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Study finds extensive natural recovery after spinal cord injury

A study led by researchers in the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows unexpected and extensive natural recovery after spinal cord injury in primates. The findings, to be published November 14 in the advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, may one day lead to the development of new treatments for patients with spinal cord injuries.

15 Nov 2010

Research may lead to new treatment options for spinal cord injuries

15 Nov 2010

Researchers improvise fruit fly as a model system to study brain development, disorders

VIB researchers attached to the K.U.Leuven have improved the fruit fly as a model for studying the connections between brain cells. The researchers developed a specific marker for a part of the fly's nerve cell which had previously been difficult to distinguish. Their discovery will not only contribute to gaining a better insight into brain development but also makes the fruit fly into a better model system for studying brain development and brain disorders.

15 Nov 2010

30 seconds to predict possibility of Alzheimer’s disease

It could take a mere 30 seconds to spot signs of Alzheimer’s disease in 40 year-olds in the near future say scientists who are developing a new diagnostic test. Usually Alzheimer’s disease is detected much later in life after the symptoms begin to appear.

14 Nov 2010

Researchers study Rett neurons in a Petri dish

A collaborative effort between researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California, San Diego, successfully used human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from patients with Rett syndrome to replicate autism in the lab and study the molecular pathogenesis of the disease.

12 Nov 2010

Research unveils epigenetic function of MECP2 gene tht cause neuropsychiatric disorders

The laboratory of Huda Zoghbi, where the discovery that mutations in the gene MECP2 cause the severe childhood neurological disorder Rett Syndrome was made, has taken yet another step toward unraveling the complex epigenetic functions of this gene, implicated also in cases of autism, bipolar disease and childhood onset schizophrenia. The November 11 issue of Nature reports that removing MECP2 from a small group of neurons that typically make the inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA, recapitulates many symptoms of Rett as well as numerous neuropsychiatric disorders.

12 Nov 2010

New findings suggest serotonin may have anti-diabetic property

New findings by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suggest that serotonin a brain chemical known to help regulate emotion, mood and sleep might also have anti-diabetic properties.

11 Nov 2010

New approach to sneak nerve-protective drug erythropoietin into blood-brain barrier

Scientists are reporting development of a long-sought method with the potential for getting medication through a biological barrier that surrounds the brain, where it may limit the brain damage caused by stroke. Their approach for sneaking the nerve-protective drug erythropoietin into the brain is medicine's version of the Trojan Horse ploy straight out of ancient Greek legend.

11 Nov 2010

Researchers identify molecular cascade that drives sprouting in brain after stroke

A stroke wreaks havoc in the brain, destroying its cells and the connections between them. Depending on its severity and location, a stroke can impact someone's life forever, affecting motor activity, speech, memories, and more.

11 Nov 2010

Researchers identify molecular cascade that drives process of reconnection in adult brain after stroke

10 Nov 2010

Clot-busting drug remains the most beneficial emergency treatment for strokes

The clot-busting drug rt-PA remains the most beneficial proven emergency treatment for strokes caused by blood clots, according to an editorial in the November issue of Archives of Neurology by Dr. Jos- Biller.

10 Nov 2010

Study identifies promising therapy to overcome limitation in brain's ability to recover function after stroke

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability, due to the brain's limited capacity for recovery. Physical rehabilitation is the only current treatment following a stroke, and there are no medications available to help promote neurological recovery.

4 Nov 2010

We can consciously control neurons inside our head

Every day our brains are flooded by stimulation - sounds, sights and smells. At the same time, we are constantly engaged in an inner dialogue, ruminating about the past, musing about the future. Somehow the brain filters all this input instantly, selecting some things for long- or short-term storage, discarding others and focusing in on what's most important at any given instant.

29 Oct 2010

Common psychiatric drugs could slow dementia

Researchers say commonly used psychiatric drugs could be effective in slowing the progression of certain types of dementia. Dr John Kwok and colleagues from Neuroscience Research Australia have discovered a mutant gene that causes abnormal proteins build up in the brains of people with frontotemporal dementia, a disease that affects people in their 50s and 60s.

28 Oct 2010

Scientists suggest E-cadherin can function as oncogene in some cancers

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have found that a molecule long believed to be a beneficial tumor suppressor and thus a potential cancer drug target appears to act as an oncogene in some lethal brain tumors.

28 Oct 2010

New computational techniques to overcome obstacles in hard-to-study genes

Scientists have invented methods to scout the human genome's repetitive landscapes, where DNA sequences are highly identical and heavily duplicated. These advances, as reported today in Science, can identify subtle but important differences among people in the number and content of repeated DNA segments.

28 Oct 2010

Lead exposure may reverse blindness: Research

Some unexpected effects of lead exposure that may one day help prevent and reverse blindness have been uncovered by a University of Houston (UH) professor and his team.

26 Oct 2010

Study looks at long-term consequences of heavy smoking on dementia

Heavy smoking in midlife is associated with a 157 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and a 172 percent increased risk of developing vascular dementia, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

26 Oct 2010

Motherhood helps women grow their grey matter: Study

According to the latest research motherhood helps women grow their grey matter. The study was conducted by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health in Maryland and it showed that the brains of new mothers substantially gained in nerve cells while they coped with the steep learning curve of dealing with a newborn. Also in a bizarre way, mothers who ‘gushed’ the most about their babies showed the greatest growth in key parts of the brain.

24 Oct 2010

Researchers suggest gene therapy may treat patients with major depression

In a report published in the Oct. 20 issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center say animal and human data suggest gene therapy to the brain may be able to treat patients with major depression who do not respond to traditional drug treatment.

22 Oct 2010