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.

Sunovion announces results from LATUDA open-label study for schizophrenia

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced results from an open-label study that switched clinically stable, but symptomatic adult outpatients with schizophrenia from other antipsychotic agents to LATUDA.

10 May 2012

Study compares three new methods to study disorders of consciousness

Disorders of consciousness such as coma or a vegetative state caused by severe brain injury are poorly understood and their diagnosis has relied mainly on patient responses and measures of brain activity. However, new functional and imaging-based diagnostic tests that measure communication and signaling between different brain regions may provide valuable information about the potential for consciousness in patients unable to communicate. These innovative approaches are described and compared in a Review article in the groundbreaking neuroscience journal Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

10 May 2012

Hot sauce ingredient could play a role in future of weight loss

According to research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), the ingredient that gives hot sauce its heat could play a role in the future of weight loss.

10 May 2012

Discovery Labs reports data from SURFAXIN preclinical study on RDS

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., a specialty biotechnology company dedicated to advancing a new standard in respiratory critical care, reported that data from a preclinical study of SURFAXIN LS (lyophilized KL4 surfactant) was recently published in the May issue of Pediatric Research.

10 May 2012

KLF15 molecule inhibits action of estrogen in the endometrium

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a molecule that inhibits the action of estrogen. This female hormone plays a key role in the growth, maintenance and repair of reproductive tissues and fuels the development of endometrial and breast cancers.

10 May 2012

Scientists pinpoint mechanism essential for memory formation

Now, in a study that appears in the May 10, 2012 issue of the journal Neuron, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have pinpointed a mechanism that is essential for forming memories in the first place and, as it turns out, is equally essential for eliminating them after memories have formed.

10 May 2012

LWW wins 21 awards in 15 categories from ASHPE

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), part of Wolters Kluwer Health, is pleased to announce that it has won 21 awards in 15 categories, which is a record number of wins in a single year for LWW overall. ASHPE's 12th annual awards competition recognizes member articles and publications for editorial, design, print, and online award categories.

10 May 2012

Chronic exposure to cocaine drives structural changes in the brain

Chronic exposure to cocaine reduces the expression of a protein known to regulate brain plasticity, according to new, in vivo research on the molecular basis of cocaine addiction. That reduction drives structural changes in the brain, which produce greater sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine.

10 May 2012

Janssen submits XARELTO sNDA with FDA to reduce risk of stent thrombosis in ACS patients

Janssen Research & Development, LLC announced today that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for the use of XARELTO, an oral anticoagulant, to reduce the risk of stent thrombosis in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome.

10 May 2012

Combination of Pressure Right device and antiemetics effective in reducing PONV

Pressure Point Inc. stated in a recent press release that in a peer reviewed research article appearing in the Anesthesia & Analgesia Journal last month entitled: Use of Disposable Acupressure Device, its Pressure Right acustimulation disposable (adhesive) wrist device confirmed a positive advantage when used as part of a multimodal antiemetic regimen. The clinical effects of the Pressure Right acupressure technique in a sham-controlled study comparison demonstrated a definite impact in reducing PONV.

9 May 2012

Study shows effects of psychotropic drug treatment on brain morphology

It is increasingly recognized that chronic psychotropic drug treatment may lead to structural remodeling of the brain. Indeed, clinical studies in humans present an intriguing picture: antipsychotics, used for the treatment of schizophrenia and psychosis, may contribute to cortical gray matter loss in patients, whereas lithium, used for the treatment of bipolar disorder and mania, may preserve gray matter in patients.

9 May 2012

Free whooping cough vaccine cut concerns experts

Heath experts are concerned that parents and carers of newborn babies will stop getting the whooping cough vaccine after the state government cut its free immunisation program in the midst of a fatal epidemic.

9 May 2012

Highlights of orthopaedic research studies in JBJS

Below are highlights of orthopaedic research studies appearing in the May 2, 2012 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), as well as the issue's full Table of Contents.

9 May 2012

Non-drug therapy with NeuroStar TMS improves depression symptoms and QOL

New data released today at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association show that patients with unipolar, non-psychotic Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with NeuroStar TMS Therapy achieved significant improvements in both depression symptoms and in quality of life measurements.

9 May 2012

Results reported for clinical trial for the treatment of depression using external trigeminal nerve stimulation

Earlier today, at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Dr. Ian Cook, Principal Investigator and Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA, and a Senior Medical Advisor to NeuroSigma, Inc., presented the results of a Phase Ib open-label clinical trial that studied the effects of eTNS™ on depressive symptoms in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy. Results from the 17-question Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17), a clinician-rated scale, showed a 50.0% reduction in depression and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a self-reported scale, showed a 58.0% reduction in scores. Both scales achieved statistical significance. In the trial, subjects placed stimulating eTNS™ electrodes on their foreheads for 8 hours each night and their depression was measured every two weeks using recognized standard tests. eTNS was well tolerated and no serious adverse events occurred during the 8-week treatment period.

9 May 2012

Rutin may inhibit formation of blood clots

A compound called rutin, commonly found in fruits and vegetables and sold over the counter as a dietary supplement, has been shown to inhibit the formation of blood clots in an animal model of thrombosis.

9 May 2012

Younger athletes and females take longer to recover from concussions

New research out of Michigan State University reveals female athletes and younger athletes take longer to recover from concussions, findings that call for physicians and athletic trainers to take sex and age into account when dealing with the injury.

9 May 2012

Two studies suggest long-term value of Deplin in treating MDD

Two studies presented this week at the 164th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association suggest the long-term value of Deplin (L-methylfolate 15mg) in treating major depressive disorder (MDD) and describe subsets of patients who may benefit more robustly from this medical food.

9 May 2012

Study shows how adolescent cannabis use can cause schizophrenia

New research from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) published in Nature's Neuropsychopharmacology has shown physical changes to exist in specific brain areas implicated in schizophrenia following the use of cannabis during adolescence. The research has shown how cannabis use during adolescence can interact with a gene, called the COMT gene, to cause physical changes in the brain.

9 May 2012