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.

CHLA, House Research Institute and University of Verona to advance ABI use in children

House Research Institute and Children's Hospital Los Angeles have announced an international consortium with the University of Verona in Italy to collaborate on teaching and research to advance the use of the Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) in children worldwide.

11 Sep 2012

New method can measure methyl mercury at unprecedentedly small concentrations

A strip of glass covered in hairy nanoparticles can cheaply and conveniently measure mercury, which attacks the nervous system, and other toxic metals in fluids.

11 Sep 2012

Babies' ability to detect complex rules in language outshines that of adults

New research examining auditory mechanisms of language learning in babies has revealed that infants as young as three months of age are able to automatically detect and learn complex dependencies between syllables in spoken language.

11 Sep 2012

Researchers gain new insight into regulation of adult nerve cell generation in the hypothalamus

Researchers from the University of Utah have gained new insight into the regulation of adult nerve cell generation in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates many aspects of behavior, mood, and metabolism.

11 Sep 2012

People with MCI are impaired in several aspects of executive functioning

By the time older adults are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the brain damage is irreparable. For now, modern medicine is able to slow the progression of the disease but is incapable of reversing it. What if there was a way to detect if someone is on the path to Alzheimer's before substantial and non-reversible brain damage sets in?

11 Sep 2012

Combining two drugs may offer new and potent punch against cancer and other diseases

A new study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College shows combining two already-FDA approved drugs may offer a new and potent punch against diseases in which blood vessel growth is abnormal -- such as cancer, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis.

11 Sep 2012

Oxyphenbutazone can kill drug resistant TB

An off-patent anti-inflammatory drug that costs around two cents for a daily dose in developing countries has been found by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College to kill both replicating and non-replicating drug resistant tuberculosis in the laboratory -- a feat few currently approved TB drugs can do, and resistance to those is spreading.

11 Sep 2012

Researchers discover how to store diverse forms of artificial short-term memories in brain tissue

Ben W. Strowbridge, PhD, Professor of Neurosciences and Physiology/Biophysics, and Robert A. Hyde, a fourth year MD/PhD student in the neurosciences graduate program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, have discovered how to store diverse forms of artificial short-term memories in isolated brain tissue.

11 Sep 2012

American footballers at high risk for neurodegenerative death

Professional American Football players are significantly more likely to die from a neurodegenerative disease than the general public, say US researchers.

10 Sep 2012

MRI workers experience transient neurocognitive effects

Individuals working in the vicinity of magnetic resonance imaging machines may experience transient neurocognitive effects when moving their heads, research demonstrates.

10 Sep 2012

Florida Hospital Tampa adopts FDA approved Trevo Pro Clot Retriever

Florida Hospital Tampa and Dr. James E. Lefler are the first in the Tampa Bay area to adopt the new FDA approved device called the Trevo Pro Clot Retriever manufactured by Stryker. The Trevo Pro is the next generation in clot removal technology.

10 Sep 2012

Women at increased risk of adverse outcomes after surgery for moyamoya disease

Women and girls are at increased risk of adverse outcomes after surgical treatment for moyamoya disease, an uncommon but serious disease of the brain blood vessels, reports a study in the September issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

10 Sep 2012

Phase III data for Suvorexant, an investigational insomnia medicine, announced

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new data for suvorexant, the investigational medicine Merck is developing for the treatment of insomnia. The new data are from one of the longest, continuously-dosed, placebo-controlled trials of a sleep medication ever conducted.

10 Sep 2012

Concussion: an interview with Dr Rob Reid

Concussion happens when something produces a concussive force to the head, such as a blow to the head. The definition from the 2008 consensus, which was in Zurich, is, “concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces.”

10 Sep 2012

Researchers identify many potential therapeutic targets for squamous cell lung cancers

A new paper published online in Nature holds out hope that people with the second most common type of lung cancer may one day benefit from targeted therapies that have transformed treatments for other lung cancer patients.

10 Sep 2012

Study measures cost-effectiveness of on-site rapid HIV testing in drug abuse treatment programs

Less than half of community-based substance abuse treatment programs in the United States currently make HIV testing available on-site or through referral. A new study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College shows the cost-effectiveness of integrating on-site rapid HIV testing into drug treatment programs.

10 Sep 2012

TauRx initiates LMTX Phase 3 trial in Pick's Disease

TauRx Therapeutics today announced the initiation of a global Phase 3 clinical trial in a type of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) also known as Pick's Disease. The announcement, which immediately follows The 8th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias, held 5-7 September in Manchester, England, underscores the need for new treatments for this form of dementia that is similar to Alzheimer's Disease, except that it tends to damage different areas of the brain and affects people as early as 40 years old.

10 Sep 2012

Baylor Health Care System raises awareness about atrial fibrillation

An estimated 2.5 million Americans suffer from irregular heartbeats-also known as atrial fibrillation. Baylor Health Care System is raising awareness about this often misunderstood, but potentially life changing cardiovascular condition whose incidence is on the rise and expected to more than double by 2050.

10 Sep 2012

Soy-rich diet can mitigate effects of bisphenol A

New research led by researchers at North Carolina State University shows that exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) early in life results in high levels of anxiety by causing significant gene expression changes in a specific region of the brain called the amygdala. The researchers also found that a soy-rich diet can mitigate these effects.

10 Sep 2012

New strategy will have positive impact on people with brain disorders

New research offers a possible strategy for treating central nervous system diseases, such as brain and spinal cord injury, brain cancer, epilepsy, and neurological complications of HIV. The experimental treatment method allows small therapeutic agents to safely cross the blood-brain barrier in laboratory rats by turning off P-glycoprotein, one of the main gatekeepers preventing medicinal drugs from reaching their intended targets in the brain.

10 Sep 2012