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.

Brain appears to play important role in glucose metabolism and insulin action

An appetite-suppressing chemical also improves glucose tolerance and lowers insulin levels in obese and diabetic mice, researchers report in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

6 Nov 2007

False memory syndrome

Duke University Medical Center neuroscientists say the places a memory is processed in the brain may determine how someone can be absolutely certain of a past event that never occurred.

6 Nov 2007

Diets high in fat shift the timing of the body's internal clock

Diets that are high in fat can shift the timing of the body's internal clock, researchers report in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

6 Nov 2007

Hepatitis C treatment reduces the virus but serious liver problems may progress

Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who did not respond to previous standard therapy experienced significant decreases in their liver enzymes, viral levels, and liver inflammation following treatment with long-term pegylated interferon.

6 Nov 2007

Synthetic version of chlorotoxin shows promise in treatment of brain tumors

A drug developed and tested at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) targeted at malignant brain tumors known as glioma has shown promising results in a Phase 1 trial, according to results presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meeting.

6 Nov 2007

Brain chemistry and genes dictate nicotine cravings

Individual brain chemistry and genes could be key to understanding why some people become addicted to nicotine and why the chemical compound's effects appear to diminish at night, University of Colorado at Boulder researchers say.

6 Nov 2007

Prazosin curbs brain damage from post-traumatic stress disorder

A drug used to treat high blood pressure and enlargement of the prostate may protect the brain from damage caused by post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer's disease, depression and schizophrenia.

6 Nov 2007

Potential new treatment for severe obesity

A team of researchers from the St Vincent's Campus in Sydney have developed a novel way to control the extreme weight loss, common in late stage cancer, which often speeds death.

6 Nov 2007

Maternal link to Alzheimer's disease found

People who have a mother with Alzheimer's disease appear to be at higher risk for getting the disease than those individuals whose fathers are afflicted, according to a new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers.

6 Nov 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon for long-term cognitive health

With National Alzheimer's Awareness Month upon us, attention continues to focus on new approaches to cognitive health in an aging population.

6 Nov 2007

Antibiotic that appears to control phobias may also be useful in treating addiction

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide further evidence that a drug known as D-cycloserine could play a role in helping to extinguish the craving behaviors associated with drug addiction.

6 Nov 2007

Scientists in Australia discover how to switch hunger on and off

Scientists in Australia have found how to switch hunger on and off and they say their discovery could be used to stop weight loss in terminally ill patients or produce weight loss in the morbidly obese.

6 Nov 2007

Common painkillers may prevent Parkinson's disease

Researchers in the U.S. are suggesting that painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen can cut the risk of Parkinson's disease by as much as 60%.

6 Nov 2007

Link between statins and cognitive decline a complex one

Previous explorations of a link between statins, a cholesterol lowering medication, and cognitive decline have produced inconsistent results.

6 Nov 2007

Li-Fraumeni syndrome found, for the first time, in Singapore

A rare hereditary disorder that strongly predisposes carriers to develop cancer at an early age has been found in an Asian female, report researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research Centennial Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine.

6 Nov 2007