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Potential protection against failed back surgery syndrome

Texas researchers believe that they have discovered how to prevent many cases of the most common problem encountered by patients undergoing spine surgery: failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS).

29 Jan 2007

Spinal cord uses network mechanisms similar to those used in the brain

Our findings contradict conventional wisdom about spinal cord functions, says Rune W. Berg from Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at the Faculty of Health Sciences.

23 Jan 2007

Tai chi tackles peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy is a degenerative nerve disease with no cure and few effective treatment options - until now. Li Li, professor of kinesiology at LSU, is conducting a study into the benefits of tai chi for elderly peripheral neuropathy patients.

23 Jan 2007

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems receives European approval for Rapid Programmer

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS), the neuromodulation business of St. Jude Medical, Inc., has announced European CE Mark approval for its newest clinician programming platform, Rapid Programmer 3.0 for spinal cord stimulation (SCS), an advanced therapy for managing chronic pain.

18 Jan 2007

New hope for Krabbe disease sufferers

By all expectations, it shouldn't have worked as well as it did. A combination of bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy greatly lengthened the lives of laboratory mice doomed by a rapidly progressing, fatal neurodegenerative disorder also found in people.

9 Jan 2007

TrkB and its role in learning and memory

For the first time researchers investigate the molecular basis of memory in living mice.

9 Jan 2007

Cell therapy for Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease is one of the commonest afflictions caused by damage to the nerve cells of the brain. Patients suffer from muscular tremors and rigidity, and their movements are severely impaired.

8 Jan 2007

New alarm system protects nerves during surgery

An alarm tone warns the surgeon that the position of his scalpel is dangerously close to the nerve leading to the patient's vocal cords - the beep tone signals excessive pressure on the nerve.

8 Jan 2007

Uric acid holds potential for central nervous system damage

Uric acid is commonly associated with the excruciatingly painful joint disease known as gout, but it can also play a crucial role in the treatment of spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, according to Rutgers' Bonnie Firestein.

3 Jan 2007

Herpes appears to play a role in bringing about Alzheimer's disease

A gene known to be a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease puts out the welcome mat for the virus that causes cold sores, allowing the virus to be more active in the brain compared to other forms of the gene.

3 Jan 2007

Dual-mode nanoparticle probes for high-performance magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging of neuroblastoma

Nanoscale, inorganic fluorescent imaging agents such as quantum dots have become an important tool for researchers studying key biomolecules involved in cancer.

18 Dec 2006

European network launched to aid muscle disease patients

Some of the world's leading doctors and scientists will join together in a multi-million pound international network aimed at improving treatment and finding cures for thousands of patients with debilitating neuromuscular diseases.

2 Dec 2006

Chronic use of nicotine can reinforce the rewarding effects of alcohol

When sober alcoholics are tempted to fall off the wagon, the same receptor is stimulated as is activated by nicotine in their brain.

2 Dec 2006

Guanfacine no more effective than a placebo

Guanfacine, a medication commonly prescribed to alleviate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, is no more effective than a placebo, according to a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

2 Dec 2006

Researchers discover protein interaction that may explain how Huntington's disease affects the brain

The findings, published in and featured on the cover of the current issue of Human Molecular Genetics, show how the mutated Huntington's protein interacts with another protein to cause dramatic accumulation of cholesterol in the brain.

2 Dec 2006

Drug for shingles relieves spinal cord injury pain

Australian doctors have discovered that patients with spinal cord injuries with moderate to severe nerve pain, received relief from a drug usually given to alleviate diabetic nerve pain and the pain from shingles.

2 Dec 2006

Not much to choose between surgery and exercise for back pain

Researchers in the United States say when it comes to treating a herniated disc, there is not much to choose between surgery and an exercise programme.

22 Nov 2006

Misuse of super-strength Botox paralyzes victims

The misuse of a super-strength botulinum toxin by an osteopath in America, rendered him, his girlfriend and two of his patients so ill that they were paralyzed and hospitalized for months in 2004.

22 Nov 2006

Botox could fix your knees as well as your wrinkles

The preliminary results of a new study have found that Botox, better known for getting rid of wrinkles, significantly reduced severe pain from osteoarthritis of the knee and also improved the knee's function.

15 Nov 2006

Safety of t-PA clot-busting therapy questioned

Across the world, emergency medical teams often administer a powerful clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to help patients stricken by heart attack.

13 Nov 2006