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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Promising MS drug may make the debilitating disease worse

A drug that has shown promise for treating multiple sclerosis may actually make the debilitating disease worse, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests.

15 Nov 2020

Antidepressant may prevent worsening of COVID-19 infection, study suggests

The antidepressant fluvoxamine appears to prevent COVID-19 infections from worsening and may help keep patients out of the hospital, a trial based on research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests.

15 Nov 2020

Dopamine-release mechanisms in the brain may play a major role in SARS-CoV-2 infection

The study, which appeared in the Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, shows that the SARS-CoV-2 may behave akin to the CNS pathogenic mechanism of JEV and HIV during the early stages of infection.

15 Nov 2020

Ultrasound reveals a possible role of SARS‐CoV‐2 in acute testicular infection

A single-center study from Wuhan in China presents ultrasound imaging evidence supporting the notion that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can cause infection of the testis or epididymis – and put patients at risk for further complications. The paper can be found in the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.

15 Nov 2020

Hearing test could help identify newborns with autism

For years, researchers have known through numerous studies that hearing and other sensory systems of adults and children who have autism differ from children or adults without autism.

12 Nov 2020

Individuals with spinal cord injury show improvements in mobility with exoskeleton-assisted walking

Exoskeletal-assisted walking is safe, feasible, and effective in individuals disabled by spinal cord injury, according to the results of a federally funded multi-site randomized clinical trial.

12 Nov 2020

Neuroscientists identify astrocytes as master 'conductors' of the brain

In the orchestra of the brain, the firing of each neuron is controlled by two notes--excitatory and inhibitory-- that come from two distinct forms of a cellular structure called synapses.

12 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2-induces temporary loss of smell in mice

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 presents the onset of olfactory dysfunction (loss of smell) in mice infected with the virus, examining this process at the cellular level. In doing so, this study throws more light on this curious symptom and COVID-19’s manifestations outside the lungs.

12 Nov 2020

Antidepressant drug fluvoxamine may prevent some serious complications of COVID-19

In a preliminary study of COVID-19 patients with mild-to-moderate disease who were attempting to recover in their homes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that the drug fluvoxamine seems to prevent some of the most serious complications of the illness and make hospitalization and the need for supplemental oxygen less likely.

12 Nov 2020

Baycrest scientists use individualized brain stimulation to treat aphasia in stroke survivors

Baycrest scientists are pioneering the use of individualized brain stimulation therapy to treat aphasia in recovering stroke patients.

12 Nov 2020

Weekly exercise linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Exercising more than once per week is associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment, research published in the open access journal Alzheimer's Research and Therapy suggests.

12 Nov 2020

Brain's taste map operates differently than previously believed

What happens in our brain that makes us experience the sweet taste of a donut or the bitter taste of tonic water? What are the patterns of neural activity responsible for the perception of taste? A new study from Stony Brook University found that the map of neural responses mediating taste perception does not involve, as previously believed, specialized groups of neurons in the brain, but rather overlapping and spatially distributed populations.

12 Nov 2020