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.

Obese teenagers at risk for brain damage, suggests new study

A new study being presented at the yearly conference of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) reports that MRI scanning of the brain shows signs of brain damage in obese adolescents – and that these signs could be the result of brain inflammation.

25 Nov 2019

Glaucoma risk increased by air pollution

The more polluted the air, the higher the risk is that those who live in that area will develop glaucoma, says an interesting new study from the UK, published today in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

25 Nov 2019

Researchers discover cellular origins of pediatric brain tumors

A research team led by Dr. Claudia Kleinman, an investigator at the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, together with Dr. Nada Jabado, of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, and Dr. Michael Taylor, of The Hospital for Sick Children, discovered that several types of highly aggressive and, ultimately, fatal pediatric brain tumors originate during brain development.

25 Nov 2019

Opioid use during pregnancy alters the baby's brain

During pregnancy, everything taken in by the mother crosses the placenta. Opioid use during pregnancy is tied to changes in the baby’s brain, a new study found.

25 Nov 2019

High school athletes with a history of concussions may be at increased risk for suicide

Concussion, the most common form of traumatic brain injury, has been linked to an increased risk of depression and suicide in adults.

25 Nov 2019

Women may be preferentially underdiagnosed for obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been considered a predominantly male disease. While more women have been diagnosed with OSA in recent years, the numbers remain disproportionate, with 3-to-5 times more men than women receiving an OSA diagnosis.

25 Nov 2019

Suspended animation in humans successfully tried for the first time

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, for the first time have put a patient in “suspended animation” successfully. Using this method, they lowered the body temperature of the human patient for the first time. This would help surgeons to prolong the time of surgery to correct traumatic injuries. The plan of their feat was published in the latest issue of the New Scientist last week.

25 Nov 2019

Tips for staying healthy during the holiday season

The holiday season is a time with family, friends and fun, but it is also a time that is filled with lots of food and sweets.

25 Nov 2019

Discovery may lead to possible treatments for autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia

Researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified that a gene critical to clearing up unnecessary proteins plays a role in brain development and contributes to the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia.

25 Nov 2019

New electrochemical CRISPR biosensor can help improve diagnosis of diseases

The CRISPR/Cas technology can do more than alter genes. A research team at the University of Freiburg is using what are known as gene scissors - which scientists can use to edit genetic material - in order to better diagnose diseases such as cancer.

25 Nov 2019

Dreams can help us react better to frightening situations

Do bad dreams serve a real purpose? To answer this question, researchers from the University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, - working in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin (USA) - analyzed the dreams of a number of people and identified which areas of the brain were activated when they experienced fear in their dreams.

25 Nov 2019

Fetuses may be able to see more than previously believed

By the second trimester, long before a baby's eyes can see images, they can detect light.

25 Nov 2019

Air pollution associated with greater risk of glaucoma

Living in a more polluted area is associated with a greater likelihood of having glaucoma, a debilitating eye condition that can cause blindness, finds a new UCL-led study in the UK.

25 Nov 2019

New hope for diagnosing, treating Alzheimer's disease

A study led by researchers at Monash University has opened up new hope for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease.

25 Nov 2019

MRI reveals signs of brain damage among obese adolescents

Biomedical imaging of obese adolescents' brains has revealed signs of damage that may be related to inflammation.

25 Nov 2019

Cancer patients have higher risk of cardiovascular death

A new study says that over 10% of patients with cancer die of unrelated cardiovascular disease (CVD) rather than their cancers.

25 Nov 2019

Head shaking to release trapped water from the ears may cause brain damage

Researchers have shown that shaking the head to release any water trapped in the ear canal may cause brain damage.

25 Nov 2019

Risk of death from heart disease found to be higher in cancer patients

More than one in ten cancer patients do not die from their cancer but from heart and blood vessel problems instead, according to new research published in the European Heart Journal today. For some cancers, like breast, prostate, endometrial, and thyroid cancer, around half will die from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

25 Nov 2019

Parents using marijuana could raise risk of addictions among offspring

Researchers from Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital at Belmont, MA have found that parents using marijuana could be raising the risk of their children picking up addictions such as marijuana, tobacco, alcohol and even opiods misuse. Their study titled, “Associations of Parental Marijuana Use With Offspring Marijuana, Tobacco, and Alcohol Use and Opioid Misuse,” was published in the latest issue of the journal JAMA Network last week.

24 Nov 2019

Thermally induced mixing technique could improve treatment of AMD

Age-related macular degeneration is the primary cause of central vision loss and results in the center of the visual field being blurred or fully blacked out. Though treatable, some methods can be ineffective or cause unwanted side effects.

23 Nov 2019