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.

Amorfix Life Sciences reports operational and year-end financial results for fiscal 2010

Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and diagnostics for the treatment of fatal neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, today announced its operational and financial results for the year ended March 31, 2010, as well as financial results for the fourth quarter.

11 Jun 2010

In vivo structure of senile plaques in brains of people with Alzheimer's disease

A team of scientists from Britain and the United States believe they may have identified the true in vivo structure of the senile plaques that are characteristically found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

11 Jun 2010

CinGx safe and effective for treating diabetes, Alzheimer’s and dementia

There is currently no cure for Diabetes, Alzheimer's and Dementia but they can be treated and prevented. Allegiance Equity developed CinGx™ as a safe and effective treatment for these diseases.

11 Jun 2010

NJIT biomedical engineer awarded $1.3M grant to develop better ways to help stroke patients

Helping stroke patients regain use of their hands and arms through innovative robotic and virtual reality-based video game therapies is the focal point of NJIT Associate Professor Sergei Adamovich, a biomedical engineer. Thanks to a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Adamovich is developing better ways to rehabilitate people who have lost control of their hands, fingers, shoulders and elbows.

11 Jun 2010

New computer program allows early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers of the University of Granada have developed a new computer program that allows early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease through processed images.

11 Jun 2010

Protein IL-10 removes Escherichia coli K1 bacterium from blood and reverses brain damage

A team of researchers at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), along with colleagues from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and the Universite Auvergne, France, have discovered an important role for a small, naturally occurring protein called interleukin-10 (IL-10) in removing bacteria from the blood of infected mice and reversing damage to the brain.

11 Jun 2010

Sleep may improve complex motor-learning task

Your performance of a complex motor-learning task such as "Guitar Hero" may improve after sleep, 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.

11 Jun 2010

Today's fathers play an active role in children's lives

Many of today's dads are more involved in the day-to-day lives of their children, says Heidi Sallee, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University.

11 Jun 2010

Research may lead to better treatments for depression and substance abuse

In what has been hailed as a breakthrough, scientists from Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College have outlined the molecular mechanism of membrane transport. The research shows how a protein transforms its shape to transport substances across the cell membrane in order to regulate transmission of the brain's messages across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another.

11 Jun 2010

Study offers new insights into how brain chooses between behaviors that are critical for survival

A team of biologists has isolated genes that regulate the sleep-feeding conflict. The study, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology, offers new insights into how the brain chooses between behaviors that are critical for survival.

11 Jun 2010

mPFC dysfunction contributes to compulsive seeking of sexual behavior

Sex "addiction" is a concept that has had particularly high visibility recently with the publicity associated with Tiger Woods. Persons with addictive or compulsive disorders frequently display an inability to inhibit behaviors once they become maladaptive, despite adverse consequences of their behavior. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a brain region involved in decision-making and behavioral flexibility, and it has been identified as a potential mediator of behavioral inhibition.

11 Jun 2010

Ginkgo extract EGb 761 promotes formation of new nerve cells, cell connections in brain's memory center

US scientists have shown that the Ginkgo extract EGb 761® promotes the formation of new nerve cells and new cell connections in the hippocampus, the brain's memory center. According to Professor Yuan Luo from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, the Ginkgo constituents responsible for these effects are quercetin and bilobalide.

11 Jun 2010

Hypertension linked to severity of bipolar disorders

Nearly half of patients hospitalized with bipolar disorder may suffer from hypertension, and the younger a person is diagnosed with the psychiatric condition the more likely they are to develop high blood pressure, according to a recent Michigan State University study.

11 Jun 2010

Botox reduces short-term pain in thoracic outlet syndrome patients

Made popular for its ability to smooth wrinkles when injected into the face, Botox - a toxin known to weaken or paralyze certain nerves and muscles - may have another use that goes beyond the cosmetic.

11 Jun 2010

Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology forms joint venture with SiriCell Technologies

Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Co. Ltd., China's leading stem cell research and regenerative medicine company, announced the formation of Beike Holdings Limited a joint venture with Bangkok-based SiriCell Technologies, Inc. Beike Holdings, which is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, will focus primarily on the establishment of new international subsidiaries and the development of collaborative hospital partnerships with Southeast Asia's leading healthcare providers.

11 Jun 2010

FDA advisory committee recommends approval of Novartis' FTY720 for relapsing MS

Today, an advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended approval of FTY720 (fingolimod) for the treatment of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease. The FDA has the option of seeking the advice of one of its advisory committees as it reviews and decides whether to approve a new treatment. The committee voted unanimously that FTY720 demonstrated substantial efficacy in treating relapsing remitting MS and that safety of the proposed 0.5 mg dose justified approval.

11 Jun 2010

Dim and demented under the influence of cannabis

New research shows what many Cannabis users have suspected or known for a while, continuous use can lead to dimmer brains. Australia ranks among the world's highest cannabis users and this puts the population at a high risk of developing dementia say researchers.

10 Jun 2010

Researchers develop new computer program for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers of the University of Granada have developed a new computer program that allows early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease through processed images. This new system has enhanced successful early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease up to 90%, which is an important progress within this area of study.

10 Jun 2010

Quark Pharmaceuticals closes $10M private financing round

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced the closing of a private financing by the existing investors of Quark totaling an aggregate of $10 million. The investors are funds of the prestigious SBI Holdings Group in Japan. In connection with the financing, Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings, Inc. and Mr. Robert Takeuchi, Director of SBI Investment Co., Ltd. will become members of the Quark board of directors.

10 Jun 2010

Nativis awarded patents in Japan, China, India for drug signal technology

Nativis, Inc., a La Jolla, Calif.-based life science company, has been issued patents in Japan, China and India for its innovative technology that captures the unique signals of approved drugs at the atomic level and then delivers the signal in a solution to treat serious illnesses. The technology, which also has U.S., Canadian and Australian patents, promises to transform the treatment of diseases, including those for which there are no known cures, such as brain cancer.

10 Jun 2010