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.

Price of medicine may affect its efficacy

You are offered two painkillers, one selling at full price for $2.50 per pill and the other discounted to 10 cents each.

20 Mar 2008

Parental observations and perceptions important in detecting sleep problems in children

A new study from the University of Rochester has found that parental observations and perceptions of their childrens' sleep habits are a valuable supplement to objective laboratory tests in detecting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

20 Mar 2008

Hispanics with clogged arteries at greatest risk of stroke, heart attack

Hispanics who have even a small amount of plaque build-up in the neck artery that supplies blood to the brain are up to four times more likely to suffer or die from a stroke or heart attack than Hispanics who do not have plaque, according to a study published in the March 19, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

20 Mar 2008

Disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder

Eli Hatchwell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Stony Brook University Medical Center, and colleagues have found that a disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

20 Mar 2008

New medical series for BBC ONE

Medical Frontiers (working title) presented by Professor Robert Winston, is a new medical series for BBC ONE, examining the life and death decisions made every day on the edge of medicine.

20 Mar 2008

African-American women less likely to reduce drinking during pregnancy

New Saint Louis University research found that although white women are more likely to drink or binge drink prior to pregnancy, African-American women are less likely to reduce drinking during pregnancy, which may be linked to a higher rate of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) among the population.

20 Mar 2008

Women's sexual disorders get medical attention in new Stanford program

Medicine is finally opening the bedroom door to women. When the male erectile dysfunction drug Viagra was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998, many middle-aged men experienced a new lease on life, or at least on life in the bedroom.

19 Mar 2008

Millionaire leaves millions for research into motor neuron disease

A self-made millionaire Peter Goodenough who died from motor neuron disease (MND) left more than $6 million to the University's Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) to help find a cure for MND.

19 Mar 2008

Cocaine can cause symptoms of a heart attack

According to new research from the U.S., using cocaine can cause chest pain and other symptoms similar to a heart attack.

19 Mar 2008

New understanding of the differential effects of emotion regulation strategies on the human brain

Emotions play an important role in the lives of humans, and influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions, and interactions.

19 Mar 2008

Scans spot hidden tumors in Li-Fraumeni syndrome

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report that full-body PET/CT scanning detected unsuspected, treatable tumors in 3 of 15 patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), a rare genetic cancer syndrome for which no screening tests have been recommended.

19 Mar 2008

Possible cause of chemobrain found

Thanks to early diagnosis and chemotherapy, more women survive breast cancer than ever before.

19 Mar 2008

Poison prevention starts with respecting, inspecting medicines

Between tots' cough and cold medicines being pulled from store shelves, and a New York teenager dying from a muscle-cream overdose, the past year's scares are grounds for renewing a healthy fear for the products stowed in your medicine cabinet.

19 Mar 2008

SnowWorld, an interactive, virtual-reality video game helps burn patients with pain relief

To a patient recovering from severe burns, no place would be more soothing than a polar landscape of gently falling snowflakes, snowmen, penguins, igloos and icy rivers.

19 Mar 2008

Lithium chloride slows development of inclusion body myositis

A new UC Irvine study finds that lithium chloride, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder, can slow the development of inclusion body myositis, a skeletal muscle disease that affects the elderly.

19 Mar 2008

Psychological stress resulting from the traumatic stress may damage this brain

Individuals who experience military combat obviously endure extreme stress, and this exposure leaves many diagnosed with the psychiatric condition of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

19 Mar 2008

Zebrafish enables cell regeneration studies to help understand, treat human disease

One aquarium fish's uncanny ability to regenerate essentially any cell type has given scientists a way to mimic cell loss that occurs in diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes then watch how the fish make more of them.

18 Mar 2008

Researchers discover how stealthy HIV protein gets into cells

Scientists have known for more than a decade that a protein associated with the HIV virus is good at crossing cell membranes, but they didn't know how it worked.

18 Mar 2008

White matter and balance in old age

New research shows how well people get around and keep their balance in old age is linked to the severity of changes happening in their brains.

18 Mar 2008

Trial of injectable microfoam for varicose veins

A small group of patients with a common heart defect who were treated for varicose veins with an injectable microfoam experienced no neurological, visual or cardiac changes as a result of the treatment, according to preliminary results from a phase II trial.

18 Mar 2008