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.

UCLA highlights the benefits of restful sleep for increased efficiency

According to the journal Science, the function of sleep is one of the 125 greatest unsolved mysteries in science. Theories range from brain "maintenance" - including memory consolidation and pruning - to reversing damage from oxidative stress suffered while awake, to promoting longevity. None of these theories are well established, and many are mutually exclusive.

21 Aug 2009

Evolvent Technologies awarded contract to increase Veterans Affairs clinician access to DoD information

Evolvent Technologies, Inc. (Evolvent), a leading provider of healthcare information technology to the federal government, announced today that it was awarded a contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Health Services for enhancements to the Bidirectional Health Information Exchange (BHIE) to further increase Veterans Affairs (VA) clinician access to DoD information on a shared patient population.

21 Aug 2009

Role of HPRT genes detected in Lesch Nyan X-linked inherited disorders

A study from the Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows that a gene called HPRT plays an important role in setting the program by which primitive or precursor cells decide to become normal nerve cells in the human brain. This unconventional view of metabolic genes known as "housekeeping" genes is now online at the journal Molecular Therapy.

21 Aug 2009

Study reveals that brain damage in amateur boxers can be detected by a blood test

A blood test can now be used to detect brain damage in amateur boxers. Deterioration of nerve cells seems to occur even after a two-month break from boxing. This is shown in a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

21 Aug 2009

Coping with burn injuries

More than half a million Americans are treated for burn injuries every year, but many do not have the specific skills necessary to cope with the experience of living with a burn injury after they leave the hospital.

20 Aug 2009

New book explores neurobiology of pleasure

A sense of pleasure generated by the brain's hedonic neural systems is fundamental to daily life, and indeed has been essential to the evolution and survival of humans and most animals, say Morten Kringelbach and Kent Berridge, editors of Pleasures of the Brain. The rewards we experience through sensations such as food, sex and social interaction are driving forces necessary to maintain life, they argue.

20 Aug 2009

Kennedy pushes fast transition as hopes dim for his return to Washington

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., "is trying to make sure that the leading cause in his life, better health coverage for all, advances in the event of his death" with a recent letter to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and leaders in the state legislature, the Boston Globe reports.

20 Aug 2009

IBISS research group's project aims to examine Ribavirin role in promoting the survival of transplanted stem cells

Hard to Treat Diseases (HTDS.PK) Dr. Sanja Pekovic, Chief Project Scientist, Chief Strategy Officer Slavica BioChem reported that IBISS research group from Serbia has begun preliminary experiments within a project aimed at Promoting stem cell graft survival in the model of traumatic brain injury in rats.

20 Aug 2009

RBC Life Sciences reports on patent-pending, nutritional supplement

RBC Life Sciences, Inc., a provider of proprietary nutritional supplements and wound care/pain management products, announced today the debut of NeuroBright(TM), a patent-pending, nutritional supplement that improved test subjects' learning and memory skills by 50 percent during a recent laboratory trial.

20 Aug 2009

Mesenchymal stem cells repair human brain

There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient's own bone marrow, can be found ― and literally seen ― in laboratories at Tel Aviv University.

20 Aug 2009

Scientists develop new technique to target brain cancer cells

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago's Brain Tumor Center have developed a way to target brain cancer cells using inorganic titanium dioxide nanoparticles bonded to soft biological material.

20 Aug 2009

Nano-bio material kills cancer cells, leaves healthy cells in unharmed

19 Aug 2009

Researchers find connection between eye disease and arginase

Elevated levels of the enzyme arginase contribute to vascular eye damage and Medical College of Georgia researchers say therapies to normalize its levels could halt progression of potentially blinding diseases such as diabetic retinopathy.

19 Aug 2009

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics to participate in the Southern California Investor Conference

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, announced today that it will participate in the Southern California Investor Conference being held in Newport Beach, CA, on Tuesday August 18, 2009.

19 Aug 2009

Depression causes reduced function in the reward center of brain

Clinically depressed individuals are less capable of finding pleasure in activities they previously enjoyed, a recent study has proven. Research featured in the August 26 issue of the NeuroReport shows reduced brain function in the reward center of the brain in depressed individuals, when compared to healthy subjects.

19 Aug 2009

Brain's motor and perception regions disconnected in tone-deaf people

Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf - unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.

19 Aug 2009

Siemens Healthcare's SOMATOM Emotion 16 ranked highest among 16-slice CT systems

According to a recent report from market research firm KLAS*, Siemens Healthcare's SOMATOM(R) Emotion CT scanner is ranked highest among 16-slice CT systems. Powerful and cost-effective, the SOMATOM Emotion 16 enables facilities to not only perform routine examinations, such as brain, chest, and abdomen examinations, but also undertake high-end, detailed examinations, such as high-resolution CT angiography, which greatly improve patient care, as well as diagnostic workflow.

19 Aug 2009

New understanding on meningitis cause

A specific protein on the surface of a common bacterial pathogen allows the bacteria to leave the bloodstream and enter the brain, initiating the deadly infection known as meningitis. The new finding, which may guide development of improved vaccines to protect those most vulnerable, including young infants and the elderly, is now available online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

19 Aug 2009

Discovery of key factor that stimulates brain cancer cells to spread

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that the activity of a protein in brain cells helps stimulate the spread of an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In a move toward therapy, the researchers showed that a small designer protein can block this activity and reduce the spreading of GBM cells grown in the laboratory.

19 Aug 2009