Brain Stimulation News and Research

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InSightec's ExAblate Neuro system may treat chronic brain disorders

InSightec Ltd., the global leader in MR guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) technology, announced today that its investigational ExAblate(R) Neuro system has been used in clinical studies to treat 30 patients suffering from chronic neurological disorders.

22 Sep 2011

Henry Ford Hospital performs DBS procedure inside iMRI to treat Parkinson's

Henry Ford Hospital became the third hospital in the United States to perform a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) procedure inside an Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, or iMRI.

20 Sep 2011

Lund University professor receives Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize for brain cell transplants

This year's Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize, with prize money of SEK 1 million, goes to Professor Anders Björklund from Lund University, Sweden. He is a neurology researcher focusing on neurodegenerative diseases, diseases in which the nerve cells die. Professor Björklund's research group is trying to develop customised stem cells to treat Parkinson's disease.

12 Sep 2011

Ultrasonic neuromodulation can be quickly applied in neurocritical care situations

The discovery that low-intensity, pulsed ultrasound can be used to noninvasively stimulate intact brain circuits holds promise for engineering rapid-response medical devices.

9 Sep 2011

New technique can precisely locate subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson's patients

Deep brain stimulation stops limb tremors in Parkinson's patients. But positioning the stimulation electrode in the brain must be done very precisely to avoid undesired side-effects.

7 Sep 2011

$New invasive procedures may help patients with chronic refractory headache$

New invasive procedures may help patients with chronic refractory headache

Cluster headache has a substantial detrimental effect on quality of life. New invasive procedures, such as hypothalamic deep brain stimulation and bilateral occipital nerve stimulation, may help patients with chronic refractory headache.

24 Aug 2011

Medtronic first quarter global revenue increases 7% to $4.049 billion

Medtronic, Inc. today announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2012, which ended July 29, 2011.

From Medtronic 23 Aug 2011

New Therapy Grants Program supports innovative approach to treat epilepsy

The Epilepsy Therapy Project (ETP) and the Epilepsy Foundation (EF) announced today a New Therapy Grant to potentially help those with treatment resistant epilepsy.

19 Aug 2011

Brain stimulation improves learning in people with schizophrenia

Very mild electrical brain stimulation could be used as a treatment for people with schizophrenia, say researchers.

28 Jul 2011

Elite task force provides insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia

Neurologist Michele Tagliati, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, served on an elite international task force commissioned by the Movement Disorder Society to provide insights and guidance on deep brain stimulation for dystonia, an uncommon condition that causes sustained, sometimes crippling muscle contractions.

22 Jul 2011

Deep brain stimulation benefits people with Parkinson's, essential tremor

Tom Keilen couldn't grab a glass of water without spilling it all over himself. Plagued with uncontrollable tremors at just 57 years old, the Michigan resident was fighting a battle against an aggressive case of Parkinson's disease.

21 Jul 2011

FDA approves expansion of St. Jude Medical's BROADEN deep brain stimulation study for depression

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for expansion of its BROADEN (BROdmann Area 25 DEep brain Neurostimulation) study for depression. This expansion will allow a maximum of 20 sites across the U.S. to enroll up to 125 patients.

11 Jul 2011

Insights into how brain can preserve memory and prevent forgetting

As any student who's had to study for multiple exams can tell you, trying to learn two different sets of facts one after another is challenging. As you study for the physics exam, almost inevitably some of the information for the history exam is forgotten.

11 Jul 2011

UNC study uses optogenetics to tweak brain wiring responsible for drug addiction behaviors

Using a combination of genetic engineering and laser technology, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have manipulated brain wiring responsible for reward-seeking behaviors, such as drug addiction.

30 Jun 2011

Low testosterone linked to varicoceles

As many as 15 percent of men have varicoceles, masses of enlarged and dilated veins in the testicles. There is new evidence that varicoceles, long known to be a cause of male infertility, interfere with the production of testosterone -- a crucial hormone to maintaining men's health. There is good news too: Microsurgery can increase testosterone levels in these men. Results of new research by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are in a recent edition of BJU International.

16 Jun 2011

Non-invasive intervention can greatly improve patients' inhibitory control

Inhibitory control can be boosted with a mild form of brain stimulation, according to a study published in the June 2011 issue of Neuroimage, Elsevier's Journal of Brain Function.

16 Jun 2011

Teen alcohol consumption associated with computer use

Teenagers who drink alcohol spend more time on their computers for recreational use, including social networking and downloading and listening to music, compared with their peers who don't drink.

9 May 2011

Medtronic's English Channel swimming competition to raise awareness on ALS

In August 2011, Doug McConnell of Barrington, Illinois, expects to be the 48th person over age 50 to successfully swim across the English Channel. He will be swimming more than 21 grueling miles in memory of his father, David, who passed away from ALS.

From Medtronic 25 Apr 2011

Stimulation of brain nerves accelerates learning

In a breakthrough that may aid treatment of learning impairments, strokes, tinnitus and chronic pain, UT Dallas researchers have found that brain nerve stimulation accelerates learning in laboratory tests.

15 Apr 2011

New MRI device can make deep brain stimulation effective for patients

A new MRI device that guides surgeons as they implant electrodes into the brains of people with Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders could change the way this surgery, called deep brain stimulation, is performed at medical centers across the country, according to a group of doctors at University of California, San Francisco.

15 Apr 2011