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.

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

CytRx granted patent for molecular chaperone amplifier drug candidate

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, today announced that it has been granted a key patent by the European Patent Office that covers through 2024 the use of its orally available molecular chaperone amplifier drug candidate arimoclomol for the treatment or prevention of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

10 Sep 2009

Scientist awarded grant to study the role of VENs in quick decision making

A scientist at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to help study a rare cell type that is believed to play a role in quick decision making and intuition. Abnormalities in this cell type have been seen in people suffering from autism and dementia.

10 Sep 2009

Vitro Diagnostics' novel stem cell technology for cancer treatment

Vitro Diagnostics, Inc., dba Vitro Biopharma, announced advances in its adult stem cell products and technology with application to cell-based therapy of cancer. With the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy from brain cancer, we are reminded of such aggressive cancers without effective treatment.

10 Sep 2009

Human neural stem cells to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) announced today that it will soon initiate with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the therapeutic potential of StemCells’ proprietary HuCNS-SC® product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a myelination disorder that primarily affects infants and young children.

10 Sep 2009

Protox' Phase 2 study of PRX302 for treating BPH provides positive results

Protox Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: PRX), a leader in the development of receptor targeted fusion proteins, today announced positive 12 month data from its open-label Phase 2 study of PRX302 in males with moderate to severe benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The study results indicate that those patients who received an optimal dose of PRX302 continued to demonstrate significant symptomatic relief at 12 months following a single treatment.

10 Sep 2009

Stroke rehabilitation technology to improve patients' quality of life

Stroke rehabilitation technology which patients can operate in their own homes while playing computer games, is being developed by academics at the University of Southampton.

10 Sep 2009

Acorda Therapeutics announces Phase 3 Fampridine-SR trial findings

Data from a long-term open-label extension study from the first Phase 3 Fampridine-SR trial, known as MS-F203, showed that 24.9% of extension study participants with multiple sclerosis (MS) met the criteria as Extension Timed Walk Responders (ETWRs) after one year of treatment and demonstrated improved walking speed over a two year period.

10 Sep 2009

Medical liability reforms will hold down defensive medicine costs

President Obama, in his address to a joint session of Congress tonight, stated that “defensive medicine” does contribute to unnecessary costs in healthcare and will now explore options for medical liability reform. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) applaud the President’s inclusion of this key element as lawmakers move forward with an overall healthcare reform plan.

10 Sep 2009

New treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis

The drawback in the new immunotherapies in multiple sclerosis (MS) includMe severe infections that can be fatal. For example, treatment with natalizumab, which reduces the immune surveillance of the brain, can lead to the development of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a typically fatal form of viral encephalitis.

10 Sep 2009

Special issue of Optometry & Vision Development explores autism

Autism. What is its cause? How does it affect brain anatomy, electrophysiology, visual function and perception? What must we do to meet the needs of these patients? How can optometrists as health care providers be in the vanguard for screening for this spectrum of disorders?

10 Sep 2009

Nanobio hybrids for brain cancer therapy

In an advance toward better treatments for the most serious form of brain cancer, scientists in Illinois are reporting development of the first nanoparticles that seek out and destroy brain cancer cells without damaging nearby healthy cells. The study is scheduled for the Sept. 9 issue of ACS' Nano Letters, a monthly journal.

10 Sep 2009

Brain's SCN is the master clock that synchronizes other biological clocks in the body

Alexis Webb enters a small room at Washington University in St. Louis with walls, floor and ceiling painted dark green, shuts the door, turns off the lights and bends over a microscope in a black box draped with black cloth. Through the microscope, she can see a single nerve cell on a glass cover slip glowing dimly.

10 Sep 2009

Roche Group and ImmunoCellular Therapeutics sign research agreement regarding ICT-69 antibody

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, announced today that it has entered into a research and license option agreement regarding its ICT-69 antibody with Roche Group (SWX: ROG.VX; RO.S, OTCQX: RHHBY), one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

10 Sep 2009