Nerve News and Research

RSS

Dealing with chronic pain

For people with severe chronic pain like Kelly Young and Teresa Shaffer—both of whom have become patient advocates —coping with agony is a fact of life. Young suffers from rheumatoid arthritis while Shaffer's pain is linked primarily to another degenerative bone disease.

21 Jul 2011

Caltech, Zcube collaboration will bring painless transdermal drug delivery to patients

Zcube Srl, a research venture of the Italian pharmaceutical company Zambon, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have signed an exclusive research and option agreement to develop and commercialize skin patches that contain embedded carbon nanotubes for delivering drugs. The patches will first be developed to painlessly administer drugs through the skin; other applications are envisioned for future use. Mory Gharib, Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and professor of bioinspired engineering, is the principal investigator at Caltech.

21 Jul 2011

Essential criteria for clinical diagnosis of restless legs syndrome

We've all experienced abnormal sensations in our legs at one time or another, but for as many as 10 percent of the US population, restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a daily occurrence. Characterized by throbbing, pulling, tingling, itching, and crawling sensations, RLS is a neurological disorder that produces unpleasant physical sensations in the extremities and an urge to counteract that sensation by movement.

21 Jul 2011

Computer modeling to predict how peripheral nerve axon responds to electrical stimuli

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a computer modeling method to accurately predict how a peripheral nerve axon responds to electrical stimuli, slashing the complex work from an inhibitory weeks-long process to just a few seconds.

21 Jul 2011

Researchers influence activity of nerve cells with laser light

Unlike conventional methods, with the so-called optogenetics, the researchers are able to target one cell type. "We are now going to use this method to find out exactly what goes wrong in the nerve cells in movement disorders such as ataxias", said Prof. Dr. Stefan Herlitze.

21 Jul 2011

Intense visual stimulation renders nerve cells more receptive to subsequent learning

Dr. Ed Ruthazer is a mapmaker but, his landscape is the developing brain - specifically the neuronal circuitry, which is the network of connections between nerve cells. His research at The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro at McGill University, reveals the brain as a dynamic landscape where connections between nerves are plastic, changing and adapting to the demands of the environment.

21 Jul 2011

Research: Substance P appears to trigger formation of extraskeletal bone

For hundreds of thousands of people, injuring a muscle through an accident like falling off a bike or having surgery can result in a strange and serious complication. Their muscles start growing bones.

21 Jul 2011

Pfizer enters definitive merger agreement with Icagen

Pfizer Inc. and Icagen, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Pfizer, which currently owns approximately 11% of Icagen's fully diluted shares, will acquire the remaining 8.3 million shares at a price of $6.00 per share.

21 Jul 2011

Diabetes gene linked to Alzheimer’s

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a gene that causes diabetes kills nerve cells in the brain, possibly resulting in Alzheimer’s disease.

20 Jul 2011

Debt-ceiling activity moves on multiple tracks

The House GOP's "cut, cap and balance" plan, which will likely come up for a vote this week, could lead to deep cuts in Medicare and other federal safety net programs.

20 Jul 2011

Texas Children's Hospital uses new surgical approach for treating epilepsy

Texas Children's Hospital is the first hospital in the world to use real-time MRI-guided thermal imaging and laser technology to destroy lesions in the brain that cause epilepsy and uncontrollable seizures.

19 Jul 2011

Scientists discover cholesterol moves far slower within and between cells

Neutrons have shown the movement of cholesterol between and within cells takes far longer than previously thought. Findings could impact the treatment of a range of diseases linked to abnormal rates of cholesterol transfer.

19 Jul 2011

Convergence initiates CNV1014802 Phase II study in lumbosacral radiculopathy

Convergence Pharmaceuticals Limited, the company focused on the development of novel and high value analgesic medicines, today announces that the Phase II proof of concept study with CNV1014802 for treating pain associated with lumbosacral radiculopathy (LSR) has started.

19 Jul 2011

InterStim Therapy now available for treatment of chronic bowel incontinence

A new procedure is now available for the treatment of chronic bowel incontinence, a disorder impacting the lives of more than 18 million Americans. The treatment, called InterStim Therapy is a minimally invasive procedure which uses electrical impulses to stimulate the sacral nerve and improve muscle function.

19 Jul 2011

Head injury and dementia - Alzheimer’s connection

According to two studies released Monday, brain injuries sustained early in life are likely boost the risk of dementia later in life. In a third study, also presented at an international Alzheimer's conference in Paris this week, researchers unveiled evidence that falling over in daily life may be an early warning sign of the onset of Alzheimer's.

19 Jul 2011

Study: 'The wave of death' may not indicate onset of brain death

The wave-shaped signal, which was previously dubbed 'the wave of death', had already been measured by researchers in Nijmegen in the brains of rats that had just been decapitated. The rats had already had electrodes implanted in their brains before the experiment.

18 Jul 2011

Traumatic brain injury in older veterans increases risk of dementia

Older veterans who experienced traumatic brain injury showed a more than two-fold increase in the risk of developing dementia, according to new research presented today at the Alzheimer's Association® International Conference 2011 (AAIC 2011) in Paris.

18 Jul 2011

FDA warns consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy

The FDA is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy on June 14, 2011.

18 Jul 2011

Viral toxin causes release of serotonin leading to vomiting

It is well known that viruses like rotavirus and norovirus are behind the majority of stomach infections. But it was unclear how vomiting developed, and the treatments available were oral fluid replacement and intravenous drips to prevent dehydration of the body.

18 Jul 2011

New ways for treating diabetes

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center are innovating new ways to treat diabetes using techniques from weight-loss surgery, including experimental procedures to improve blood glucose levels and address a major complication of the disease.

16 Jul 2011