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.

TB drug may cure Parkinson-type symptoms of manganese intoxication

Researchers have discovered that a drug used to treat tuberculosis apparently cures patients of a Parkinson's-like illness suffered by thousands of mineworkers, welders and others exposed to high levels of the metal manganese.

7 Jun 2006

Hyperscanning - a new approach to studying social interactions

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have mapped not only where trust forms in the brain but have also uncovered clues as to how humans represent themselves and others as physical responses in their brains.

7 Jun 2006

Study finds PET imaging value in tracking diabetes progression

"Diabetes is the only major disease with a death rate that continues to be on the upswing," proclaimed a front-page New York Times story recently.

7 Jun 2006

Vitamin K in the U.S. diet

Much of what is known about the content of vitamin K in the US food supply comes from research conducted in the Vitamin K Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

6 Jun 2006

PET imaging of cerebral cannabinoid CB1 receptors with [11C]JHU75528

A team of Johns Hopkins researchers developed a new radiotracer - a radioactive substance that can be traced in the body - to visualize and quantify the brain's cannabinoid receptors by positron emission tomography (PET).

6 Jun 2006

Nerve signals sent to the pancreas after eating play a critical role in blood sugar control

A critical role for b cell M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in regulating insulin release and blood glucose homeostasis in vivo.

6 Jun 2006

Activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex reflects multiple steps of future events in action plans

Studies in which monkeys were asked to manipulate computer cursors for fruit juice rewards have revealed that the brain's "executive" center plans behaviors not by specifying movements required for given actions, but rather the events that will result from those actions.

6 Jun 2006

New procedures to help decide which breast cancer patients will benefit most from radiotherapy

New procedures which will help doctors decide which breast cancer patients will benefit most from radiotherapy begin trials this week.

6 Jun 2006

Novel research points to promising relief target for chronic pain

By some accounts, chronic pain affects nearly 100 million Americans from such varied causes as arthritis, sciatica, cancer, diabetes. Most forms of pain result from identifiable causes which serve the "good" purpose in warning of a real physical problem that needs attention, or rest.

6 Jun 2006

Researchers show that different forms of amyloid beta lead to neural damage in different ways

Researchers at UC Irvine have shown that different forms of amyloid beta lead to neural damage in different ways, leading to an increasingly complex view of amyloid toxicity in the Alzheimer brain.

6 Jun 2006

New research on brain, hormones and behavior

New clinical and basic science research findings focusing on the interaction between hormones and the brain and its influence on behavior will be presented for the first time at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology.

6 Jun 2006

MS sufferers relieved as drug Tysabri goes back on the market

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. has given it's approval for the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to be put back on the market.

6 Jun 2006

Cigarette smoking and high cholesterol predict different forms of peripheral artery disease

Cigarette smoking and high cholesterol predict risk for some forms of peripheral artery disease (PAD), while diabetes predicts risk for other forms of the disease, researchers reported in a rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

6 Jun 2006