Brain News and Research

RSS

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.

Copy number variants may cause autism: Study

An international consortium of researchers from more than 70 universities, including the University of Utah, has reported that a study of nearly 2,300 people supports the growing consensus that autism is caused in part by rare genetic changes called copy number variants (CNVs).

10 Jun 2010

World's largest DNA scan reveals new genetic changes in autistic children

The world's largest DNA scan for familial autism has uncovered new genetic changes in autistic children that are often not present in their parents. Identified in less than 1 percent of the population, these rare variants occur nearly 20 percent more in autistic children.

10 Jun 2010

Researchers develop new tool for removing blood clots in brain

When someone suffers a stroke, time is critical--more than a million brain cells die each minute, starved of nourishment due to critical damage in a cerebral blood vessel.

10 Jun 2010

Men with MS may require education, support to manage their disease and therapy: Research

New research co-published by Saint Louis University and Express Scripts, Inc., suggests that men with multiple sclerosis may require more education and support to manage their disease and therapy than women with MS. Men also may benefit from more targeted adherence interventions.

10 Jun 2010

Abnormalities in the process of blood clot formation contribute to pathogenesis of AD: Research

New research suggests that abnormalities in the process of blood clot formation may contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The study, published by Cell Press in the June 10 issue of the journal Neuron, advances our understanding of the link between vascular pathology and AD and proposes a new therapeutic strategy aimed at slowing cognitive decline.

10 Jun 2010

Autism is caused in part by CNVs: Study

10 Jun 2010

Surgery through eyelids avoid major head trauma

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins have safely and effectively operated inside the brains of a dozen patients by making a small entry incision through the natural creases of an eyelid to reach the skull and deep brain.

9 Jun 2010

Intellect Neurosciences receives Notice of Allowance from Israeli patent office for OXIGON drug candidate

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc announced it has received a Notice of Allowance from the Israeli Patent and Trademark Office for a new patent related to the Company's clinical-stage drug candidate OX1 (OXIGON), which has disease-modifying potential for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders.

9 Jun 2010

New AAN guideline provides step-by-step process for determining brain death in adults

In an effort to create a uniform and accurate method for determining brain death, the American Academy of Neurology has issued an updated guideline that provides doctors with a step-by-step process for determining brain death in adults. The guideline is published in the June 8, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Jun 2010

CXCR4 protein restores brain damage in multiple sclerosis patients

A protein that helps build the brain in infants and children may aid efforts to restore damage from multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

9 Jun 2010

NWBT announces release of new detailed report by Pharmaceuticals and Biotech Analyst

Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc., developer of the DCVax personalized cancer vaccine, today announced the release of a new detailed report by Pharmaceuticals and Biotech Analyst Dr. Navid Malik of the London-based Matrix Group.

9 Jun 2010

Biofeedback training on MPA decreases performance anxiety, improves performance in musicians

Traditionally, the most successful methods used to combat stage fright have been prescribed medications (beta blockers) and aerobic exercise. In the most recent issue of Biofeedback, researchers studied another technique: the effect of biofeedback training on Musical Performance Anxiety (MPA). MPA is a severe form of stage fright marked by high anxiety levels and impaired performance.

9 Jun 2010

Promising technique to curb devastating effects of strokes

A clot vacuum cleaner that sucks out stroke-producing blockages from blood vessels in the brain sounds like science fiction. But 27 Calgary patients who were rescued from massive strokes know the endovascular procedure is for real, Dr. Mayank Goyal told the Canadian Stroke Congress today.

9 Jun 2010

Myriad Pharmaceuticals announces strategic initiatives to focus on oncology pipeline

Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced several strategic initiatives to focus the Company's efforts on its oncology pipeline and to conserve its financial resources to extend the Company's projected cash runway beyond 2013.

9 Jun 2010

FDA approves City of Hope's neural stem cell-based therapy study for recurrent high-grade gliomas

City of Hope researchers received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct the first-in-human study of a neural stem cell-based therapy targeting recurrent high-grade gliomas, the most aggressive type of brain tumor. Karen S. Aboody, M.D., associate professor in City of Hope's Department of Neurosciences, leads the research team that developed this treatment strategy. Jana Portnow, M.D., assistant professor and assistant director of the Brain Tumor Program at City of Hope, is the principal investigator for the clinical trial.

9 Jun 2010

Merck's MK-4305 improves overall sleep efficiency in primary insomnia patients

Clinical results from a Phase IIb study showed that MK-4305, Merck's investigational dual orexin receptor antagonist, was significantly more effective than placebo (p<0.005) in improving overall sleep efficiency at night one and at the end of week four in patients with primary insomnia. MK-4305 was generally well-tolerated in the study. Orexins are neuropeptides (chemical messengers) that are released by specialized neurons in the hypothalamus region of the brain and are believed to be an important regulator of the brain's sleep-wake process.

9 Jun 2010

Research findings hold promise for debilitating emotional symptoms of FXS

The study, which appears in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is also of potential therapeutic significance-it showed that a brief pharmacological treatment is capable of correcting some of these synaptic deficits in mice genetically engineered to model FXS.

9 Jun 2010

CPAP therapy effective at recouping memory abilities impaired by obstructive sleep apnea

Continuous positive airway pressure therapy helps restore memory consolidation in adults with obstructive sleep apnea, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Wednesday, June 9, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

9 Jun 2010

Switching to healthier diet can slow or reverse cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's Disease: Study

Patients in the early to moderate stages of Alzheimer's Disease could have their cognitive impairment slowed or even reversed by switching to a healthier diet, according to researchers at Temple University.

9 Jun 2010

In the news: Senate and jobs bill; Obama appeals to seniors; States' Medicaid squeeze; Beyond COBRA

Today's headlines highlights President Obama's planned visit to a senior center to tout health reform, while several columns examine insurance issues, what doctors say about electronic medical record goals and military treatment of traumatic brain injuries is investigated.

9 Jun 2010

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Copy number variants may cause autism: Study

World's largest DNA scan reveals new genetic changes in autistic children

Researchers develop new tool for removing blood clots in brain

Men with MS may require education, support to manage their disease and therapy: Research

Abnormalities in the process of blood clot formation contribute to pathogenesis of AD: Research

Autism is caused in part by CNVs: Study

Surgery through eyelids avoid major head trauma

Intellect Neurosciences receives Notice of Allowance from Israeli patent office for OXIGON drug candidate

New AAN guideline provides step-by-step process for determining brain death in adults

CXCR4 protein restores brain damage in multiple sclerosis patients

NWBT announces release of new detailed report by Pharmaceuticals and Biotech Analyst

Biofeedback training on MPA decreases performance anxiety, improves performance in musicians

Promising technique to curb devastating effects of strokes

Myriad Pharmaceuticals announces strategic initiatives to focus on oncology pipeline

FDA approves City of Hope's neural stem cell-based therapy study for recurrent high-grade gliomas

Merck's MK-4305 improves overall sleep efficiency in primary insomnia patients

Research findings hold promise for debilitating emotional symptoms of FXS

CPAP therapy effective at recouping memory abilities impaired by obstructive sleep apnea

Switching to healthier diet can slow or reverse cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's Disease: Study

In the news: Senate and jobs bill; Obama appeals to seniors; States' Medicaid squeeze; Beyond COBRA

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

Latest News