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.

Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital offers behavioral testing for children

Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital now provides neuropsychological assessments and testing for children ages 5 to 18 who are exhibiting behavioral issues or academic difficulties.

4 Nov 2009

Possible cure for Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Iowa State University have found an essential key to possibly cure Parkinson's disease and are looking for others.

4 Nov 2009

Safeguard Scientifics reports financial results for the third quarter of 2009

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that third quarter consolidated net loss from continuing operations attributable to Safeguard common shareholders was $11.6 million, or $0.57 per share, compared with a net loss of $4.1 million, or $0.20 per share, in the same period of 2008.

4 Nov 2009

FDA approves SPA Protocol Amendment for Lucanix Phase III clinical trial

NovaRx Corporation announced today that the Company has successfully negotiated and received FDA approval for a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) Protocol Amendment to the pivotal Lucanix® Phase III clinical trial in patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).

4 Nov 2009

Comparative study reveals similar brain networks in human and monkey brains

A study published this week in PNAS provides a comprehensive comparative functional anatomy study in human and monkey brains which reveals highly similar brain networks preserved across evolution.

4 Nov 2009

International Omega-3 Awareness Day to educate public about proven health benefits of omega-3

Scientific evidence of the health benefits of omega-3's are now so firmly established that omega-3 expert Carol A. Locke, MD, with a team of world-renowned doctors, has spearheaded the first ever International Omega-3 Awareness Day on March 3rd, 2010. Learn more at www.Omega3Day.com.

4 Nov 2009

Cannabinoids play an important role in stress-related disorders: Study

Use of cannabinoids (marijuana) could assist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder patients. This is exposed in a new study carried out at the Learning and Memory Lab in the University of Haifa's Department of Psychology. The study, carried out by research student Eti Ganon-Elazar under the supervision of Dr. Irit Akirav, was published in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience.

4 Nov 2009

Researchers to find better ways to manage chronic pain by treating neuroinflammation

Thanks to a two year, $974,024 NIH-funded ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) grant, Saint Louis University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville researchers are working to find better ways to manage chronic pain by treating neuroinflammation.

4 Nov 2009

Non-small cell lung cancer patients who undergo PCI decrease their risk of developing brain metastases

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with preventative brain radiation (called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI), significantly decrease their risk of developing brain metastases (cancer spread in the brain) by more than 50 percent (from 18 percent to 8 percent), compared to those who did not receive the treatment, according to a randomized study presented at the plenary session November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

Eating a meal quickly curtails the release of hormones in the gut and can lead to overeating

According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), eating a meal quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release of hormones in the gut that induce feelings of being full. The decreased release of these hormones, can often lead to overeating.

4 Nov 2009

Inner sense of cardiovascular state relies on two independent pathways, shows study

A new study suggests that the inner sense of our cardiovascular state, our "interoceptive awareness" of the heart pounding, relies on two independent pathways, contrary to what had been asserted by prominent researchers.

4 Nov 2009

Referenced-EEG outperforms STAR*D treatment in depression care

CNS Response, Inc. reported the results of a landmark study presented by Charles DeBattista, D.M.H, M.D., at the U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress.

4 Nov 2009

Laser-scanning microscope records brain activity in freely moving animals

The majority of our life is spent moving around a static world and we generate our impression of the world using visual and other senses simultaneously. It is the ability to freely explore our environment that is essential for the view we form of our local surroundings.

4 Nov 2009

Program to address neuroscientific progress in pain management

On November 13, the Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies will present the lecture “From a Neuroscience of Pain to a Neuroethics of Care” by Prof. James Giordano, internationally known for his work on the neuroscience and neuroethics of pain.

4 Nov 2009

Advanced equipment targets radiation to specific areas in the brain

Radiation oncologists at Rush University Medical Center are intent on finding ways to avoid damage to the critically important hippocampus and limbic circuit of the brain when cranial radiation is required to treat existing or potential metastatic cancers.

4 Nov 2009

Eat slowly to avoid overeating

4 Nov 2009

Coffee affects quality of daytime recovery sleep

Night-shift workers should avoid drinking coffee if they wish to improve their sleep, according to research published in the journal Sleep Medicine. A new study led by Julie Carrier, a Universit- de Montr-al psychology professor and a researcher at the affiliated H-pital du Sacr--C-ur Sleep Disorders Centre, has found the main byproduct of coffee, caffeine, interferes with sleep and this side-effect worsens as people age.

4 Nov 2009

Pfizer and Medivation initiate dimebon trials in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Pfizer Inc and Medivation, Inc. today announced the initiation of CONTACT and CONSTELLATION, two Phase 3 trials of the investigational drug dimebon (latrepirdine)* in patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

4 Nov 2009

Study: Estrogen replacement may help protect brain damage

Eighteen years ago this month the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it would sponsor a landmark study to examine women and cardiovascular disease. Known as the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), the study enrolled more than 161,000 women.

4 Nov 2009

$Optic nerve sheath meningioma patients can be cured using fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy$

Optic nerve sheath meningioma patients can be cured using fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy

Optic nerve sheath meningiomas are rare tumors that are traditionally treated with surgery, which is typically a blinding procedure. However, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have found that a specialized type of radiation therapy offers the same local control, with fewer adverse effects on vision.

4 Nov 2009