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Scientists successfully reverse neuronal changes in autism

People with autism suffer from a pervasive developmental disorder of the brain that becomes evident in early childhood. Peter Scheiffele and Kaspar Vogt, Professors at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, have identified a specific dysfunction in neuronal circuits that is caused by autism.

14 Sep 2012

Noisy environments cause ears of people with hearing impairments to work differently

The world continues to be a noisy place, and Purdue University researchers have found that all that background chatter causes the ears of those with hearing impairments to work differently.

12 Sep 2012

Ginkgo biloba supplements fail to improve cognitive performance in multiple sclerosis

A research study conducted by Dr. Jesus Lovera, Assistant Professor of Neurology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and colleagues has found that the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba does not improve cognitive function in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

12 Sep 2012

Stanford and MBL scientists win prestigious Lasker Awards

Scientists who invented new ways to study how "cargo" is moved within cells and, as a result, discovered a new biological motor protein, kinesin, at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Mass., have received the prestigious 2012 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation announced today.

11 Sep 2012

CHLA, House Research Institute and University of Verona to advance ABI use in children

House Research Institute and Children's Hospital Los Angeles have announced an international consortium with the University of Verona in Italy to collaborate on teaching and research to advance the use of the Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) in children worldwide.

11 Sep 2012

Pediatric pain: An interview with Lori Kozlowski

The pain experienced by the infants, children and adolescents in our study was the result of a broad range of medical and surgical conditions.

11 Sep 2012

Researchers gain new insight into regulation of adult nerve cell generation in the hypothalamus

Researchers from the University of Utah have gained new insight into the regulation of adult nerve cell generation in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates many aspects of behavior, mood, and metabolism.

11 Sep 2012

Adult stem cell technology holds hope for erectile dysfunction treatment

After more than a decade of short-term cures to erectile dysfunction, most aimed at symptoms rather than the underlying issues of nerve damage, a new approach has emerged from adult stem cell technology developed by RNL Bio. Dr. Ji Youl Lee and the RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute (RNL SCTI) team, working at St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul, found in animal studies that adipose (fat) derived adult human stem cells, grown in culture, were very effective in treating cavernous nerve injury.

10 Sep 2012

Automated system for mapping protein-DNA interactions

Since the sequencing of the human genome in 2001, all our genes - around 20,000 in total - have been identified. But much is still unknown - for instance where and when each is active. Next to each gene sits a short DNA segment, and the activity of this regulatory segment determines whether the gene will be turned on, where and how strongly.

10 Sep 2012

TauRx initiates LMTX Phase 3 trial in Pick's Disease

TauRx Therapeutics today announced the initiation of a global Phase 3 clinical trial in a type of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) also known as Pick's Disease. The announcement, which immediately follows The 8th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias, held 5-7 September in Manchester, England, underscores the need for new treatments for this form of dementia that is similar to Alzheimer's Disease, except that it tends to damage different areas of the brain and affects people as early as 40 years old.

10 Sep 2012

Neuronal inhibition plays key role in memory formation

Stefan Remy and colleagues at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn have illuminated how this system works. "The system acts like a filter, only letting the most important impulses pass," explains Remy. "This produces the targeted neuronal patterns that are indispensible for long-term memory storage."

7 Sep 2012

Researchers discover genetic cause of hereditary spastic ataxia

Researchers from the Guy Rouleau Laboratory affiliated with the CHUM Research Centre and the CHU-Sainte-Justine Research Centre have discovered the genetic cause of a rare disease reported only in patients originating from Newfoundland: hereditary spastic ataxia (HSA).

7 Sep 2012

Targacept plans to pursue development of TC-5214 for overactive bladder

Targacept, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics, today announced that it plans to pursue development of TC-5214 as a treatment for overactive bladder (OAB).

6 Sep 2012

Predictors for pain after breast cancer surgery unveiled

Researchers have identified that chronic preoperative pain, axillary surgery, and psychologic robustness significantly predict acute pain outcomes after breast cancer surgery.

5 Sep 2012

NeuroSigma's external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation system awarded CE Certification

NeuroSigma, Inc., a Los Angeles-based medical device company, announced today that it received CE Certification for its external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) system, called the Monarch, for the adjunctive treatment of epilepsy and major depressive disorder, for adults and children 9 years and older.

5 Sep 2012

Newly discovered neuronal pathway plays key role in controlling bone density during adolescence

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that a neuronal pathway -- part of the autonomic nervous system -- reaches the bones and participates in the control of bone development.

5 Sep 2012

NIH funded researchers identify and explore different aspects of anesthesia

Anesthesia helps many of us during our lives, whether we need a local painkiller at the dentist, numbing eye drops for laser vision correction or general anesthesia for major surgery. But even though anesthetics have been used in many procedures for more than 150 years, doctors and scientists still don't know exactly how these medicines work in the body.

5 Sep 2012

Zalicus commences first of two Z160 Phase 2a clinical studies for chronic neuropathic pain

Zalicus Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel treatments for patients suffering from pain and immuno-inflammatory diseases, today announced that it has initiated the first of two Phase 2a clinical studies with Z160, its first-in-class, oral, state-dependent, selective N-type calcium channel blocker for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain indications.

5 Sep 2012

Posterior medial cortex more specifically engaged in recall or imagination

You already know it's hard to balance your checkbook while simultaneously reflecting on your past. Now, investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine - having done the equivalent of wire-tapping a hard-to-reach region of the brain - can tell us how this impasse arises.

4 Sep 2012

Potassium-channel autoimmunity linked to chronic pain

A substantial proportion of patients with voltage-gated potassium channel-complex autoimmunity experience chronic idiopathic pain, although the specific antigenic complex associated with pain remains to be determined, conclude US scientists.

3 Sep 2012