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New discovery takes medical professionals a leap forward to effectively diagnose Alzheimer's disease

Medical professionals have to conduct a long series of tests to assess a patient's memory impairment and cognitive skills, functional abilities, and behavioral changes to accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease. They also have to execute costly brain imagining scans and even, sometimes, invasive cerebral spinal fluid tests to rule out other diseases. The process is laborious at best -- and subjective at worst.

9 Feb 2016

New pain management strategies key to maximizing patient outcomes after TKR procedures

According to a new literature review in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a team-based care approach (consisting of the patient, family members, the orthopaedic surgeon and other medical practitioners) on total knee replacement (TKR) procedures, in conjunction with newer pain management strategies, is key to maximizing patient outcomes.

9 Feb 2016

Aggression influences new nerve cell production in the brain

A group of neurobiologists from Russia and the USA, including Dmitry Smagin, Tatyana Michurina, and Grigori Enikolopov from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, have proven experimentally that aggression has an influence on the production of new nerve cells in the brain.

8 Feb 2016

Novel non-invasive method of vagus nerve stimulation reduces depressive symptoms

Researchers of a new study published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry report successful reduction of depressive symptoms in patients using a novel non-invasive method of vagus nerve stimulation, or VNS.

5 Feb 2016

UAB research explores neurofibromatosis type 1

It is easy to tell a medical research story that has a simple and dramatic moment. But disease is often much more complex, and the work to understand it can be painstaking. A vivid example of that is seen in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Genomics Laboratory, headed by Ludwine Messiaen, Ph.D., professor of genetics. This lab offers clinical genetic testing for a broad array of common and rare genetic disorders.

3 Feb 2016

Graphene-based electrodes could be safely implanted in the brain

Researchers have successfully demonstrated how it is possible to interface graphene - a two-dimensional form of carbon - with neurons, or nerve cells, while maintaining the integrity of these vital cells. The work may be used to build graphene-based electrodes that can safely be implanted in the brain, offering promise for the restoration of sensory functions for amputee or paralysed patients, or for individuals with motor disorders such as epilepsy or Parkinson's disease.

31 Jan 2016

Human brain uses several frequency channels for communication

In the brain, the visual cortex processes visual information and passes it from lower to higher areas of the brain. However, information also flows in the opposite direction, e.g. to direct attention to particular stimuli. But how does the brain know which path the information should take? Researchers at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Frankfurt in Cooperation with Max Planck Society have now demonstrated that the visual cortex of human subjects uses different frequency channels depending on the direction in which information is being transported.

31 Jan 2016

Unobtrusive patch on the forehead provides relief from PTSD

An average of 30 years had passed since the traumatic events that had left them depressed, anxious, irritable, hypervigilant, unable to sleep well and prone to nightmares.

30 Jan 2016

Certain viral infections during pregnancy could cause behavioral changes in offspring

A study published in the journal Science found that activation in pregnant mice of a particular immune response, similar to what may occur with certain viral infections during pregnancy, alters the brain structure of the mouse offspring and causes behavioral changes, reminiscent of those observed in humans with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

30 Jan 2016

Men with ASD have differences in brain connections

Research at King's College London has revealed subtle brain differences in adult males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which may go some way towards explaining why symptoms persist into adulthood in some people with the disorder.

30 Jan 2016

Vestibular test may aid ocular myasthenia gravis diagnosis

Assessing extraocular muscle activity by recording ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials is a promising test for isolated ocular myasthenia gravis, report researchers.

29 Jan 2016

Neuroprotection powers for phenytoin in acute optic neuritis

Selective sodium channel blockade with the anti-epileptic drug phenytoin protects against acute demyelinating optic neuritis, researchers report.

29 Jan 2016

Clinicoradiological syndromes allow rapid recognition of EV71 neurological problems

Severe enterovirus 71 neurological disease in children predominantly involves the spinal cord and brainstem and can be quickly recognised using the World Health Organisation classification of clinicoradiological syndromes, study findings suggest.

29 Jan 2016

Brain's natural plasticity could compensate for inner ear damage

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have described, for the first time, the adult brain's ability to compensate for a near-complete loss of auditory nerve fibers that link the ear to the brain. The findings, published in the current issue of Neuron, suggest that the brain's natural plasticity can compensate for inner ear damage to bring sound detection abilities back within normal limits; however, it does not recover speech intelligibility.

29 Jan 2016

Study could open door for new treatment targets to help Parkinson's disease patients walk more easily

Two secrets of one of the brain's most enigmatic regions have finally been revealed. In a pair of new studies, scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have discovered a specific neural circuit that controls walking, and they found that input to this circuit is disrupted in Parkinson's disease.

29 Jan 2016

Halaven (eribulin mesylate) approved for treatment of liposarcoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Halaven (eribulin mesylate), a type of chemotherapy, for the treatment of liposarcoma (a specific type of soft tissue sarcoma) that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable) or is advanced (metastatic). This treatment is approved for patients who received prior chemotherapy that contained an anthracycline drug.

28 Jan 2016

Researchers developing cryotherapy device to reduce tissue damage

Cold therapy has long been prescribed for those recovering from orthopedic surgery, muscle inflammation and sports-related injuries, with treatments ranging from ice baths to immersion in whole-body cryotherapy chambers.

28 Jan 2016

Stopping disruptions in cellular 'trash removal' may guard against neurodegenerative diseases

Stopping disruptions in cellular "trash removal" brought on by errors in molecular marks on DNA may guard against neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's.

27 Jan 2016

Opioid medication does not improve physical function in patients with neuropathic pain

Opioids such as morphine, codeine and Tylenol 3 can be effective for treating pain, however, a new University of Alberta study finds that patients with neuropathic pain taking opioids report no improvements in physical functioning compared to those who were not prescribed opioids.

25 Jan 2016

UAB study shows IL-37 protein suppresses inflammatory response after spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injuries cause severe functional disabilities in those who sustain them, including paraplegia or tetraplegia, depending on the scale of the injury. This is due to the degeneration of the spinal pathways that carry nerve signals from the brain to the different parts of the body and vice versa, resulting in loss of mobility and sensitivity underneath the injured area.

22 Jan 2016

Nerve News and Research

New discovery takes medical professionals a leap forward to effectively diagnose Alzheimer's disease

New pain management strategies key to maximizing patient outcomes after TKR procedures

Aggression influences new nerve cell production in the brain

Novel non-invasive method of vagus nerve stimulation reduces depressive symptoms

UAB research explores neurofibromatosis type 1

Graphene-based electrodes could be safely implanted in the brain

Human brain uses several frequency channels for communication

Unobtrusive patch on the forehead provides relief from PTSD

Certain viral infections during pregnancy could cause behavioral changes in offspring

Men with ASD have differences in brain connections

Vestibular test may aid ocular myasthenia gravis diagnosis

Neuroprotection powers for phenytoin in acute optic neuritis

Clinicoradiological syndromes allow rapid recognition of EV71 neurological problems

Brain's natural plasticity could compensate for inner ear damage

Study could open door for new treatment targets to help Parkinson's disease patients walk more easily

Halaven (eribulin mesylate) approved for treatment of liposarcoma

Researchers developing cryotherapy device to reduce tissue damage

Stopping disruptions in cellular 'trash removal' may guard against neurodegenerative diseases

Opioid medication does not improve physical function in patients with neuropathic pain

UAB study shows IL-37 protein suppresses inflammatory response after spinal cord injury

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The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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