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.

Eli Lilly responds to Amylin's exenatide lawsuit

Eli Lilly and Company has provided additional perspective in response to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

17 May 2011

HealthPartners prescribes walking or exercise for patients with depression

Giving pedometers to patients screened for depression, HealthPartners Medical Group (HPMG) is prescribing walking or exercise in addition to medication and/or therapy as an effective tool in helping patients with depression.

17 May 2011

Early stages of Alzheimer’s difficult to detect: Study

According to a new study, more than half of people who develop Alzheimer's disease before the age of 60 are initially misdiagnosed as having other kinds of brain disease when they do not have memory problems. The research is published in the May 17, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 May 2011

Imec, VIB and KU Leuven join forces in pioneering brain research at NERF and in the Human Brain Project

Today, Flanders' ambitious brain research that may lead to better diagnosis and treatment of brain disease, new prosthesis technologies for patients with a disability, a new generation of more intelligent robots, etc. switches into higher gear. In the presence of Ingrid Lieten, Flemish Minister of Innovation, Public Procurement, the Media and Combatting Poverty, imec, VIB and K.U.Leuven officially inaugurated the NERF (Neuro-Electronics Research Flanders) labs on the Imec campus in Leuven. The Human Brain Project was also launched on this occasion, one of the projects on the shortlist of the prestigious European Flagship Programme. Through NERF and the participation of Flanders' research institutes in the Human Brain Project, Flanders shows that it is putting progressive brain research high on its research agenda.

16 May 2011

IsoRay third fiscal quarter sales increase 17%

IsoRay Inc., announced financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2011 underscoring significant improvements in quarterly sales revenue growth both sequentially and in the prior year quarter. Sales increased 17% in the period with the Company posting a 581% gain in gross profit compared to the prior year third quarter.

16 May 2011

Amylin files lawsuit against Eli Lilly for improper commercialization of exenatide

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging that Lilly is engaging in anticompetitive activity and breaching its strategic alliance agreements with Amylin to maximize commercialization of exenatide.

16 May 2011

Scientists discover single neuron that enables adaptive regulation of sparseness in olfactory codes

The brain is a coding machine: it translates physical inputs from the world into visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile perceptions via the mysterious language of its nerve cells and the networks which they form. Neural codes could in principle take many forms, but in regions forming bottlenecks for information flow or in areas important for memory, sparse codes are highly desirable.

16 May 2011

Alzheimer's Association commends U.S. House Representatives for new legislation

As the leading advocacy, research and support organization for Alzheimer's disease, the Alzheimer's Association commends Representatives Christopher Smith and Edward Markey for their leadership in introducing the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act (H.R.1897) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

16 May 2011

Roche initiates TB-403 Phase Ib/II study in glioblastoma multiforme

ThromboGenics and co-development partner BioInvent International announce today that their partner Roche has dosed the first patient in a Phase Ib/II study with the novel antibody anti-cancer agent TB-403 (RG7334).

16 May 2011

Evidence of damaged baby brains & inadequate anesthetic induced sleep: Conference updates

According to new studies commonly used anesthetics may be causing brain damage in people, especially babies who receive them while their brains are still developing.

15 May 2011

Lower education leads to faster ageing: Study

According scientists, people who leave education with fewer qualifications are prone to age more quickly. The research was published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity on Wednesday.

15 May 2011

Researcher says a comparison with epilepsy is an appropriate prism to view economics

Since 2008, the U.S. economy has been "seizing" uncontrollably. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher says that a comparison of the multifaceted economic downturn with the uncontrolled spasms of an epileptic is not inappropriate - and may say something about the origins of the disaster.

13 May 2011

Researchers untangle two distinct ways in which tumor-suppressor protein works

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have untangled two distinct ways in which a common, naturally occurring "tumor-suppressor" protein works.

13 May 2011

Midbrain habenula region plays a key role in nicotine dependence

A person's vulnerability to nicotine addiction appears to have a genetic basis, at least in part. A region in the midbrain called the habenula plays a key role in this process, as Dr. In-s Iba-ez-Tallon and her team from the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now shown.

13 May 2011

Researchers uncover unexpected role of estrogen receptors in brain inflammation

Researchers have uncovered an unexpected role for estrogen receptors in the brain in keeping inflammation under control. The findings reported in the May 13 issue of the Cell Press journal Cell may have important implications for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and many other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 May 2011

Elevated levels of cardiac troponins T or I after angioplasty linked to long-term all-cause mortality

New research shows that elevated levels of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) or I (cTnI) in patients who had angioplasty indicate a higher risk of all-cause mortality and long-term adverse events such as heart attack.

13 May 2011

UCSD scientists discover steroid hormone that inhibits brain inflammation

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a steroid hormone that inhibits inflammation in the brain. The findings, to be published in the May 13 issue of the journal Cell, have implications for understanding the exaggerated inflammatory responses that are characteristic features of numerous neurodegenerative diseases.

13 May 2011