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.

Anti-hypertensive drug clonidine before non-cardiac surgery reduces risk of complications due to inadequate blood flow to the heart

Patients with or at risk for heart disease who take the anti-hypertensive drug clonidine before non-cardiac surgery can significantly reduce the risk of complications and death due to inadequate blood flow to the heart, according to a study by UCSF researchers at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

29 Jul 2004

People involved in side-impact crashes are three times more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury than people involved in head-on collisions

Occupants of automobiles involved in side-impact crashes are three times more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury than people involved in head-on or other types of collisions, according to a University of Rochester study published online for the August edition of Annals of Emergency Medicine.

29 Jul 2004

Adenosine triphosphate is a culprit in causing the devastating damage of spinal cord injury

ATP - adenosine triphosphate, the vital energy source that keeps our body’s cells alive, runs amok at the site of a spinal cord injury, pouring into the area around the wound and killing the cells that normally allow us to move, scientists report in the cover story of the August issue of Nature Medicine.

29 Jul 2004

Misfiring proteins linked to sick feeling of type 2 diabetics

After a series of studies in the laboratory of Dr. Gregory Freund, a clearer picture is emerging: A disruption of signaling proteins in the immune system may be responsible for the inflammation that makes someone with type 2 diabetes feel sick and increases the risk of serious complications.

29 Jul 2004

Molecular pathway in the brain may explain why some patients suffering from inflammatory diseases develop depression

Feeling sick can be "all in the head" for people with inflammatory disorders or for those receiving immunotherapy, say Robert Dantzer and Keith Kelley, professors in the department of animal sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

29 Jul 2004

Researchers have shown that an experimental vaccine can reduce the amount of neurodegeneration in a mouse model for Parkinson's disease

The finding suggests that a similar therapy might eventually be able to slow the devastating course of Parkinson's disease in humans.

29 Jul 2004

Transplanted cells are capable of surviving in the brain of immunosuppressed stroked rats

Human neural stem cells proprietary to StemCells, Inc. have been used in a Stanford University study in a preclinical stroke model.

29 Jul 2004

First tool to study image brain function at the cellular level

Carnegie Mellon University neuroscientist Alison Barth has developed the first tool to identify and study individual neurons activated in a living animal.

29 Jul 2004

Study that shows astonishing progress in students’ reading and reading test scores

The principal of C.L. Milton Elementary School in Laredo, Texas has just announced the results of a study that shows astonishing progress in students’ reading and reading test scores.

27 Jul 2004

Leptin's fat-burning role in humans

For nearly a decade, scientists have known that leptin plays an important fat-burning role in humans. But the map of leptin's path through the body – the key to understanding how and why the hormone works – is still incomplete.

27 Jul 2004

Overcoming the problems associated with adding omega-3s to food

As the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids reach the awareness of consumers eager to improve the functions of their body -- from the cardiovascular system to the brain -- food makers are scurrying to enrich and fortify products with omega-3s and get them to market. But one major obstacle tempers progress -- flavor.

26 Jul 2004

First human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania this year

The Pennsylvania Health Department today reported the first human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania this year. The individual is a 36-year-old Bucks County man.

26 Jul 2004

Studies find stroke strikes poor on Mondays in Finland and fewer deaths from bleeding strokes in Sweden

Ischemic stroke takes a holiday on Sunday but returns with a vengeance on Monday, particularly in the elderly who are poor and less educated, according to a Finnish study.

23 Jul 2004

Understanding the face of autism

A multidisciplinary group of researchers, affiliated with HMRI and based at the University of Newcastle, are conducting a groundbreaking study which aims to identify whether the difficulties with social interaction often experienced by individuals with autism are related to a difficulty in interpreting the emotional content of faces.

23 Jul 2004

First well-conducted studies of use of antipsychotics in people with Alzheimer’s

A member of a class of drugs that are widely prescribed for abnormal behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer’s – but not often studied in people with the degenerative brain disease – proved to be effective and well tolerated in treating agitation in people with severe Alzheimer’s

23 Jul 2004

New precautionary measures against the possible risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease

The UK Department of Health (DOH) has said today that recipients of blood transfusions are to be excluded from donating blood in the future as a further precautionary measure against the possible risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD), Health Secretary John Reid announced today.

23 Jul 2004

Epilepsy, new therapeutic possibilities

To date epilepsy research has mainly concentrated on the transmission of the nerve cell signals to what are known as the synapses.

23 Jul 2004

Autism antibodies are not genetically determined, as parents do not exhibit them

Autism produces a widespread range of antibodies that act against brain tissue and one protein in particular seems to be the major target of these antibodies claim a group of scientists in the July issue of the Journal of Neuroimmunology.

23 Jul 2004

Effects of Huntington's disease mutation more complex than originally thought

Competing theories about why brain cells die in Huntington's disease may not be competitors after all, according to a report published July 21, 2004, in the online edition of the Annals of Neurology.

22 Jul 2004

Several key findings from clinical trial of an investigational Alzheimer's disease treatment

Elan Corporation and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have announced several key findings from their Phase IIa clinical trial of an investigational Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment, AN-1792, which were presented in Philadelphia at the 9th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders.

22 Jul 2004

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Anti-hypertensive drug clonidine before non-cardiac surgery reduces risk of complications due to inadequate blood flow to the heart

People involved in side-impact crashes are three times more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury than people involved in head-on collisions

Adenosine triphosphate is a culprit in causing the devastating damage of spinal cord injury

Misfiring proteins linked to sick feeling of type 2 diabetics

Molecular pathway in the brain may explain why some patients suffering from inflammatory diseases develop depression

Researchers have shown that an experimental vaccine can reduce the amount of neurodegeneration in a mouse model for Parkinson's disease

Transplanted cells are capable of surviving in the brain of immunosuppressed stroked rats

First tool to study image brain function at the cellular level

Study that shows astonishing progress in students’ reading and reading test scores

Leptin's fat-burning role in humans

Overcoming the problems associated with adding omega-3s to food

First human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania this year

Studies find stroke strikes poor on Mondays in Finland and fewer deaths from bleeding strokes in Sweden

Understanding the face of autism

First well-conducted studies of use of antipsychotics in people with Alzheimer’s

New precautionary measures against the possible risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease

Epilepsy, new therapeutic possibilities

Autism antibodies are not genetically determined, as parents do not exhibit them

Effects of Huntington's disease mutation more complex than originally thought

Several key findings from clinical trial of an investigational Alzheimer's disease treatment

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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