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.

No clear connection between mobile phone use and brain cancer

According to a study conducted in five Northern European countries, there is no clear connection between mobile phone use and malignant brain tumours.

22 Jan 2007

Impact of birth defects on families and nation

Two separate government reports highlight the economic costs of birth defects, focusing attention on the ongoing need for prevention.

22 Jan 2007

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems receives European approval for Rapid Programmer

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS), the neuromodulation business of St. Jude Medical, Inc., has announced European CE Mark approval for its newest clinician programming platform, Rapid Programmer 3.0 for spinal cord stimulation (SCS), an advanced therapy for managing chronic pain.

18 Jan 2007

Neuren reports successful NNZ-2566 safety trial results

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd has successfully completed a Phase 1 safety and tolerability trial of its second lead candidate, NNZ-2566, which is being developed to treat traumatic brain injury (TBI).

16 Jan 2007

CogState issued US patent

CogState has announced that it has been issued a patent from the Unites States Patent & Trade Mark Office (US patent no. 7,163,513) for the key technology platform used in its computer-based tests of brain function.

16 Jan 2007

Variations in SORL1 gene may factor in development of Alzheimer's disease

Variations in a gene known as SORL1 may be a factor in the development of late onset Alzheimer's disease, an international team of researchers has discovered. The genetic clue, which could lead to a better understanding of one cause of Alzheimer's, is reported in Nature Genetics online, and was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

14 Jan 2007

Stem cell research discovery could mean 'big things' for cancer

A new discovery in stem cell research may mean big things for cancer patients in the future. Gary Van Zant, Ph.D., and a research team at the University of Kentucky published their findings in Nature Genetics.

14 Jan 2007

Piolitazone shows promise for preventing brain injury from radiation therapy

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are the first to report that in animal studies, a common diabetes drug prevents the memory and learning problems that cancer patients often experience after whole-brain radiation treatments.

10 Jan 2007

Stem cells derived from human amniotic fluid appear to offer many of the benefits of embryonic stem cells

...including the ability to grow into brain, muscle, bone and other tissues -- according to a study published in the Jan. 7 online edition on the journal Nature Biotechnology, the Washington Post reports.

9 Jan 2007

Simple blood test for NT-proBNP level may help predict cardiovascular events

A blood test for patients with coronary heart disease could help predict their risk for subsequent cardiovascular events or death, according to a study in the January 10 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 Jan 2007

New hope for Krabbe disease sufferers

By all expectations, it shouldn't have worked as well as it did. A combination of bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy greatly lengthened the lives of laboratory mice doomed by a rapidly progressing, fatal neurodegenerative disorder also found in people.

9 Jan 2007

Education does not protect against age-related memory decline

Adults over 70 with higher levels of education forgot words at a greater rate than those with less education, according to a new study from the University of Southern California.

9 Jan 2007

House to vote on expansion of funding for human embryonic stem cell research

The House later this week plans to vote on a measure (HR 3, S 5) -- called the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 -- that would expand federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, CQ HealthBeat reports.

9 Jan 2007

Brain injury cognitive rehab not covered by many insurers

The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined how many brain injury patients who experience subsequent problems with memory, mental processing or behavior often do not receive cognitive rehabilitation because their health insurers do not cover the treatment.

9 Jan 2007

TrkB and its role in learning and memory

For the first time researchers investigate the molecular basis of memory in living mice.

9 Jan 2007

A Trojan horse for gliomas

Gliomas are a group of brain tumors where the most common type is also the most aggressive one.

9 Jan 2007

Cell therapy for Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease is one of the commonest afflictions caused by damage to the nerve cells of the brain. Patients suffer from muscular tremors and rigidity, and their movements are severely impaired.

8 Jan 2007

Trust your gut feelings!

A UCL (University College London) study has found that you are more likely to perform well if you do not think too hard and instead trust your instincts.

8 Jan 2007

Interleukin-13 receptor-targeted nanovesicles are a potential therapy for glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme is among the most aggressive and difficult cancers to treat. Now, researchers at Penn State University have shown that a lipid-based nanoparticle, designed to bind to a specific receptor found on malignant brain cells but not healthy ones, improves the potency of a common anticancer drug and slows significantly the growth of glioblastoma in mice.

8 Jan 2007

Uric acid holds potential for central nervous system damage

Uric acid is commonly associated with the excruciatingly painful joint disease known as gout, but it can also play a crucial role in the treatment of spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, according to Rutgers' Bonnie Firestein.

3 Jan 2007