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.

Adult survivors of childhood cancer and unemployment

Adults with a history childhood cancer are more likely than the general population to be unemployed, according to a new review.

23 May 2006

Researchers identify target of the widely prescribed antidepressant Prozac

Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island have identified which among several different kinds of cells in the brain is the chief target of the widely prescribed antidepressant Prozac.

23 May 2006

WHO suffers tragic loss of a visionary leader

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Lee Jong-wook of South Korea, has died suddenly following surgery for a blood clot on the brain.

22 May 2006

Botox eases lines and depression

According to a U.S. study patients who were depressed who received the treatment botulinum toxin A (Botox) experienced relief from their symptoms.

22 May 2006

Bird flu crops up again in Indonesia

According to a senior Indonesian health official an 18-year-old shuttlecock maker from East Java is the latest victim of bird flu.

22 May 2006

vCJD may have infected far more people than previously thought

Scientists at the National CJD Surveillance Unit at the University of Edinburgh say that thousands may be infected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) without showing signs or symptoms.

21 May 2006

NIH panel says little benefit to be gained by taking multivitamin supplements

According to a National Institutes of Health panel there is little evidence to support that taking multivitamin supplements is of any benefit to healthy adults.

21 May 2006

MRI provides an early alert for polycystic kidney disease

A new method using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) accurately tracks structural changes that predict functional changes earlier than standard blood and urine tests in people with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (PKD).

17 May 2006

Brain research offers insight into mechanisms of prejudice

By scanning subjects' brains while they were thinking about people either politically like or different from them, researchers have found that different areas of the brain are active in the two cases.

17 May 2006

FDA approves Azilect for the treatment of Parkinson's

The Food and Drug Administration today approved Azilect (rasagiline), a new molecular entity, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

17 May 2006

Panel calls for expanded oversight of vitamin and mineral supplements

An independent panel convened this week by the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research and the Office of Dietary Supplements assessed the available evidence on the safety and effectiveness of multivitamin/minerals (MVMs).

17 May 2006

Well-functioning lungs reduce risk of dementia

A middle-aged woman with well-functioning lungs runs less risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

17 May 2006

Acidity in the brain could hold the key to stroke treatment

Development of a new technique for detecting brain damage caused by stroke has been boosted up by a £1m grant to scientists at The University of Manchester.

From The University of Manchester 17 May 2006

Gene family of potential tumor inhibitors identified

Proteins from a newly discovered family of genes, LRIG, function as a retardant for a protein that is important to tumor cells. It is probably this mechanism that lends the gene family its inhibiting effect on cancer tumors.

17 May 2006

Study gives new insight into the stages of recovery of hand muscle control after a stroke

A Queen's study of stroke survivors gives new insight into the stages of recovery of hand muscle control after a stroke, suggesting that patients may benefit from different treatment strategies at different times during the recovery process.

17 May 2006

Oxygen free radicals associated with Parkinson's Disease

Research by neuroscientists at the University of Virginia Health System shows that oxygen free radicals are damaging proteins in mitochondria, the tiny cellular 'batteries' of brain cells.

17 May 2006

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy in relation to child development

Many cultures hold that stress during pregnancy affects a woman's unborn child. However, there has been surprisingly little research on the topic.

17 May 2006

Taking astrocytes seriously

By blowing gentle puffs of air onto a mouse's whiskers and watching how its brain reacts, scientists are discovering that a long-overlooked signaling system in the brain is crucial to our everyday activity.

17 May 2006

DVT and long haul flights - air pressure and oxygen levels not the culprits

According to new research from the UK the reduced air pressure and oxygen levels experienced by travellers on long flights are not responsible for the formation of deadly blood clots often referred to as "economy class syndrome".

17 May 2006

New compound shows unique potency against cancer cell proliferation

By determining how a class of compounds blocks signaling in cells, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) scientists have identified what is perhaps the most potent drug candidate yet against a highly lethal kind of brain tumor.

16 May 2006