Encephalopathy News and Research

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Grass plants can bind, uptake and transport infectious prions

Grass plants can bind, uptake and transport infectious prions, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

18 May 2015

Repetitive head injuries may accelerate aging process, increase dementia risk

Repetitive head injuries that occur during contact sports and military service may accelerate the aging process by increasing the build-up of beta-amyloid in the brain, leading to worse disease and an increased likelihood of developing dementia. In particular, boxers fared the worst among athletes and military veterans with a history of head injuries.

13 May 2015

Lilly receives fourth FDA approval for CYRAMZA (ramucirumab)

Eli Lilly and Company has received its fourth U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for CYRAMZA (ramucirumab). CYRAMZA (ramucirumab injection 10 mg/mL solution) is now also indicated in combination with FOLFIRI (irinotecan, folinic acid, and 5-fluorouracil) chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with disease progression on or after prior therapy with bevacizumab, oxaliplatin, and a fluoropyrimidine.

25 Apr 2015

Individuals with mild Traumatic Brain Injury show brain abnormalities in their white matter

Individuals with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), particularly those who have had loss of consciousness (LOC), show structural brain abnormalities in their white matter as measured by Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI).

23 Apr 2015

Spanish scientists find apatite bioceramics from shark teeth for implants

Researchers from the BIOCAPS Area of 'Biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine' have managed to obtain bioceramics from shark teeth, which have already tested applications in the regeneration of bone tissue, particularly in the fields of traumatology and odontology.

22 Apr 2015

Lupin introduces first Brand product Zaxine in Canada

Pharma Major Lupin Limited announced today that its Canadian subsidiary, Lupin Pharma Canada Limited (collectively Lupin) has launched its first Brand product Zaxine under a strategic licensing agreement with the North Carolina based GI specialty company Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc.

20 Apr 2015

Study reveals new target for research into liver disease

In a recent study, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers predicted which cirrhosis patients would suffer inflammations and require hospitalization by analyzing their saliva, revealing a new target for research into a disease that accounts for more than 30,000 deaths in the United States each year.

20 Apr 2015

Inflammation plays causal role in neurologic changes associated with Lyme disease

About 15% of patients with Lyme disease develop peripheral and central nervous system involvement, often accompanied by debilitating and painful symptoms. New research indicates that inflammation plays a causal role in the array of neurologic changes associated with Lyme disease, according to a study published in The American Journal of Pathology.

17 Apr 2015

Robert B. Kiningham receives Founders' Award at 2015 AMSSM Annual Meeting

Robert B. Kiningham, MD, was awarded the Founders' Award at the 24th American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Hollywood, Fla. The award is bestowed when AMSSM leadership determines that a member exemplifies the best that a sports medicine physician can be and do.

16 Apr 2015

Medunik announces availability of PHEBURANE drug in Canada for chronic management of UCD

Medunik Canada, a Canadian pharmaceutical company specialized in rare diseases, is pleased to announce that PHEBURANE (a tasteless oral formulation of sodium phenylbutyrate), is now available for distribution in Canada. PHEBURANE is the first drug to be approved in Canada for the chronic management of urea cycle disorders (UCD) after receiving market authorisation on January 27th, 2015.

30 Mar 2015

FDA approves Quadracel vaccine to protect young children from life-threatening diseases

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved use of Quadracel (Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Absorbed and Inactivated Poliovirus; DTaP-IPV) vaccine for active immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and poliomyelitis in children 4 through 6 years of age.

25 Mar 2015

European scientists identify gene linked with certain types of early-onset epilepsy

Certain types of early-onset epilepsy are caused by previously unknown mutations of a potassium channel gene, KCNA2. The mutations disrupt the electrical balance in the brain in two ways. In some patients, the flow of potassium is greatly reduced; while in others, it is raised enormously. Both states can lead to hard-to-treat epileptic seizures. Mental and motor development can come to a stop, or even to regress.

12 Mar 2015

Study identifies small loop in human prion protein that resists chronic wasting disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) — an infectious disease caused by prions — affects North American elk and deer, but has not been observed in humans. Using a mouse model that expresses an altered form of the normal human prion protein, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have determined why the human proteins aren't corrupted when exposed to the elk prions.

24 Feb 2015

Virginia Tech biochemists identify potential drug target against sleeping sickness

Virginia Tech biochemists are trying to deliver a stern wake-up call to the parasite that causes sleeping sickness.

24 Feb 2015

TSRI scientists discover novel mechanism involved in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time discovered a killing mechanism that could underpin a range of the most intractable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS.

16 Feb 2015

'Mad Cow' discovery points to possible neuron killing mechanism behind alzheimer’s and parkinson’s diseases

The new study, published recently in the journal Brain, revealed the mechanism of toxicity of a misfolded form of the protein that underlies prion diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”) and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

13 Feb 2015

Use of STAN in addition to usual monitoring does not improve perinatal outcomes

In a study to be presented on Feb. 5 in an oral plenary session at 8 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in San Diego, researchers will report that use of the ST segment (STAN) as an adjunct to conventional intrapartum electronic fetal heart rate monitoring did not improve perinatal outcomes or decrease operative deliveries in hospitals in the United States.

9 Feb 2015

Groundbreaking study reveals potential dangers of ice hockey for young athletes

James Hudziak, M.D., has two children who love ice hockey. His son skates for his college team and one of his daughters plays in high school.

9 Feb 2015

Kaleo, CHMI partner to reduce prescription drug-related deaths

Kaleo, a privately-held pharmaceutical company, today announced a national strategic partnership with the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, that will help support its goal of cutting prescription drug-related deaths in half, saving approximately 10,000 lives over five years.

27 Jan 2015

Scrapie pathogens can convert human prion protein to a pathological state

INRA scientists have shown for the first time that the pathogens responsible for scrapie in small ruminants (prions) have the potential to convert the human prion protein from a healthy state to a pathological state. In mice models reproducing the human species barrier, this prion induces a disease similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

24 Dec 2014