on the companies’ applications for Rituxan® (rituximab) plus fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) for the treatment of people with previously untreated and previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

19 Nov 2009

Joint project focuses on finding ways to prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease

Every two years, 2,000 senior Group Health patients check in with the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study. The joint project between Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington (UW) focuses on finding ways to delay or prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and declines in memory and thinking.

19 Nov 2009

New mathematical model may hasten drug development for Parkinson's Disease

Australian scientists have significantly advanced our understanding of dopamine release from nerve cells, findings that should speed the development of more effective drugs for treating Parkinson's Disease.

19 Nov 2009

Opiate-based painkillers can increase tumor-cell proliferation, says new study

Although morphine has been the gold-standard treatment for postoperative and chronic cancer pain for two centuries, a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells.

19 Nov 2009

Women with multiple sclerosis are less likely to have pregnancy complicaitons

There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have MS.

19 Nov 2009

Dual niacin-statin therapy improves blood cholesterol levels but does not diminish plaque buildup

The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows.

19 Nov 2009

Patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have raised levels of inflammatory substances

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system.

18 Nov 2009

Senate approves budget for veterans programs

"The Senate on Tuesday adopted the latest in a continuing series of major budget increases to provide medical care for veterans. The move came as the Senate passed, by a rare 100-0 vote, a $134 billion spending bill for veterans programs and military construction projects" the Associated Press reports.

18 Nov 2009

St. Jude Medical announces implantation of the first patient in China with its Eon rechargeable neurostimulator

St. Jude Medical, Inc. announced today that a 62-year-old man from Shenzhen, Guangdong province has become the first patient in China to be implanted with the Eon™ neurostimulator, a rechargeable device used to help manage chronic pain. Despite prior back surgeries, the patient suffered from chronic back pain for more than a decade.

18 Nov 2009

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

New bone matrix implant offers hope for babies born with skull deformities

EIN News launches "Mesothelioma News Today"

UCLA study: Structural changes in brain may help offset vision loss and strengthen other senses

Brain uses a mechanism to filter out distracting thoughts to focus on single information

System to help identify patients at high risk of developing delirium

Global 'phase down' of dental mercury use finds support

NeuroRehabilitation: A one-stop resource for persons with neurodisabilities

Possible new approach to slow the progression of cognitive decline in Down's syndrome

Diagnosing patients with syndrome similar to neurofibromatosis type 1 may be difficult

BIMR wins a GO grant from the National Institute of Mental Health

UAB expert recommends research and evidence to interpret new mammography guidelines

FDA issues complete response for Rituxan, a drug for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Joint project focuses on finding ways to prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease

New mathematical model may hasten drug development for Parkinson's Disease

Opiate-based painkillers can increase tumor-cell proliferation, says new study

Women with multiple sclerosis are less likely to have pregnancy complicaitons

Dual niacin-statin therapy improves blood cholesterol levels but does not diminish plaque buildup

Patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have raised levels of inflammatory substances

Senate approves budget for veterans programs

St. Jude Medical announces implantation of the first patient in China with its Eon rechargeable neurostimulator

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd 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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