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.

Teens who have chronic daily headaches are at greater risk for suicide

Teens who have chronic daily headache, especially those with migraine headaches, are at greater risk for suicide than teens who don't have migraines, according to a study published in the May 1, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

1 May 2007

New understanding of sleep

Sleep remains one of the big mysteries in biology. All animals sleep, and people who are deprived of sleep suffer physically, emotionally and intellectually. But nobody knows how sleep restores the brain.

1 May 2007

Simvastatin may help sufferers with Alzheimer's

Treatment with Simvastatin, one of the statin drugs widely used for lowering cholesterol in humans, significantly improved spatial memory - how to navigate a water maze - in mice genetically bred to have an Alzheimer's like disease.

1 May 2007

Smelling for first time results from knowing abnormalities in congenital loss of smell

New discoveries about the biochemical basis of the majority of cases of the congenital inability to smell any odor, no matter how strong, have enabled their discoverer, Dr. Robert I. Henkin, director of The Taste and Smell Clinic in Washington, DC, to treat such patients, enabling them to smell something for the first time in their lives.

1 May 2007

Researcher aims for better understanding of human breathing disorders

If you gasp at Jon Kelty's research, the Central Michigan University professor likely will take note.

1 May 2007

Electromagnetic fields do not pose a health hazard to energy workers

Electromagnetic fields do not pose a health hazard to workers in the electrical energy supply industry, suggests a large study of 28,000 people, published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

1 May 2007

Exercise helps patients regain the ability to swallow

Just thinking about swallowing makes it harder to do. Head and neck cancer, a stroke, brain tumor, brain injury or even a tracheostomy tube and mechanical ventilation needed to sustain life can make it impossible.

1 May 2007

Estrogen fluctuation affects epileptic seizures

In more than a third of women with epilepsy, seizures fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, due in part to continually fluctuating effects of estrogen on the neural circuitry in the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in learning and memory - and in epileptic seizures.

1 May 2007

Avicena files composition of matter patent application for treatment of Huntington's disease

Avicena Group has announced day that it has filed a composition of matter patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cover potential treatments for Huntington's disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease.

1 May 2007

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes are more closely related at the molecular level than scientists realized

Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, the human version of mad cow disease, and other degenerative diseases are more closely related at the molecular level than scientists realized, a team reports this week in an advanced online publication of the journal Nature.

1 May 2007

Report on effects of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields on human health

A response to the Stakeholder Advisory Group's report on the effects of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields, by a member of SAGE.

30 Apr 2007

Discovery of backup stem cells that can repair damage to olfactory nerves

Hopkins researchers have identified a backup supply of stem cells that can repair the most severe damage to the nerves responsible for our sense of smell.

30 Apr 2007

Submission of NDA for Istradefylline(KW-6002), an investigational anti-Parkinson's disease drug

Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. has announced that Kyowa Pharmaceutical, Inc., its wholly owned U.S subsidiary, submitted on April 25, 2007 a new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Istradefylline(KW-6002), its investigational drug for Parkinson's disease.

30 Apr 2007

Human brain may be more adept at distinguishing smells than previously thought

Brains are able to adjust automatically to the demands of distinguishing between small differences in smell, new research at the University of Chicago shows.

30 Apr 2007

Identifying cardiorespiratory neurocircuitry involved in central command during exercise in humans

For almost one hundred years the brain's ,central command, system , whose charge includes controlling the body's cardiorespiratory response to exercise , has been pursued. Animal experiments and functional imaging studies have provided clues to the location of this system, but the underlying electrophysiological activity has never been measured.

30 Apr 2007

Scientists discover pathway that promotes muscle cell survival in mice

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an enzyme that pumps up a cell's ability to maintain healthy muscle and restores normal muscle function in genetically engineered mice with weak muscles.

30 Apr 2007

Environment rich in sensory stimuli restores memory in mice with neurodegeneration

Mice whose brains had lost a large number of neurons due to neurodegeneration regained long-term memories and the ability to learn after their surroundings were enriched with toys and other sensory stimuli, according to new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers.

30 Apr 2007

Oxytocin affects the heart's response to social isolation

A team of researchers investigating the effects of oxytocin, a peptide produced by the brain that regulates social behavior, has found that it can prevent detrimental cardiac responses in adult female animals exposed to social isolation.

30 Apr 2007

Research demonstrates importance of smell as a means for people to gather information from their environment

Brains are able to adjust automatically to the demands of distinguishing between small differences in smell, new research at the University of Chicago shows.

30 Apr 2007

Anti-dandruff compound may be a potential treatment for seizures

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that the same ingredient used in dandruff shampoos to fight the burning, itching and flaking on your head also can calm overexcited nerve cells inside your head, making it a potential treatment for seizures.

30 Apr 2007

Brain News and Research

Further Reading

Teens who have chronic daily headaches are at greater risk for suicide

New understanding of sleep

Simvastatin may help sufferers with Alzheimer's

Smelling for first time results from knowing abnormalities in congenital loss of smell

Researcher aims for better understanding of human breathing disorders

Electromagnetic fields do not pose a health hazard to energy workers

Exercise helps patients regain the ability to swallow

Estrogen fluctuation affects epileptic seizures

Avicena files composition of matter patent application for treatment of Huntington's disease

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes are more closely related at the molecular level than scientists realized

Report on effects of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields on human health

Discovery of backup stem cells that can repair damage to olfactory nerves

Submission of NDA for Istradefylline(KW-6002), an investigational anti-Parkinson's disease drug

Human brain may be more adept at distinguishing smells than previously thought

Identifying cardiorespiratory neurocircuitry involved in central command during exercise in humans

Scientists discover pathway that promotes muscle cell survival in mice

Environment rich in sensory stimuli restores memory in mice with neurodegeneration

Oxytocin affects the heart's response to social isolation

Research demonstrates importance of smell as a means for people to gather information from their environment

Anti-dandruff compound may be a potential treatment for seizures

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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