Encephalopathy News and Research

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Mutations associated with prion diseases are sufficient to cause transmissible neurodegenerative disease

For the first time, Whitehead Institute researchers have shown definitively that mutations associated with prion diseases are sufficient to cause a transmissible neurodegenerative disease.

26 Aug 2009

FDA accepts for filing Salix Pharmaceuticals' NDA for rifaximin tablets

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) today announced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing and designated for Priority Review the Company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for rifaximin tablets 550 mg for the maintenance of remission of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Additionally, the FDA has informed the Company of its plan to schedule an Advisory Committee meeting in late February 2010 to discuss the application.

25 Aug 2009

Nervous system integrity could play a central role in preventing prion diseases

A new study shows that nervous system integrity and axonal properties may play a key role in prion diseases. The findings, from researchers at the Rudolf Virchow Center and the Institute of Virology of the University of W-rzburg, expand our understanding of the development of prion disease and suggest novel targets for therapeutic and diagnostic approaches in its early stages.

24 Aug 2009

New treatment for oxygen-starved newborns

Until now immediate cooling of the newborn infant was the only treatment that could possibly prevent brain damage following oxygen deprivation during delivery. New research findings from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden, in collaboration with Zhengzhou University in China, open up the possibility of a new and effective treatment that can be started as late as two days after birth.

12 Aug 2009

H5N1 avian influenza leaves people at increased risk for Parkinson's disease

At least one strain of the H5N1 avian influenza virus leaves survivors at significantly increased risk for Parkinson's disease and possibly other neurological problems later in life, according to new research from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

10 Aug 2009

Farmed fish and mad cow disease – researchers air new concerns

University of Louisville neurologist Robert P. Friedland, M.D., questions the safety of eating farmed fish in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, adding a new worry to concerns about the nation's food supply.

16 Jun 2009

Researchers discover how prion protein damages brain cells

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have gained a major insight into how the rogue protein responsible for mad cow disease and related neurological illnesses destroys healthy brain tissue.

11 Jun 2009

Prevalence of vCJD agent in Britain remains uncertain

First results from a large tissue survey in Britain of the agent that causes variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) are unable so far to establish that the prevalence is lower than that given by previous estimates, concludes a study published on bmj.com.

22 May 2009

Children resuscitated at birth at risk for lower IQs

Children who were resuscitated at birth have increased risk of low intelligence quotient (IQ) at age eight years, even if they were apparently healthy in the 28 days (neonatal period) following birth.

22 Apr 2009

Therapeutic hypothermia is promising strategy to minimize tissue damage

Recognition of the benefits of cooling strategies to protect the brain and spinal cord after traumatic injury has led to a wealth of cutting edge research, prime examples of which are featured in a special hypothermia issue of Journal of Neurotrauma , a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

20 Mar 2009

Antibody key to treating variant CJD

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have determined the atomic structure of the 'binding' between a brain protein and an antibody that could be key to treating patients with diseases such as variant CJD.

4 Mar 2009

Cytokines lead to neurological and cognitive abnormalities and changes in heart rhythm in patients with cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, taking 25,000 lives per year.

10 Feb 2009

Repeat cesarean deliveries before 39 weeks raises risk of neonatal illness

Women choosing repeat cesarean deliveries and having them at term but before completing 39 weeks gestation are up to two times more likely to have a baby with serious complications including respiratory distress resulting in mechanical ventilation and NICU admission.

7 Jan 2009

Genetic mutation causes familial susceptibility for degenerative brain disease acute necrotizing encephalopathy

Mutation of a gene that helps proteins migrate in and out of the cell's genetic command center - the nucleus - puts some families at higher risk for the degenerative brain disease acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE).

6 Jan 2009

vCJD blood test achieves 100% accuracy

Amorfix Life Sciences has announced it achieved 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity in a second blinded trial of human blood samples using its EP-vCJD blood test in collaboration with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) in the United Kingdom.

21 Dec 2008

Scientists create infectious prion disease in mouse model

A worldwide group of scientists has created an infectious prion disease in a mouse model, in a step that may help unravel the mystery of this progressive disease that affects the nervous system in humans and animals.

8 Dec 2008

Mad Cow disease strain found to be more virulent than classical strain

An atypical prion strain of mad cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BS, is more virulent than the classical strain, according to a researcher who spoke Nov. 14 at Kansas State University.

3 Dec 2008

Discovery of possible link between chronic pancreatitis and liver cirrhosis of alcoholic etiology

Chronic alcoholism is a well-known etiologic factor associated with chronic and irreversible pancreatic and liver disorders.

12 Nov 2008

Worries over test for mad cow disease

A new test to screen blood for the incurable human form of mad cow disease could be available within 18 months, but it has raised concerns.

21 Oct 2008

FDA approves Kinrix - combination vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio diseases in one shot

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Kinrix [Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Adsorbed and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine], the first combination vaccine to offer protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio diseases in one shot.

24 Jun 2008