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.

New ways of exploiting medicinal uses of cannabis

Research exploring new ways of exploiting the full medicinal uses of cannabis while avoiding unwanted side-effects will be presented to pharmacologists Tuesday, 15 July by leading scientists attending the Federation of European Pharmacological Societies Congress, EPHAR 2008.

From The University of Manchester 15 Jul 2008

Virus injection could offer long term relief for Parkinson's

Gene therapy could offer a new, long-lasting way to treat Parkinson's disease, research results announced Tuesday 15 July at FENS 2008 suggest. Dr Deniz Kirik of the University of Lund in Sweden has been using viruses to insert a new combination of genes into animals' brains, where they help produce the dopamine that is lacking in Parkinson's disease. The results suggest the treatment is very effective in animal models for several months, possibly years.

15 Jul 2008

Quick formula could forecast which cancers chemo could kill

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have coined a simple formula that predicts how well a certain chemotherapy will work for targeting brain and other nervous system cancers. The formula, which publishes mid-July in Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, is pegged to two important proteins that compose such hard-to-kill tumors - one of which, ironically, makes them so drug-resistant in the first place.

15 Jul 2008

Huntington's disease brain damage linked to overactive immune response in the bloodstream

The damage to brain tissue seen in Huntington's disease may be caused by an overactive immune response in the bloodstream and the brain, according to new findings from two teams of researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle and University College London. The findings will be published online July 14 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

14 Jul 2008

Study examines heparin use following cardioembolic stroke

The common practice of administering heparin soon after cardioembolic stroke is associated with an increased risk for serious bleeding, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the September 2008 print issue of Archives of Neurology. However, it appears that anticoagulation with warfarin therapy may safely begin shortly after stroke.

14 Jul 2008

Researchers step closer to delivering cancer-killing drugs to pediatric brain tumors

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, led by Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, is a step closer to delivering cancer-killing drugs to pediatric brain tumors, similar to the tumor that Senator Ted Kennedy is suffering from.

14 Jul 2008

Researchers reveal passive learning imprints on the brain just like active learning

It's conventional wisdom that practice makes perfect. But if practicing only consists of watching, rather than doing, does that advance proficiency? Yes, according to a study by Dartmouth researchers.

14 Jul 2008

Physical exercise may prevent brain shrinkage in early Alzheimer's

Mild Alzheimer's disease patients with higher physical fitness had larger brains compared to mild Alzheimer's patients with lower physical fitness, according to a study published in the July 15, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Jul 2008

Incorrectly cleaved protein leads to schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a disease that strikes an average of 4,000 Belgians every year. The causes of this psychiatric disorder are not yet clear.

14 Jul 2008

Heart death risk cut by early warning drugs tests

The likelihood of people dying because their medication has a side effect that affects the electrical activity of the heart is being reduced - thanks to a better understanding of why this happens and the development of tests to predict it.

From The University of Manchester 14 Jul 2008

Susceptibility to pain is affected by premature birth and also genetics

Scientists in US and UK laboratories have made key discoveries into the elusive nature of pain in children and adults. The results, presented at the Forum of European Neurosciences Monday will help guide the future management and treatment of pain.

14 Jul 2008

Nicotine clues for dementia treatment

A team of London scientists have found clues for the potentially therapeutic benefits of nicotine on learning, memory and attention while minimising the risk of addiction. The research announced in Geneva Monday will assist the search for new drugs for dementia.

14 Jul 2008

Does sleep help us change or clarify our mind?

When we have to make a difficult decision, or work through an idea, it's often best to 'sleep on it' and come back to it fresh the next day. Swiss scientists have discovered that sleep can have lasting consequences on brain function by stimulating new brain connections that strengthen the learning processes and directly influence our actions.

14 Jul 2008

Brain switch provides clues to drug addiction

In the quest to find the biological route of drug addiction, research at Cambridge University, UK, is revealing what makes some people more vulnerable than others. Speaking at Europe's major neuroscience conference in Geneva, Professor Barry Everitt described what they now believe causes the switch from occasional, 'recreational' use to a compulsive habit.

14 Jul 2008

Stem cells help keep the brain healthy and active

For some years, scientists have been speculating over why stem cells exist in the brain, as brain regeneration is limited. A German team of neuroscientists believe these stem cells help keep the brain healthy and active.

13 Jul 2008

Researchers find six genes that, when mutated, contribute to autism

The hunt for gene mutations that contribute to autism has proceeded slowly, largely because autism encompasses a spectrum of diseases. Just as its symptoms vary widely among individuals, so do the genetic mutations that cause them.

10 Jul 2008

Researchers discover that learning suffers if brain transcript isn't transported far out to end of neurons

Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have solved a mystery that lies at the heart of human learning, and they say the solution may help explain some forms of mental retardation as well as provide clues to overall brain functioning.

10 Jul 2008

Common mechanisms may underlie autism's diverse mutations

Many of the seemingly disparate mutations recently discovered in autism may share common underlying mechanisms, say researchers supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The mutations may disrupt specific genes that are vital to the developing brain, and which are turned on and off by experience-triggered neuronal activity.

10 Jul 2008

Potential new way to prevent graft-versus-host disease

A new University of Michigan study in mice suggests that a drug recently approved to fight cancer tumors is also able to reduce the effects of graft-versus-host disease, a common and sometimes fatal complication for people who have had bone marrow transplants.

10 Jul 2008

How alcohol impacts heart and stroke risk may differ for men and women

The volume of alcohol consumption may have a significantly different effect on heart and stroke risk in men and women, according to a study of Japanese people published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

10 Jul 2008