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.

Pradaxa capsules receive FDA approval for reducing stroke and systemic embolism risk in AFib patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) capsules to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib).

20 Oct 2010

Research paves way to understand the mechanism of leptin therapy to improve type 1 diabetes

New findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggest a novel role for the brain in mediating beneficial actions of the hormone leptin in type 1 diabetes.

20 Oct 2010

Ceregene commences enrollment in CERE-120 Phase 2b study for Parkinson's disease

Ceregene, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced today that enrollment has begun in a new double-blind sham surgery-controlled Phase 2b study evaluating CERE-120 in Parkinson's disease patients. CERE-120 is a gene therapy product that delivers the neurotrophic factor neurturin to degenerating or dying dopamine neurons. Data from the first Phase 2 clinical trial of CERE-120 are being published later this year in Lancet Neurology (to appear online October 21, 2010).

20 Oct 2010

Anticoagulant Pradaxa receives FDA approval for prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Pradaxa capsules (dabigatran etexilate) for the prevention of stroke and blood clots in patients with abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation).

20 Oct 2010

Genes and alcoholism link explored: Study

According to the latest research in the U.S., a genetic variation may protect against alcoholism, and this could lead to a novel preventative treatment. The researchers say that a gene variant known as CYP2EI is linked to people's response to alcohol.

19 Oct 2010

Scientists probe functional connectivity among neurons in auditory cortex gives rise to map of acoustic space

Just as we visually map a room by spatially identifying the objects in it, we map our aural world based on the frequencies of sounds. The neurons within the brain's "hearing center"-the auditory cortex-are organized into modules that each respond to sounds within a specific frequency band. But how responses actually emanate from this complex network of neurons is still a mystery.

19 Oct 2010

Acorda announces data of GGF2 preclinical studies for focal ischemic stroke

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc, today announced that data from preclinical studies show that Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2) promoted functional recovery following a permanent focal ischemic stroke.

19 Oct 2010

Pseudobulbar affect impacts majority of stroke survivors, but few have any understanding of condition

A survey released today by National Stroke Association shows that 53 percent of stroke survivor respondents suffer from symptoms of another neurologic condition called pseudobulbar affect (PBA), a condition thought to be caused by structural damage in the brain due to injury or disease. PBA causes involuntary and unpredictable outbursts of laughing or crying, often in socially inappropriate situations. Even though a significant proportion of stroke survivors suffer from PBA, fewer than one in five are familiar with the condition.

19 Oct 2010

'Sister' mitral cells may broadcast 2 distinct channels of information on odors to cortex

A team co-led by neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has shed light -- literally -- on circuitry underlying the olfactory system in mammals, giving us a new view of how that system may pull off some of its most amazing feats.

19 Oct 2010

Study finds process of going in and out of anesthesia as distinct neurobiological processes

A study presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists strengthens emerging evidence that the act of going under anesthesia and coming out of anesthesia are distinct neurobiological processes. It also found that the parietal region of the brain may play a critical role in how anesthesia suppresses consciousness.

19 Oct 2010

Pre-Brain Balance Program for autistic children

With the autism epidemic on the rise, Brain Balance Centers of Peachtree City & Suwanee, GA have implemented the groundbreaking Pre-Brain Balance Program to help children diagnosed with mild, moderate and severe autism spectrum disorders and reactive detachment disorders. The program is designed to improve children's listening comprehension, motor skills, core elements and verbal communication.

19 Oct 2010

DOD awards grant to develop ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device for monitoring patients with severe brain injury

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a $5 million grant to The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and the University of Cincinnati to further develop a "lab-on-a-chip" device used for monitoring patients suffering from severe brain injury.

19 Oct 2010

New ADNI-GO effort enables researchers to study Alzheimer's disease

Volunteers in New York, NY are being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years before overt symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) appear. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are specifically looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems that affect their daily activities. The study will follow participants over time, using imaging techniques specifically developed to advance research into changes taking place in the structure and function of the living brain, as well as biomarker measures found in blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

19 Oct 2010

6th Decade of the Mind Conference to be held in Singapore

A total of 15 world renowned cognitive scientists have been invited to share recent advances in their respective fields at the 6th Decade of the Mind Conference to be held at Fusionopolis from 18 - 20 October 2010. Jointly organised by A*STAR's Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), MINDEF's Defence Research & Technology Office (DRTech) and NUS's Temasek Laboratories, it is the first such conference in Asia to promote awareness of Cognitive Science research done in Asia and from around the world.

19 Oct 2010

UC awarded $2.1 million technology award to develop next generation brain monitors

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) a $2.1 million Advanced Technology/Therapeutic Development Award to develop the next generation of brain monitors.

19 Oct 2010

Researchers discover how cocaine corrupts brains' reward center

Mount Sinai researchers have discovered how cocaine corrupts the brain and becomes addictive. These findings-the first to connect activation of specific neurons to alterations in cocaine reward-were published in Science on October 15. The results may help researchers in developing new ways of treating those addicted to the drug.

19 Oct 2010

Study suggests epoD; microtubule-stabilizing drugs may treat neurodegenerative diseases

Finding a drug that can cross the blood-brain barrier is the bane of drug development for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders of the brain. A new Penn study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, has found and tested in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease a class of drug that is able to enter the brain, where it stabilizes degenerating neurons and improves memory and learning.

19 Oct 2010

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Pradaxa capsules receive FDA approval for reducing stroke and systemic embolism risk in AFib patients

Research paves way to understand the mechanism of leptin therapy to improve type 1 diabetes

Ceregene commences enrollment in CERE-120 Phase 2b study for Parkinson's disease

Anticoagulant Pradaxa receives FDA approval for prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation patients

Genes and alcoholism link explored: Study

Scientists probe functional connectivity among neurons in auditory cortex gives rise to map of acoustic space

Acorda announces data of GGF2 preclinical studies for focal ischemic stroke

Pseudobulbar affect impacts majority of stroke survivors, but few have any understanding of condition

'Sister' mitral cells may broadcast 2 distinct channels of information on odors to cortex

Study finds process of going in and out of anesthesia as distinct neurobiological processes

Pre-Brain Balance Program for autistic children

DOD awards grant to develop ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device for monitoring patients with severe brain injury

New ADNI-GO effort enables researchers to study Alzheimer's disease

6th Decade of the Mind Conference to be held in Singapore

UC awarded $2.1 million technology award to develop next generation brain monitors

Researchers discover how cocaine corrupts brains' reward center

Study suggests epoD; microtubule-stabilizing drugs may treat neurodegenerative diseases

Study: Gastric function and autonomic nervous system are impaired in obese individuals

Dopamine behind mens susceptibility to alcoholism

Researchers report breakthrough studies in liver cell transplantation

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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