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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.

DSM, BRAIN announce strategic cooperation to develop water-soluble vitamins

DSM Nutritional Products GmbH, a subsidiary of the Dutch company Royal DSM N.V., the world's primary supplier of vitamins, carotenoids and fine chemicals and BRAIN AG, one of the leading European white biotechnology companies, announced a strategic cooperation in the biotechnological production of water-soluble vitamins.

12 Oct 2010

Teen Art Show shares teenagers' emotions in artistic fashion

With the help of the Child Life Program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 22 new pieces of art were revealed from 19 talented adolescent patients during the Teen Art Show. The artwork is on display in a hospital hallway that was transformed permanently into the Teen Art Gallery.

12 Oct 2010

Global study finds new set of genes associated with body fat distribution and obesity

Two major international studies looking at data from a quarter of a million people around the globe have found a new set of genes associated with body fat distribution and obesity. Researchers at 280 institutions worldwide, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, conducted the studies. The research, published in the October 10 online edition of Nature Genetics, sheds light on the biological processes involved in body fat distribution, possibly leading to new ways of treating obesity.

12 Oct 2010

Behavioral management and preventive medication can combat migraine: Research

The combination of preventive medication and behavioral changes offered significant relief for 77 percent of the individuals enrolled in a study aimed at combating frequent, disabling migraine headaches, according to new Ohio University research published this week in the British Medical Journal.

12 Oct 2010

UCB, Synosia Therapeutics announce new strategic partnership in neurology

UCB and Synosia Therapeutics announced today a new strategic partnership in neurology. Synosia has granted UCB a license for exclusive, worldwide rights to the development compound SYN-115 and rights to a second compound, SYN-118, for non-orphan indications. Both are in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

12 Oct 2010

Carotid artery stenting increases risk of death, stroke

For patients with blockages in the carotid artery that supplies blood to the brain, carotid artery stenting (a non-surgical treatment) appears to be associated with an increased risk of both short- and long-term adverse outcomes when compared with surgical treatment (carotid endarterectomy), according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies that was posted online today and will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

TMS therapy benefits patients with major depression: Study

In a study to determine the durability and long-term effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), psychiatric researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found the non-invasive, non-drug therapy to be an effective, long-term treatment for major depression. Results of the study were published in the October 2010 issue of Brain Stimulation, a journal published by Elsevier.

12 Oct 2010

Women with epilepsy at risk of infertility

Women with epilepsy may be more likely to experience infertility, according to new research published in the October 12, 2010, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

12 Oct 2010

Family-centered care approach may improve children's care

As physicians and scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital work to find new insights into pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases, a central tenant of any treatment plan is to keep families at the center of children's care.

12 Oct 2010

Insulin resistance increases risk of stroke in non-diabetic patients

Insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin produced by the body becomes less effective in reducing blood glucose levels, appears to be associated with an increased risk of stroke in individuals without diabetes, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

Study: Neurons interact to drive decision-making

We know that casting a ballot in the voting booth involves politics, values and personalities. But before you ever push the button for your candidate, your brain has already carried out an election of its own to make that action possible. New research from Vanderbilt University reveals that our brain accumulates evidence when faced with a choice and triggers an action once that evidence reaches a tipping point.

12 Oct 2010

Embryonic stem cells used in first trial for spinal cord injury

The first ever patient to receive treatment in a U.S. government approved study involving human embryonic stem cells has been injected with millions of the potentially life saving cells. He is presently being treated at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. He was partially paralyzed following a spinal cord injury. The center specializes in treating these types of injuries.

11 Oct 2010

Chongqing Cancer Hospital commences treatment with Varian's RapidArc radiotherapy

Chongqing Cancer Hospital in Southwest China has become the first treatment center in Southwest China to offer cancer patients a faster, more precise form of image-guided radiotherapy that potentially enables doctors to improve outcomes while extending more advanced care to more patients. Clinicians at the hospital have used RapidArc® radiotherapy from Varian Medical Systems to treat patients for cancers of the nasopharynx, cervix, breast, and lung.

11 Oct 2010

Innate Therapeutics initiates MIS416 Phase 2a clinical study in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis

Innate Therapeutics today announced that the company has begun treating patients in a Phase 2a clinical study of its lead molecule, MIS416, in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).

11 Oct 2010

Genentech initiates GDC-0449 Phase II clinical trial in BCC patients

Curis, Inc. a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced that its collaborator Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, has initiated a Phase II clinical trial of GDC-0449, an orally-administered small molecule Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor, as a single-agent therapy for patients with operable basal cell carcinoma (BCC).

11 Oct 2010

Geron commences GRNOPC1 hESC-based cell therapy in patients with spinal cord injury

Geron Corporation today announced the enrollment of the first patient in the company's clinical trial of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, GRNOPC1. The primary objective of this Phase I study is to assess the safety and tolerability of GRNOPC1 in patients with "complete" American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale grade A thoracic spinal cord injuries. Participants in the study must be newly injured and receive GRNOPC1 within 14 days of the injury.

11 Oct 2010

Part of brain reorganizes to enhance visual abilities in deaf cats

Deaf or blind people often report enhanced abilities in their remaining senses, but up until now, no one has explained how and why that could be. Researchers at The University of Western Ontario, led by Stephen Lomber of The Centre for Brain and Mind have discovered there is a causal link between enhanced visual abilities and reorganization of the part of the brain that usually handles auditory input in congenitally deaf cats. The findings, published online in Nature Neuroscience, provide insight into the plasticity that may occur in the brains of deaf people.

11 Oct 2010

MOH approves BrainStorm's NurOwn stem cell therapy for Phase I/II clinical trial

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, today announced that the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH) has granted clearance for a Phase I/II clinical trial using the company's autologous NurOwn stem cell therapy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

11 Oct 2010

TTF therapy with chemotherapy increases survival time in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Novocure reported today that patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) achieved a significant increase in survival time when tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy was added to chemotherapy, as compared to previously reported outcomes for patients receiving chemotherapy alone.

11 Oct 2010

New experimental vaccine against Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have created an experimental vaccine against beta-amyloid, the small protein that forms plaques in the brain and is believed to contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

11 Oct 2010