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.

Migraine sufferers found to have brain differences

According to new research from the U.S., migraine sufferers have structural differences in the part of the brain that deals with pain.

20 Nov 2007

Dyslexia expert Dr. Bruce McCandliss awarded Presidential honor

Dr. Bruce McCandliss, a psychologist at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology and associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, has received a commendation by the President of the United States in the form of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

20 Nov 2007

New non-addictive pain-killers

Two University of Adelaide pharmacologists working with one the world's leading neuroscientists have helped pave the way for the development of new pain-killing drugs that are not addictive.

20 Nov 2007

Hormone norepinephrine may hasten the progression of certain blood cancers

Researchers here have shown that in cell cultures, the stress hormone norepinephrine appears to promote the biochemical signals that stimulate certain tumor cells to grow and spread.

20 Nov 2007

Variant of CDC2 gene may be potential risk marker for Alzheimer's

A variant of the gene CDC2 could possibly be used as a risk marker for Alzheimer’s disease.

20 Nov 2007

PET scans show gene therapy normalizes brain function in Parkinson's patients

Brain scans used to track changes in a dozen patients who received an experimental gene therapy show that the treatment normalizes brain function - and the effects are still present a year later.

20 Nov 2007

Study shows how men and women differ in their neural responses to psychological stress

According to a study that appears in the current issue of SCAN (Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience), researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discuss how men and women differ in their neural responses to psychological stress.

20 Nov 2007

The right kind of brain exercise can enhance memory

Researchers released initial data at the 60th Annual Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) that showed that doing the right kind of brain exercise can enhance memory and other cognitive abilities of older adults.

19 Nov 2007

New guideline for how to treat a person's first unprovoked seizure

A guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends a routine electroencephalogram (EEG) and brain scans be considered when diagnosing and treating adults who experience their first unprovoked seizure.

19 Nov 2007

Narrow band imaging colonoscopy identifies flat dysplastic lesions in ulcerative colitis patients

A pilot study from researchers at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, found that narrow band imaging (NBI) colonoscopy used in cancer surveillance for ulcerative colitis patients can identify flat dysplastic lesions.

19 Nov 2007

Nanogen reissued patent for diagnosis of chronic congestive heart failure

Nanogen, Inc. has announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. RE39,816, which is a reissue of United States Patent No. 6,461,828, titled, "Conjunctive Analysis of Biological Marker Expression For Predicting Cardiac Mortality".

19 Nov 2007

Cannabis compound may stop the spread of breast cancer cells

A compound found in cannabis may prove to be effective at helping stop the spread of breast cancer cells throughout the body.

19 Nov 2007

Gene-transfer technique trial for childhood blindness under way

Three decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals.

19 Nov 2007

People with migraines have differences in cortex area of the brain

People with migraines have differences in an area of the brain that helps process sensory information, including pain, according to a study published in the November 20, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Nov 2007

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell opens new section of general surgery called Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery

Opening the doors to one of the first academic medical program dedicated to surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has created a new section of General Surgery called Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery.

19 Nov 2007

JRRD releases single-topic issue on traumatic brain injury and polytrauma

The Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRRD) today released a single-topic issue on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and polytrauma.

19 Nov 2007

Avastin (bevacizumab) shows promise in phase II study of glioblastoma multiforme

Genentech, Inc. has announced that both study arms of a randomized, multi-center Phase II clinical study of Avastin (bevacizumab) administered alone or in combination with irinotecan chemotherapy demonstrated encouraging six-month progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate in patients with relapsed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer.

19 Nov 2007