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New approach to measuring brain activity - potential for artificial limbs

Neuroscientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a novel approach for measuring and deciphering brain activity that holds out promise of providing improved movements of natural or artificial limbs by those who have been injured or paralyzed.

19 Oct 2007

Ability to cope with stress, depression linked to variations in brain structure and function

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in mice that the ability or inability to cope with stress is linked to specific differences in the way brain cells communicate with each other.

19 Oct 2007

Sea cucumbers may one day help us learn to fix ourselves

Sea cucumbers are the champions of organ regrowth because they direct their wound healing abilities towards restoring their organs, according to research published in the online open access journal, BMC Developmental Biology.

18 Oct 2007

Pine bark extract boosts nitric oxide production

A study to be published in the October edition of Hypertension Research reveals Pycnogenol, (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, helps individuals by enhancing healthy nitric oxide (NO) production which leads to an increase in blood flow and oxygen supply to muscles.

18 Oct 2007

Massage could put you at risk for nerve injury

Massage is commonly regarded as a therapy associated with relieving muscle tension and pain.

18 Oct 2007

Insulin levels affect the brain's dopamine systems

Insulin, long known as an important regulator of blood glucose levels, now has a newly appreciated role in the brain.

18 Oct 2007

Cardiac stents may cause tingling in some patients

Coronary stents are commonly used to open blocked arteries of patients with coronary artery disease.

18 Oct 2007

Big breasts a pain for some women

Women with macromastia, a condition of having abnormally large breasts, often experience symptoms of neck pain, numbness, tingling, and pain and weakness in one or both hands.

17 Oct 2007

Taxol-type drugs give slight boost to survival rates in early breast cancer

The breast cancer drugs called taxanes, which include Taxol (paclitaxel) and Taxotere (docetaxel), increase survival rates when used as part of chemotherapy following surgery for cancers that have not spread, according to a new review of the research.

17 Oct 2007

Mental disorders are disorders of the brain

Depression, anxiety disorders such as panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorders, alcohol and drug dependence, dementia and Parkinson's disease are just a few examples of "disorders of the brain".

17 Oct 2007

Hands and knees posture in late pregnancy or labor for fetal malposition

Going through labor in the right posture can make it shorter, less intense and less prone to complication, according to many midwives, who say that when mothers use the posture known as “hands and knees,” it helps the baby shift into a position that eases delivery.

17 Oct 2007

Optical coherence tomography helps track multiple sclerosis

A five-minute eye exam might prove to be an inexpensive and effective way to gauge and track the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis, potentially complementing costly magnetic resonance imaging to detect brain shrinkage - a characteristic of the disease's progression.

16 Oct 2007

Researchers working on the development of drugs to limit neuronal death

Neurons die en masse when the spinal cord is injured or when a person suffers a stroke. Researchers of the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, and of Aarhus University, Denmark, have unraveled the molecular mechanism which causes the death not only of damaged neurons, but also of healthy nerve cells.

16 Oct 2007

Familial multiple sclerosis appears more severe than non-familial

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of a large group of patients with multiple sclerosis has provided the first evidence that those with a history of MS in their families show more severe brain damage than patients who have no close relatives with the disease.

15 Oct 2007

Researchers focus on neuregulin gene and schizophrenia

Queen's scientists have started research on a human gene that will lead to a better understanding of schizophrenia.

12 Oct 2007

Research shows how stem cells decide to become either skeletal or smooth muscle

Researchers have discovered a key protein that controls how stem cells "choose" to become either skeletal muscle cells that move limbs, or smooth muscle cells that support blood vessels, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

11 Oct 2007

New genetic understanding of multiple sclerosis patients response to Copaxone

A group of Israeli scientists from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have recently identified genes responsible for the positive response of many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to the drug Copaxone.

11 Oct 2007

Rare bone marrow transplant procedure as University of California, San Diego Medical Center

Patients living with Myasthenia Gravis (MG) may breathe easier thanks to a rare bone marrow transplant procedure performed at The Bone Marrow Transplant Program at University of California, San Diego Medical Center, the only program in the western United States that has attempted this procedure.

10 Oct 2007

Discovery of type of retinal cell that sees motion

A research team combining high-energy physicists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and neuroscientists from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., has discovered a type of retinal cell that may help monkeys, apes, and humans see motion.

10 Oct 2007

Antibody repairs myelin in lab study of multiple sclerosis and related disorders

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a human antibody administered in a single low dose in laboratory mouse models can repair myelin, the insulating covering of nerves that when damaged can lead to multiple sclerosis and other disorders of the central nervous system.

10 Oct 2007