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.

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital uses CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery system for treating tumours

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital is the first hospital in Houston to feature the CyberKnife((R)), a noninvasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors.

2 Sep 2009

LINGO1 variant responsible for essential tremors and Parkinson's disease

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida and their collaborators worldwide have discovered that a single gene promotes development of essential tremor in some patients and Parkinson's disease in others.

2 Sep 2009

Structural MRI for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders

A new Mayo Clinic study may help physicians differentially diagnose three common neurodegenerative disorders in the future. The study will be presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease on July 11 in Vienna.

2 Sep 2009

Rapid progression of multiple sclerosis linked to smoking

Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke appear to experience a more rapid progression of their disease, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Sep 2009

Clinical criteria for mild cognitive impairment proves better for identifying Alzheimer's disease

A new Mayo Clinic study found that the clinical criteria for mild cognitive impairment is better at predicting who will develop Alzheimer's disease than a single memory test. This is one more piece of information to aid in the identification and early treatment of individuals most likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. This study will be presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease on July 14 in Vienna.

2 Sep 2009

GE Healthcare to develop wireless medical monitoring systems for patient care

In what would represent an important step forward in revolutionizing the way patients are monitored in the future, GE announced an initiative aimed to develop wireless medical monitoring systems, or body sensor networks (BSN), which would replace the traditional tangle of bedside cables used to capture a patient’s vital signs. GE’s vision for the systems would enable wireless monitoring from anywhere in the hospital—or even remotely from home.

2 Sep 2009

Vitro Diagnostics develops technology and products for cell-based cancer therapy

Vitro Diagnostics, Inc. (OTCBB: VODG), 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.

2 Sep 2009

New research reveals that swearing can increase pain tolerance

While swearing is often a common response to pain, Richard Stephens and his colleagues, John Atkins and Andrew Kingston, were surprised to discover that no links had been established between swearing and the actual experience of physical pain. Since swearing often has a 'catastrophising' or exaggerating effect, serving to embellish or overstate the severity of pain, Stephens and his team hypothesised that swearing would actually decrease the individual's tolerance of pain.

2 Sep 2009

JAMA study reveals the genetic signature of brain cancer

A pair of studies in the July 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) spell out how much closer science has come to unraveling the genetic signature of brain cancer, according to a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Boris Pasche, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAB Division of Hematology and Oncology, believes these studies represent a new vanguard in the still-changing field of DNA analysis.

2 Sep 2009

Advances in traumatic brain injury to be presented at the University of New Mexico

Dr. David Durham will present Advances in Traumatic Brain Injury at the University of New Mexico on Friday, September 4th to physicians and medical students in the departments of psychiatry and neurology.

2 Sep 2009

White matter hyperintensities could lead to permanent thinking problems

Elderly people with no memory or thinking problems are more likely to later develop thinking problems if they have a growing amount of "brain rust," or small areas of brain damage, according to a study published in the July 14, 2009, print issue of NeurologyÂ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Sep 2009

Heidelberg neuropathologists detect astrocytomas that can deactivate the "death receptor"

Malignant brain tumors often fail to respond to promising new medication. Researchers in Heidelberg have discovered a mechanism and a tumor marker for the development of this resistance. A "death receptor" can possibly provide information as to how great the chances of success are for chemotherapy. At the same time, it offers a new approach for promising brain tumor therapy.

2 Sep 2009

Scientists shed light on the relationship between hypertension and obesity

Some of the first information about how fat causes hypertension have been identified by researchers who say the findings should one day help identify which obese people - and maybe some thin ones too - are at risk for hypertension and which drugs would work best for them.

2 Sep 2009

Exercise prevents increase in the number of fat cells during weight regain

Exercise helps prevent weight regain after dieting by reducing appetite and by burning fat before burning carbohydrates, according to a new study with rats. Burning fat first and storing carbohydrates for use later in the day slows weight regain and may minimize overeating by signaling a feeling of fullness to the brain.

2 Sep 2009

Michigan newborn blood spot data to help understand causes of celebral palsy

A statewide team of researchers led by a Michigan State University epidemiologist are hoping Michigan's archive of newborn blood spots will help them uncover the causes of cerebral palsy, the most common disabling motor disorder in children with annual health costs of $12 billion.

2 Sep 2009

Playing Tetris may increase brain efficiency

Brain imaging shows playing Tetris leads to a thicker cortex and may also increase brain efficiency, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Research Notes. A research team based in New Mexico is one of the first to investigate the effects of practice in the brain using two image techniques.

2 Sep 2009

New research on post-traumatic stress disorder to be presented at MHRF

New research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is being presented this week at the Military Health Research Forum (MHRF), a scientific conference hosted by the Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Depending on the conflict in which they served, 10 to 30 percent of soldiers who have spent time in war zones experience the debilitating and life-altering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

2 Sep 2009