Brain Disease News and Research

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Parkinson’s disease pathology breakthrough

Researchers have found that brain cells of people with early Parkinson's disease have damaged powerhouses. In a new study they have identified 10 groups of gene sets related to the energy production problems in the brain cells of these people.

8 Oct 2010

New biomarker could aid in accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

A set of proteins found in blood serum shows promise as a sensitive and accurate way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found as part of a statewide study.

6 Oct 2010

Latino community not aware of Alzheimer's disease: Survey

According to the Alzheimer's Association "Hispanic Perceptions of Alzheimer's Disease" survey, which was funded by MetLife Foundation and released today during National Hispanic Heritage Month, 64 percent of survey respondents felt that the Latino community is not very aware or not at all aware of Alzheimer's disease.

6 Oct 2010

Congress considers setting standards to reduce football concussions

NPR: "A college player who recently committed suicide had a degenerative brain disease normally linked to much older players. It's prompting a new round of questions about safety in the dangerous game that Americans love. ... [Chronic traumatic encephalopathy] is the football concussion 'disease of the moment.' In the past couple of years, Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy has revealed that many deceased NFL players had CTE. The symptoms include depression, erratic behavior and, ultimately, dementia" (Goldman, 9/23).

24 Sep 2010

Career choice may influence where dementia takes root in the brain: Study

In an international study of patients with a devastating type of dementia that often strikes in middle age, researchers have found intriguing evidence that career choice may influence where the disease takes root in the brain.

23 Sep 2010

Brain wolfs energy even to stop thinking

Ever wonder why it's such an effort to forget about work while on vacation or to silence that annoying song that's playing over and over in your head?

21 Sep 2010

Highlights of 23rd Congress of European College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2010

More than 7,000 psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists and neuroscience researchers from all over the world met at the 23rd Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) from 28 August to 1 September 2010 in Amsterdam.

10 Sep 2010

Researchers discover low levels of DHA associated with chronic neurodegenerative disease

UC Irvine researchers have discovered that markedly depleted amounts of an omega-3 fatty acid in brain tissue samples from Alzheimer's patients may be due to the liver's inability to produce the complex fat, also contained in fish-oil supplements.Low levels of docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, have been associated with the chronic neurodegenerative disease affecting millions of Americans, but no cause had been identified.

9 Sep 2010

Neurobiological markers of depression can help tailor antidepressant treatment to the brain

Depression is actually defined by specific clinical symptoms such as sadness, difficulty to experience pleasure, sleep problems etc., present for at least two weeks, with impairment of psychosocial functioning. These symptoms guide the physician to make a diagnosis and to select antidepressant treatment such as drugs or psychotherapy.

31 Aug 2010

Brain trauma in sports associated with motor neuron disease, researchers find

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that they have provided the first pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports is associated with motor neuron disease, a neurological condition that affects voluntary muscle movements.

18 Aug 2010

Specific brain abnormalities linked to motor neuron disease in athletes with head trauma

Professional athletes with repetitive head trauma and possibly others with a history of head injuries many years previously may be prone the development of a motor neuron disease similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or "Lou Gehrig's disease"), reports a study in the September Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology, official journal of the American Association of Neuropathologists, Inc.

18 Aug 2010

COGS receives $10 million renewal grant from National Institute of Mental Health

The six-site Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS), led by the director of the Schizophrenia Program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has received a $10 million renewal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National Institutes of Health. The grant funds an ongoing, multiple-site collaboration examining the genetic architecture of the causes and abnormalities related to schizophrenia.

31 Jul 2010

SSO launches Peace of Minds campaign to raise awareness about schizophrenia

More than half a million people in Ontario are either living with schizophrenia or are directly impacted by someone close to them who is suffering from the disease. Today, The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario is launching Peace of Minds, its most forceful campaign ever to raise awareness about schizophrenia and to generate support for vital programs to help those impacted by this crushing mental disease.

23 Jun 2010

Memory Ride to raise money and awareness to fight Alzheimer's disease

Hundreds of cyclists, from experienced to novice, are signing up for Memory Ride to raise money and awareness to fight Alzheimer's disease. Set for Saturday, July 24, Memory Ride offers a challenging 100-mile "century" ride, as well as a "metric century" of 62 miles and a 20-mile option.

19 Jun 2010

CAMD releases first combined clinical trial data on neuro-degenerative diseases

A new database of more than 4,000 Alzheimer's disease patients who have participated in 11 industry-sponsored clinical trials will be released today by the Coalition Against Major Diseases (CAMD). This is the first database of combined clinical trials to be openly shared by pharmaceutical companies and made available to qualified researchers around the world.

14 Jun 2010

First database of combined clinical trials on brain disease made available to qualified researchers

A new database of more than 4,000 Alzheimer's disease patients who have participated in 11 industry-sponsored clinical trials was released today by the Coalition Against Major Diseases. This is the first database of combined clinical trials to be openly shared by pharmaceutical companies and made available to qualified researchers around the world.

14 Jun 2010

Survey: 58% of Australians worry about brain health, age-related degenerative brain disease

The majority of Australians (58%) are worried about their brain health and the threat of age-related degenerative brain disease, according to a new survey. The national survey was commissioned by leading medical research institute Neuroscience Research Australia and polled 1000 Australians aged 18 to over 75.

2 Jun 2010

Breast-feeding may help lower risk of death from Shigella infection in developing countries: Study

Teaching parents about the importance of continued breast-feeding may help to lower the risk of death from brain disease (encephalopathy) related to Shigella infection in developing countries, reports a study in the May issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

4 May 2010

New tool may help neurologists predict candidates for organ donation

A new tool may help neurologists predict which coma patients may be candidates for organ donation, according to a study published in the April 27, 2010, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 May 2010

CSTE receives $1M gift from NFL to research long-term effects of repetitive brain trauma in football players

The National Football League (NFL) will give a $1 million unrestricted gift to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University School of Medicine to support the Center's research.

21 Apr 2010