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Scientists develop triple-stage 'cluster bomb' system to deliver cisplatin drug through nanoparticles

Scientists have devised a triple-stage "cluster bomb" system for delivering the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, via tiny nanoparticles designed to break up when they reach a tumor.

30 Mar 2016

Study confirms involvement of immune system in CASPR2-associated encephalitis

The complement system, which forms part of our immune system, is involved in a special form of epilepsy. This is the conclusion of a recently published single-case study.

29 Mar 2016

Oral administration of cyclotide may improve symptoms of multiple sclerosis

MedUni Vienna has made a crucial development in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS): Together with his team and the research group led by Gernot Schabbauer, international partners from Australia, Germany and Sweden, Christian Gruber, Chief Researcher at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology has demonstrated in an animal model that, following treatment with a specially synthesized plant peptide (cyclotide), there is no further progression of the usual clinical signs of multiple sclerosis.

29 Mar 2016

Transient contractions could be new target for therapeutic intervention in urinary bladder dysfunction

Researchers at the University of Vermont College of Medicine have made a discovery that helps explain how we know when to empty our bladders and may lead to new therapeutic interventions for bladder dysfunction.

28 Mar 2016

ACB could lead to quicker, safer recovery after total knee arthroplasty

Two commonly used nerve blocks during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are the adductor canal block (ACB) and femoral nerve block (FNB). ACB appears to preserve quadriceps strength superior to FNB while maintaining adequate postoperative pain control. Improving early functional outcome could lead to a quicker and safer recovery with earlier hospital discharges.

26 Mar 2016

Increased use of PNBs in hip and knee arthroplasty could improve medical outcomes

The use of peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) is associated with better medical and economic outcomes in patients receiving hip and knee replacement, according to research being presented at the 41st Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting later this month.

24 Mar 2016

Defective PTCHD1 gene in brain creates symptoms associated with autism and ADHD

Evidence is mounting that a gene called PTCHD1 helps the brain sort between important sights and sounds — and distractions. This gene is active in a brain region that attaches more attention to a conversation with your boss, for instance, than to an air conditioner buzzing in the background.

24 Mar 2016

FDA proposes to change regulation of ECT treatment

For decades, people with severe depression, bipolar disorder, and other major mental health conditions have gotten help from the treatment known as ECT, when nothing else helped them.

24 Mar 2016

Retinal thickness points to disability worsening in MS patients

The thickness of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) may help to predict worsening disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), optical coherence tomography (OCT) ...

24 Mar 2016

Endocrine Society issues recommendations to improve care for people with diabetes

To provide integrated care for people who have diabetes and may be at risk of developing related medical complications, the U.S. health care system needs to continue building effective multidisciplinary care team models, according to new recommendations issued by the Endocrine Society today.

23 Mar 2016

Penn neurologists uncover new genetic cause of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT) is a family of inherited disorders of the peripheral nervous system, affecting approximately one in 2,500 Americans. Its most common iteration, CMT1, comes in many forms, most of which have to date been linked to a small set of causative genes.

23 Mar 2016

Researchers explore new pathways to treat Alzheimer’s

Unless new treatments are found, it is predicted that more than 100 million people worldwide will be affected by Alzheimer's disease by 2050. With very few new drugs in the pipeline, researchers are exploring every possible avenue to treat the disease.

23 Mar 2016

New reference guide can help HIV care providers treat chronic pain

Recent studies suggest many individuals with HIV have chronic pain. Estimates range from 39 percent all the way to 85 percent. Chronic pain is an important comorbid condition in individuals with HIV, as it is common and causes substantial disability.

22 Mar 2016

Study identifies nerve cells and brain region behind innate fear response

The odor of bobcat urine, if you ever get a chance to take a whiff, is unforgettable -- like rotten meat combined with sweat, with something indescribably feral underlying it. To humans, it's just nose-wrinklingly disgusting.But to mice, it smells like one thing: fear.

22 Mar 2016

YAP protein plays vital role in development of human neural crest

The Hippo/YAP signalling pathway plays a crucial role when the cells of the neural crest - a structure that generates cell types such as bones and nerve tissue - specialise for a certain function in the human embryo and migrate to their target region within the body.

22 Mar 2016

Women with Alzheimer’s disease have poorer cognitive abilities than men

Women with Alzheimer’s have poorer cognitive abilities than men at the same stage of the disease, reveal academics from the University of Hertfordshire in a paper published in World Journal of Psychiatry today.

22 Mar 2016

IUPUI investigators use stem cells to identify potential therapies to prevent glaucoma

Using stem cells derived from human skin cells, researchers led by Jason Meyer, assistant professor of biology, along with graduate student Sarah Ohlemacher of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, have successfully demonstrated the ability to turn stem cells into retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the neurons that conduct visual information from the eye to the brain.

21 Mar 2016

New type of nerve cells appears to control feeding behaviors in mice

While researching the brain's learning and memory system, scientists at Johns Hopkins say they stumbled upon a new type of nerve cell that seems to control feeding behaviors in mice. The finding, they report, adds significant detail to the way brains tell animals when to stop eating and, if confirmed in humans, could lead to new tools for fighting obesity. Details of the study will be published by the journal Science on March 18.

20 Mar 2016

Brain's immune cells play direct role in development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Cedars-Sinai research scientists have found that immune cells in the brain play a direct role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, offering hope for new therapies to target the neurodegenerative disease that gradually leads to paralysis and death.

18 Mar 2016

New scaffold technology could someday help treat Parkinson's disease, other brain-related conditions

Scientists at Rutgers and Stanford universities have created a new technology that could someday help treat Parkinson's disease and other devastating brain-related conditions that affect millions of people.

18 Mar 2016