Brain News and Research

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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.

Patients with rheumatic diseases reported antimalarial drug shortages during COVID-19

A new study shows that patients with rheumatic diseases across Africa, Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe had trouble filling their prescriptions of antimalarial drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, during the 2020 global coronavirus pandemic, when antimalarials were touted as a possible COVID-19 treatment.

6 Nov 2020

Study: Genetically edited form of herpes simplex virus outperforms leading vaccine candidate

A genetically edited form of a herpes simplex virus -- rewired to keep it from taking refuge in the nervous system and eluding an immune response -- has outperformed a leading vaccine candidate in a new study from the University of Cincinnati, Northwestern University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

6 Nov 2020

How do low levels of oxygen damage the brain?

In this interview, Professor Paul Tesar and Kevin Allan speak to News-Medical about how low levels of oxygen damage the brain.

6 Nov 2020

Researchers solve an ancient mystery that may treat neurological, blood pressure disorders

Researchers from the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI) and Umeå University wanted to improve the treatment of nerve agent poisoning.

6 Nov 2020

Deciphering heart-brain talk may help unlock the key to cardiovascular disease

The crosstalk of the heart and brain is continuous and deciphering those messages may help researchers unlock the key to cardiovascular disease, says Deeptankar DeMazumder, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

6 Nov 2020

Reducing the airborne transmission risk for SARS-CoV-2

Rapid Reviews: COVID-19 (RR:C19), an open-access overlay journal published by the MIT Press that accelerates peer review of COVID-19-related research preprints, is currently soliciting reviews of the following COVID-19 preprints.

6 Nov 2020

Study uses non-invasive technique to help veterans with depression, concussion

Studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive technique, to help veterans and active-duty service members living with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other lasting consequences of concussion have shown promise.

6 Nov 2020

Fear circuit extends far beyond the amygdala, research shows

When a frightful creature startles you, your brain may activate its fear-processing circuitry, sending your heart racing to help you escape the threat.

5 Nov 2020

Researchers gain novel insights into the role of autophagy in neurons

It appears that autophagy protects our neurons in the brain, but evidently for entirely different reasons than previously assumed, as researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) and Charité in Berlin have now shown.

5 Nov 2020

Report: 800 million children have dangerously high lead levels in blood

As many as 800 million children have dangerously high lead values in their blood. The neurotoxin can cause permanent brain damage.

5 Nov 2020

COVID-19 patients who experience strokes appear to have worse outcomes

People who experience strokes while infected with COVID-19 appear to be left with greater disability after the stroke, according a study led by UCL and UCLH researchers.

5 Nov 2020

Repurposing an anxiety drug to increase the efficacy of therapies for metastatic melanoma

There are times when adding something new to the mix makes it better. Give Popeye some spinach, and you've got a fighting machine. Give Mario a mushroom, and he becomes invincible. Without drinking a potion, Alice in Wonderland would never fit through the door.

5 Nov 2020

Study investigates the ebb and flow of brain ventricles

Enlarged ventricles in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis were previously considered a sign of tissue loss.

5 Nov 2020

Mice study finds gene that controls food cravings, desire to exercise

National Institutes of Health researchers have discovered a gene in mice that controls the craving for fatty and sugary foods and the desire to exercise.

5 Nov 2020

HKUST researchers identify new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have identified new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease (AD) by studying the patients' brain with a newly-developed methodology.

5 Nov 2020

Super-resolution images of functioning and pathologically altered nerve cells

Three experts for super-resolution microscopy jointly want to obtain better images of functioning and pathologically altered nerve cells. The European Research Council ERC is funding them with eleven million euros.

5 Nov 2020

Cleveland Clinic receives $2.6 million NIA grant to develop automated screening for cognitive decline

Cleveland Clinic has been awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to develop and validate two automated tools - a risk calculator to identify patients at high risk of cognitive decline and a screening tool to test for cognitive decline.

5 Nov 2020

Neuroscientists receive ERC Synergy Grant to explore the neural basis of cognition

A Norwegian-Israeli team of neuroscientists has been awarded an ERC Synergy Grant to explore the biological basis of spatial operations in the brain.

5 Nov 2020

Scientists use gene therapy to regenerate damaged optic nerve fibers

Scientists have used gene therapy to regenerate damaged nerve fibers in the eye, in a discovery that could aid the development of new treatments for glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide.

5 Nov 2020

Researchers study link between gut microbiome and the brain in humans, rodents

Despite extensive support for relationships between the gut microbiome and the brain (the "microbiota-gut-brain axis") in humans and rodents, little is known about these relationships in other animals, leaving questions about this system's generality.

5 Nov 2020