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.

First demonstration of a vaccine for Parkinson's

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine working with scientists at Elan Pharmaceuticals, have reported promising results in mice of a vaccine approach to treating Parkinson’s and similar diseases. These results appear in the June edition of the journal Neuron.

15 Jun 2005

Placebos can affect emotion as well relieving pain

Just as placebos have been shown to bring relief from pain, researchers have now found that they can affect emotion, alleviating the impact of unpleasant experiences.

15 Jun 2005

Protocol used to treat the first known survivor of rabies without prior vaccination published

The protocol used to treat the first known survivor of rabies without prior vaccination is published in the June 16, 2005, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. It is hoped that this approach can be replicated, tested, and provide a guide for treating this fatal condition, especially in parts of the world where the incidence of rabies is rampant.

15 Jun 2005

Jumping genes help detemine uniqueness of individual brains

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies may have found one explanation for the puzzling variety in brain organization and function: mobile elements, pieces of DNA that can jump from one place in the genome to another, randomly changing the genetic information in single brain cells.

15 Jun 2005

Nicotine triggers the same neural pathways that give opiates their addictively rewarding properties

In experiments with mice, researchers have found that nicotine triggers the same neural pathways that give opiates such as heroin their addictively rewarding properties--including associating an environment with the drug's reward.

15 Jun 2005

Oral liquid Hydroxyurea promising for long-term use in babies with sickle cell disease

Treating babies who have sickle cell disease (SCD) with oral liquid hydroxyurea appears to prevent the onset of long-term complications triggered by this disease, according to results of a preliminary study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

15 Jun 2005

Brain surgery for epilepsy means patients still free of fits 30 years later

A study has shown that thirty years after undergoing temporal lobectomy for epilepsy, half of patients are still free from seizures.

15 Jun 2005

Heavy drinkers at risk of lasting brain damage sooner rather than later

Researchers at Saint Louis University have shown, in a new animal study, that chronic alcohol consumption produces memory loss and learning problems in very heavy drinkers much sooner than previously thought.

15 Jun 2005

Nanotechnology used to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells

University of Michigan scientists have created the nanotechnology equivalent of a Trojan horse to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells - increasing the drug's cancer-killing activity and reducing its toxic side effects.

15 Jun 2005

Study examines biomarkers for response to erlotinib in glioma

Researchers have found two biomarkers that, in patients with a malignant type of brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, were associated with response to the cancer drug erlotinib (Tarceva).

14 Jun 2005

Research urges a new approach to cancer detection

A few years ago, Medhat Osman, M.D., Ph.D., had a patient who was scanned due to a suspicion of lung cancer using positron emission tomography (PET) and computer tomography (CT) technology. The scan came back negative, but the patient then complained of a problem with his leg.

14 Jun 2005

Adults can be retrained to learn second languages more easily

Our ability to hear and understand a second language becomes more and more difficult with age, but the adult brain can be retrained to pick up foreign sounds more easily again.

14 Jun 2005

Continuous drinking for as little as eight weeks affects learning and memory up to 12 weeks later

Rodent studies, for example, have shown that chronic alcohol consumption for six months or more can produce permanent deficits and neural damage. A rodent study in the June issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research is the first to show that continuous drinking for as little as eight weeks can produce deficits in learning and memory that last up to 12 weeks after drinking stopped.

14 Jun 2005

Drinking during pregnancy can increase the risk of infection in newborns

Despite public-information campaigns and physician advice about alcohol consumption during pregnancy, between 15 and 25 percent of pregnant women continue to drink each month, and five to 10 out of 1,000 pregnant women drink an average of seven or more drinks per week.

14 Jun 2005

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. One variant increases risk and the other decreases risk with a similar effect in whites, African-Americans, diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.

14 Jun 2005

Tetanus toxin may help fight depression, anxiety, anorexia and Parkinson's

A team of researchers from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Institute of Neuroscience at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has discovered that tetanus toxin, which causes tetanus, could be extremely useful as a therapy against psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and anorexia, and to slow the progress of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

14 Jun 2005

Causes, consequences and clinical implications of alcohol-related brain shrinkage

Previous studies have demonstrated that the brains of alcoholics are smaller, lighter and "shrunken" when compared to nonalcoholic brains.

14 Jun 2005

Reasons for delay in re-testing for mad cow disease still causes concern

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), it now appears that the animal suspected of having mad cow disease was born before the implementation of the 1997 feed ban that prohibits cattle remains in animal feed.

14 Jun 2005

US scientists find "mother of all brain stem cells"

Scientists at the University of Florida have been able grow brain cells in the laboratory.

14 Jun 2005

Study examines reasons for unsatisfactory outcomes following deep brain stimulation surgery

A study of follow-up care for patients with unsatisfactory outcomes from deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for movement disorders offers insights into reasons for problems and proposes strategies for improved outcomes. The study will appear in the August print issue of Archives of Neurology.

13 Jun 2005

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

First demonstration of a vaccine for Parkinson's

Placebos can affect emotion as well relieving pain

Protocol used to treat the first known survivor of rabies without prior vaccination published

Jumping genes help detemine uniqueness of individual brains

Nicotine triggers the same neural pathways that give opiates their addictively rewarding properties

Oral liquid Hydroxyurea promising for long-term use in babies with sickle cell disease

Brain surgery for epilepsy means patients still free of fits 30 years later

Heavy drinkers at risk of lasting brain damage sooner rather than later

Nanotechnology used to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells

Study examines biomarkers for response to erlotinib in glioma

Research urges a new approach to cancer detection

Adults can be retrained to learn second languages more easily

Continuous drinking for as little as eight weeks affects learning and memory up to 12 weeks later

Drinking during pregnancy can increase the risk of infection in newborns

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

Tetanus toxin may help fight depression, anxiety, anorexia and Parkinson's

Causes, consequences and clinical implications of alcohol-related brain shrinkage

Reasons for delay in re-testing for mad cow disease still causes concern

US scientists find "mother of all brain stem cells"

Study examines reasons for unsatisfactory outcomes following deep brain stimulation surgery

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