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.

Three hundred neurosurgeons to participate in Central Park softball tournament

With summer just around the corner, that means the Annual Neurosurgery Charity Softball Tournament will take place in Central Park for the eighth consecutive year.

30 Apr 2011

Merck first quarter sales increase 1% to $11.6 billion for 2011

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2011.

30 Apr 2011

Tips for parents to prevent child's sports injuries

With spring here and summer on the way, children are back on the field and ready to score one for the team. Unfortunately, this also means more opportunities for injury, from simple twisted ankles to serious concussions.

30 Apr 2011

Expert to present latest transplant research findings at ATC 2011

Available for expert commentary on the latest research findings presented at the 2011 American Transplant Congress in Philadelphia, April 30 to May 4, is Dr. Sandip Kapur, chief of transplant surgery and director of kidney and pancreas transplant programs at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and a leading authority on transplantation.

30 Apr 2011

Babies born to obese mothers may face risk of iron deficiency

Babies born to obese mothers are at risk for iron deficiency, which could affect infant brain development, according to a study to be presented Saturday, April 30, at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver.

30 Apr 2011

Brain function variations may increase person's risk of drug abuse

One can look at drug addiction as a moral issue, a social ill, or a criminal problem. But Lynn Oswald's experience studying the neuroscience of addiction tells her that it is something else entirely: a disease of the brain.

30 Apr 2011

University of South Florida researcher earns Everfront Award for stem cell study

Dr. Paul Sanberg, Distinguished University Professor and senior associate vice president for research and innovation at the University of South Florida, received the Everfront Award at the 4th Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cell and Cancer Research held earlier this month in Taichung, Taiwan.

30 Apr 2011

Health Canada approves Eli Lilly's Cymbalta for chronic low back pain treatment

Eli Lilly Canada announced today that Health Canada has approved Cymbalta for the management of chronic low back pain.

30 Apr 2011

ETP makes investment to support development of ICVrx's targeted epilepsy drug technology

Epilepsy Therapy Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate new therapies for people living with epilepsy and seizures, and ICVrx, LLC, a pharmacy product research and development company focused on novel therapies for central nervous system disorders, announced today that ETP has made an investment in ICVrx to support the development of ICVrx's targeted epilepsy drug technology for patients whose seizures are not controlled by current therapies.

30 Apr 2011

Improved body armor needed to protect brain from 'shell shock' injuries

29 Apr 2011

CTSN focuses on new prairie vole model for autism treatment

Researchers at the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience at Emory University are focusing on prairie voles as a new model to screen the effectiveness of drugs to treat autism.

29 Apr 2011

UMMS, RXi receive MLSC grant to develop RNAi therapeutics for ALS

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted and immunotherapy technologies, today announced that the company's proposed research collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School has been selected for Cooperative Research Matching Grant funding by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

29 Apr 2011

Shielding body protects brain from “shell shocking” blast injuries

Stronger and tougher body armor to shield the chest, abdomen and back may be just what soldiers fighting in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars need to better protect their brains from mild injuries tied to so-called “shell shock,” results of a Johns Hopkins study in mice suggest. Such mild trauma, resulting from the initial shock of exploding mines, grenades and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) now accounts for more than 80 percent of all brain injuries among U.S. troops. Some 160,000 American veteran men and women are estimated to have sustained this kind of trauma.

29 Apr 2011

Experts to present stem cell therapies for neurological disorders at Cedars-Sinai conference

Experts from stem cell programs at respected research centers around the country will present information at an April 30 conference on stem cell therapy for neurological disorders, hosted by the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in collaboration with the Genetics Policy Institute of Wellington, Fla.

29 Apr 2011

Lithium shows hope for Alzheimer’s disease

According to scientists Alzheimer’s disease, a progressively damaging motor neuron condition, could be treated by lithium, a naturally occurring element that is extremely inexpensive and already in use for other psychiatric disorders.

29 Apr 2011

New PET imaging clinical trial to improve early esophageal, lung cancer detection

Can a simple imaging test help predict the success of cancer treatment, even before the treatment is complete? To begin to answer this question, a new National Cancer Institute-funded clinical trial is using a novel PET imaging technique that could improve the early detection of tumor growth during treatment for esophageal and lung cancer.

29 Apr 2011

FDA approves orphan drug designation for Cytrx’s INNO-206 to treat pancreatic cancer

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced that its tumor-targeting pro-drug candidate INNO-206 has been approved for orphan drug designation for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer by the Office of Orphan Products Development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). CytRx holds the exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to INNO-206.

28 Apr 2011

Experts to teach athletic trainers, medical providers on sports head injuries

Top experts from around the country will be at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill later this week to teach athletic trainers and medical providers how to prevent deaths and serious injuries among high school and college athletes.

28 Apr 2011

Hepatitis B virus rebound common in patients receiving nucleoside analogs for chronic hepatitis B

A rebound of the Hepatitis B virus is common in patients receiving nucleoside analogs for chronic hepatitis B, according to a study from U-M hepatologists. But nearly 40% of the rebounds or virological breakthroughs (VBTs) were not related to antiviral drug resistance.

28 Apr 2011

Special-focus on postoperative cognitive dysfunction in older adults

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) refers to a "mild but possibly long-lasting cognitive fogginess" occurring after surgery and anesthesia. The May issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), presents a special-focus section on POCD in older adults—including the possible causes and preoperative evaluation of POCD risk.

28 Apr 2011