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.

StemCells receives Swissmedic authorization to initiate HuCNS-SC Phase I/II clinical trial in spinal cord injury

StemCells, Inc. announced today that is has received authorization from Swissmedic, the Swiss regulatory agency for therapeutic products, to initiate a Phase I/II clinical trial in Switzerland of the Company's proprietary HuCNS-SC® product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) in chronic spinal cord injury. The trial is designed to assess both safety and preliminary efficacy in patients with varying degrees of paralysis who are three to 12 months post-injury, and will progressively enroll patients based upon the severity of injury.

7 Dec 2010

OXIS introduces ErgoFlex for relief of joint pain

OXIS International, Inc. announces the market launch of ErgoFlex™, a unique new dietary supplement for the relief of joint pain. It is the first in a series of commercial products planned by OXIS. ErgoFlex is the only joint health complex containing the powerful antioxidant Ergothioneine (ERGO), and is specifically formulated to help the body fight the pain of joint inflammation and maintain optimal joint health.

7 Dec 2010

Long-term prognosis still excellent for children with seizures

Mayo Clinic researchers studied more than 200 children with epilepsy and found that even if the cause of focal-onset seizures cannot be identified and they do not fit into a known epilepsy syndrome, long-term prognosis is still excellent. This study was presented at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in San Antonio on Dec. 4.

7 Dec 2010

Expansion of newborn screening throws some families on a journey of great uncertainty

Mandatory genetic screening of newborns for rare diseases is creating unexpected upheaval for families whose infants test positive for risk factors but show no immediate signs of the diseases, a new UCLA study warns.

7 Dec 2010

Medication and blood transfusion reduce risk of recurrent strokes in young patients with sickle cell anemia

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators discuss results of research into managing iron overload associated with stroke prevention in young sickle cell patients and the search for genetic predictors of stroke risk.

7 Dec 2010

Low dose of aspirin reduces occurrence of several common cancers: Study

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has contributed to a study showing that a low dose of aspirin reduces the occurrence of several common cancers. The study is published in today's Lancet.

7 Dec 2010

Restless legs syndrome during pregnancy may reappear later on

Women with transient restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy appear to be at a higher risk of developing a chronic form of RLS later in life or have the same symptoms during future pregnancies, according to new research published in the December 7, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. RLS is a sleep-related motor disorder that causes an unpleasant feeling in the legs. The condition generally worsens during rest at night and improves with movement. Symptoms tend to progress with age.

7 Dec 2010

CSC's Leading Edge Forum: Disruptive technologies to reshape delivery of healthcare

CSC's Leading Edge Forum today released a report that identifies a new wave of disruptive technologies that will reshape the delivery of healthcare. These new technologies will help control costs while improving health by ushering in an era of wellness, self-monitoring, increased and earlier detection of disease, and more effective treatments.

7 Dec 2010

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals announces US patent for cognition enhancement

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent 7,842,683 entitled, "Neurotherapeutic Compositions and Methods."

7 Dec 2010

Boceprevir drug may cure hepatitis C

The outlook for patients with hepatitis C continues to improve as results from a clinical trial led by a Saint Louis University researcher found that the drug boceprevir helped cure hard-to-treat patients. The findings were reported at the 61st annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease's earlier in November.

7 Dec 2010

Drug prescribed for Parkinson's disease may also treat restless leg syndrome: MCG researchers

A drug prescribed for Parkinson's disease may also treat restless leg syndrome without the adverse side effects of current therapies, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

7 Dec 2010

Researchers develop new drugs to prevent post-traumatic stress syndrome

Post-traumatic stress syndrome - when a severely stressful event triggers exaggerated and chronic fear - affects nearly 8 million people in the United States and is hard to treat. In a preclinical study, Northwestern Medicine scientists have for the first time identified the molecular cause of the debilitating condition and prevented it from occurring by injecting calming drugs into the brain within five hours of a traumatic event.

7 Dec 2010

No evidence of toxicity in hemophilia B patients enrolled in gene therapy trial

Investigators report no evidence of toxicity in the four hemophilia B patients enrolled to date in a gene therapy trial using a vector under development at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and UCL (University College London) to correct the inherited bleeding disorder.

7 Dec 2010

One shot, cheap meningitis vaccine now available in Africa

As a boon to millions of children who die of meningitis, a cheap new vaccine for bacterial meningitis debuted today with the launching of an immunization drive in the West African country of Burkina Faso, in the first stage of an effort that could rid sub-Saharan Africa of the primary cause of meningitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced.

6 Dec 2010

MenAfriVac to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics

The West African nation of Burkina Faso today became the first country to begin a nationwide campaign to introduce a new meningitis vaccine that promises to rid the entire region of the primary cause of epidemic meningitis. The first vaccine designed specifically for Africa, MenAfriVac is expected to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics in the 25 countries of the meningitis belt, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east.

6 Dec 2010

Elsevier announces title change for Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics journal

Elsevier, the world's leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, announced today that its highly respected Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics journal is changing its title to Cancer Genetics and has named Dr. Jaclyn A. Biegel as editor-in-chief.

6 Dec 2010

Study confirms importance of EEG as diagnostic tool in ICU

Bleeding in and around the brain (cerebral hemorrhage, including intra-cerebral hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage among other forms), from whatever cause (stroke, ruptured aneurysm, stroke, tumor, trauma, etc) can be very irritating to the electrical cells of the brain and affect how these cells transmit signals. If cells become very irritated and/or hyperactive, seizures can occur.

6 Dec 2010

Genentech announces Phase II study results of RG1678 for treatment of schizophrenia

Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, today announced eight-week results from a Phase II study of RG1678, its investigational first-in-class glycine reuptake inhibitor for the treatment of schizophrenia.

6 Dec 2010

Incidence of EPTS in children with TBI more than twice the rate in adults: Study

In the first study to utilize continuous EEG monitoring to define the incidence of early post traumatic seizures in children compared to published rates in adults, investigators at the University of Colorado followed pediatric patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury admitted to Denver Children's Hospital over a nine month period.

6 Dec 2010