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.

Study gives new insight into the stages of recovery of hand muscle control after a stroke

A Queen's study of stroke survivors gives new insight into the stages of recovery of hand muscle control after a stroke, suggesting that patients may benefit from different treatment strategies at different times during the recovery process.

17 May 2006

Oxygen free radicals associated with Parkinson's Disease

Research by neuroscientists at the University of Virginia Health System shows that oxygen free radicals are damaging proteins in mitochondria, the tiny cellular 'batteries' of brain cells.

17 May 2006

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy in relation to child development

Many cultures hold that stress during pregnancy affects a woman's unborn child. However, there has been surprisingly little research on the topic.

17 May 2006

Taking astrocytes seriously

By blowing gentle puffs of air onto a mouse's whiskers and watching how its brain reacts, scientists are discovering that a long-overlooked signaling system in the brain is crucial to our everyday activity.

17 May 2006

DVT and long haul flights - air pressure and oxygen levels not the culprits

According to new research from the UK the reduced air pressure and oxygen levels experienced by travellers on long flights are not responsible for the formation of deadly blood clots often referred to as "economy class syndrome".

17 May 2006

New compound shows unique potency against cancer cell proliferation

By determining how a class of compounds blocks signaling in cells, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) scientists have identified what is perhaps the most potent drug candidate yet against a highly lethal kind of brain tumor.

16 May 2006

German scientists synthesize new compound that reduces stroke damage

A group of German scientists has synthesized a new compound that dramatically decreases the damage to neurons in rats demonstrating stroke symptoms.

16 May 2006

Researchers discover naturally occurring growth factor that stimulates regeneration of injured nerve fibers in the central nervous system

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered a naturally occurring growth factor that stimulates regeneration of injured nerve fibers (axons) in the central nervous system.

16 May 2006

A dual PI3 kinase/mTOR inhibitor reveals emergent efficacy in glioma

Scientists have identified a new molecule that inhibits proliferation of a broad range of lethal malignant glioma cells in vitro and in vivo.

16 May 2006

Low affinity analogs of thyrotropin-releasing hormone are super-agonists

Chemical knockoffs resembling a key thyroid-related hormone are, in certain cases, more effective than the real thing at activating the target receptor.

16 May 2006

Full year of treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine helps infants and children with toxoplasmosis

The first long-term study shows that treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine (two anti-parasitic drugs) during the first year of life leads to a lasting reduction in brain and eye damage for children with congenital toxoplasmosis.

16 May 2006

Peanut - kiss not the culprit in Canadian teens death

According to a coroner in Quebec a severe asthma attack was responsible for the death of a 15 year old girl last November and not a peanut-contaminated kiss.

14 May 2006

Signaling pathway mTOR plays a role in the brain's ability to sense how much energy the body has available

A cell-signaling pathway in the brain that is linked to the development of cancer and diabetes is also a key part of networks that regulate food intake, say University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers.

12 May 2006

Chantix new quit smoking drug approved

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the sale of the first smoking cessation drug in almost ten years.

11 May 2006

Researchers link novel mutated gene to mental retardation and imbalance syndrome

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a genetic cause for a form of pediatric brain malformation involving the cerebellum.

11 May 2006

Interferon-gamma plays a critical role in damaging the cells that produce myelin

A new way to preserve the cells that surround and protect nerves could lead to new treatments for demyelinating diseases such a multiple sclerosis, a research team reports in the May 10, 2006, issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

10 May 2006

Mental activity leads to mental agility

Scientists have long known that brains need neural activity to mature and that sensory input is most important during a specific window of time called the "critical period" when the brain is primed for aggressive learning.

10 May 2006

Neurons can produce Alzheimer's-linked apolipoprotein E

A question long debated among Alzheimer's disease researchers has been definitively answered by scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease in San Francisco.

10 May 2006

Neuren granted US patent for NNZ-2566

Neuren Pharmaceuticals has announced that its patent application entitled "GPE Analogs and Peptidomimetics" (PCT/US02/16361) has been issued in the United States (US Patent No: 7,041,314) on 9 May 2006.

10 May 2006