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.

New findings could yield effective therapies for multiple sclerosis

14 Sep 2009

Results further support the benefits of TYSABRI for multiple sclerosis patients

Biogen Idec and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today announced six-month results of an ongoing, one-year longitudinal, observational, patient-reported outcomes study showing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients taking TYSABRI- (natalizumab) experienced an improvement in both their physical function and psychological well-being.

14 Sep 2009

Scientific program to treat and prevent mental disorders

Mental disorders are a global problem and represent one of the biggest challenges for health care systems. In the world, there are some 500 million people suffering from mental disorders, and in the European Union, mental disorders range as one of the leading causes of disease burden.

14 Sep 2009

High-fat foods can induce binge eating

Findings from a new UT Southwestern Medical Center study suggest that fat from certain foods we eat makes its way to the brain. Once there, the fat molecules cause the brain to send messages to the body's cells, warning them to ignore the appetite-suppressing signals from leptin and insulin, hormones involved in weight regulation.

14 Sep 2009

Oral NKTR-118 has low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions

Nektar Therapeutics presented clinical study data today demonstrating that the oral tablet formulation of NKTR-118 has favorable systemic bioavailability and a low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions.

14 Sep 2009

AAN's ability to mimic the human brain helps diagnose cardiac infections

Mayo Clinic researchers say that "teachable software" designed to mimic the human brain may help them diagnose cardiac infections without an invasive exam. Those findings are being presented today at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco.

14 Sep 2009

Monoamine oxidases responsible for personality and behaviour

Antisocial and aggressive behaviours represent a widespread and expensive social problem. Recent research has convincingly shown that there is a strong interaction between genetic inheritance and environment for development of personality and behaviour.

14 Sep 2009

Health industry leaders optimistic on reform, though qualms remain

Industry analysts say insurers may not "have much to fear" from reform proposals, though the industry has been portrayed as "the system's main villains," the New York Times reports. Though Obama deployed several horror stories about insurers in his speech, he also said, "I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business," and minimized the importance of the Democrat-supported, insurer-feared public health insurance plan.

11 Sep 2009

Ohio health care lobbyist pays $30,000 a year for health insurance

KHN reports on a Columbus, Ohio, health care lobbyist who writes a monthly check of $2,556 for his family's health insurance. "His insurance rates soared over the past decade after his daughter, Lauren, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and his wife, Trish, developed breast cancer.

11 Sep 2009

Immigration and education policies to impact United states' leadership in science and discovery

Immigration and education policy experts gathered on Capitol Hill today to address the impact of policies related to U.S. medical innovation. The briefing, titled Education & Immigration: The Building Blocks of Innovation, was sponsored by the Council for American Medical Innovation as the first in a three-part series, Recovery Through Discovery, which examines medical innovation as a driver of U.S. economic recovery and enhanced global leadership in science.

11 Sep 2009

Mayo study raises hope for treating multiple sclerosis

A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS patients' outcomes. This study will be presented at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2009.

11 Sep 2009

Results from the BRITE-MD trials published in Psychiatry Research: Aspect Medical Systems

Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASPM) today announced that two companion articles highlighting results from the BRITE-MD (Biomarkers for Rapid Identification of Treatment Effectiveness trial in Major Depression) were published in the September issue of the journal Psychiatry Research.

11 Sep 2009

Cymbalta maintains reduction in pain for patients with chronic low back pain

New data show patients with chronic low back pain on Cymbalta(R) (duloxetine HCl) maintained reductions in pain for 41 weeks. In patients who initially responded to duloxetine, this maintenance of pain reduction was accompanied by further reduction in pain that was statistically significant as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain rating.

11 Sep 2009

Newly established Edward Neurosciences Institute to provide advanced stroke care in Chicago

Edward Hospital announced today that it has established the Edward Neurosciences Institute in affiliation with the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation to bring the highest level of stroke care in the world to the west and southwest suburbs of Chicago.

11 Sep 2009

Merck update on the status of telcagepant clinical development programs

Merck & Co., Inc. today updated the status of the clinical development programs for telcagepant (MK-0974) and MK-3207, the Company's investigational oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists for the intermittent treatment of acute migraine.

11 Sep 2009

Study investigating the effect of FTO obesity gene in relation to food habits

The risk of becoming obese is 2.5 times higher for those who have double copies of the best known risk gene for overweight and obesity. However, this is only true if the fat consumption is high. A low fat diet neutralizes the harmful effects of the gene.

11 Sep 2009

Biomarkers for rapid identification of treatment effectiveness in major depression

Now, based on the final results of a nationwide study led by UCLA, clinicians may be able to accurately predict within a week whether a particular drug will be effective by using a non-invasive test that takes less than 15 minutes to administer. The test will allow physicians to quickly switch patients to a more effective treatment, if necessary.

11 Sep 2009

Universal American allies with Nifty after Fifty

Universal American Corp. is pleased to announce a strategic alliance with Nifty after Fifty(“NaF”), a company that operates health and wellness centers focused primarily on the senior community.

11 Sep 2009

ABTA launches new research program on brain tumor therapy

The American Brain Tumor Association has launched a new Special Projects Discovery Grant program to support fresh and creative research ideas for solving the challenges of brain tumor diagnosis and treatment.

11 Sep 2009

TrKA and CCM2 combination results in pediatric tumour regression

Why are some pediatric cancers able to spontaneously regress? Prof. Michael Fainzilber and his team of the Weizmann Institute's Biological Chemistry Department seem to have unexpectedly found part of the answer. Further research towards a better understanding of the mechanism of action might hopefully lead, in the future, to the development of drugs that will be able to induce regression of certain tumors.

10 Sep 2009