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.

Toxoplasmosis linked to schizophrenia, bipolar disorders

Scientists have discovered how the toxoplasmosis parasite may trigger the development of schizophrenia and other bipolar disorders.

11 Mar 2009

Study of Rituxan (rituximab) in lupus nephritis misses primary endpoint

Genentech, Inc. and Biogen Idec has announced that a Phase III study of Rituxan (rituximab) plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and corticosteroids in patients with lupus nephritis did not meet its primary endpoint of significantly reducing disease activity at 52 weeks.

11 Mar 2009

Discovery of cellular pathway that prevents cancer response to diet restriction

Whitehead Institute researchers have pinpointed a cellular pathway that determines whether cancerous tumors respond to dietary restriction during their development.

11 Mar 2009

MRI and CT used to map intelligence in the brain

Neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have conducted the most comprehensive brain mapping to date of the cognitive abilities measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the most widely used intelligence test in the world.

11 Mar 2009

Bioinformatics sheds light on evolutionary origin of Rickettsia virulence genes

Scientists from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the University of Louisville have revealed that genes for a specific type of molecular secretion system in Rickettsia, a structure that is linked in many cases to virulence, have been conserved over many years of evolution.

11 Mar 2009

Anesthesia or hypothermia: Warning for Alzheimer's patients

Everyone knows that its important to keep a cool head, but a new study published online in The FASEB Journal shows that for Alzheimer's patients, a cool head may make the disease worse.

11 Mar 2009

Alzheimer's marker amyloid beta 42 linked to brain damage

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have linked a potential indicator of Alzheimer's disease to brain damage in humans with no signs of mental impairment.

11 Mar 2009

Cell pathway on overdrive prevents cancer response to dietary restriction

Whitehead Institute researchers have pinpointed a cellular pathway that determines whether cancerous tumors respond to dietary restriction during their development.

11 Mar 2009

Twin nanoparticle targets then zaps breast cancer cells

Breast cancer patients face many horrors, including those that arise when fighting the cancer itself.

11 Mar 2009

Salt could be 'nature's antidepressant' according to new research

Most people consume far too much salt, and a University of Iowa researcher has discovered one potential reason we crave it: it might put us in a better mood.

11 Mar 2009

SOX9 protein may be a potential target for melanoma treatment

In a new study released today, researchers have shown that a specific protein plays an important role in inhibiting the development and spread of melanoma tumors in mouse and in human skin models.

11 Mar 2009

A nanotech coating for brain implants

Biomedical and materials engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a nanotech coating for brain implants that helps the devices operate longer and could improve treatment for deafness, paralysis, blindness, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

11 Mar 2009

First 'nano' treatments to target cancer cells

Cancer Research UK scientists have for the first time developed a treatment that transports 'tumour busting' genes selectively to cancer cells, according to a study published online in Cancer Research.

11 Mar 2009

Diagnostic errors: The new focus of patient safety experts

Johns Hopkins patient safety experts say it's high time for diagnostic errors to get the same attention from medical institutions and caregivers as drug-prescribing errors, wrong-site surgeries and hospital-acquired infections.

11 Mar 2009

Can brain training games help prevent Alzheimer's?

Loss of thinking power is a fear shared by many aging baby boomers.

11 Mar 2009

Brain damage found in cognitively normal people with Alzheimer's marker

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have linked a potential indicator of Alzheimer's disease to brain damage in humans with no signs of mental impairment.

11 Mar 2009

New perspective on what part of the brain controls fear

Mice lose their fear of territorial rivals when a tiny piece of their brain is neutralized, a new study reports.

10 Mar 2009

Metastatic bone disease patients can walk in Lazarus' footsteps

Osteoplasty - a highly effective minimally invasive procedure to treat the painful effects of metastatic bone disease by injecting bone cement to support weakened bones - provides immediate and substantial pain relief, often presenting individuals who are suffering terribly with the miraculous so-called "Lazarus effect," according to researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 34th Annual Scientific Meeting.

10 Mar 2009

Long-term effects of two common drugs for early Parkinson's similar

A study published online in the Archives of Neurology involving two common drugs used to treat early-stage Parkinson's disease shows that, while the drugs each have advantages and disadvantages, the overall impact tends to even out over a long period of treatment.

10 Mar 2009

BDNF gene shows promise as target for treating obesity

With obesity reaching epidemic levels, researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center are studying a potentially long-term treatment that involves injecting a gene directly into one of the critical feeding and weight control centers of the brain.

10 Mar 2009