Brain Disease News and Research

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Dysfunction of Calcium channel in neurons of cerebellum causes different motor diseases

A dysfunction of a certain Calcium channel, the so called P/Q-type channel, in neurons of the cerebellum is sufficient to cause different motor diseases as well as a special type of epilepsy.

22 Mar 2013

Researchers discover new candidate disease proteins for neurodegenerative disorders

A multi-institution group of researchers has found new candidate disease proteins for neurodegenerative disorders.

4 Mar 2013

Oxford researcher wins 2013 John Dystel Prize from AAN, National Multiple Sclerosis Society

The American Academy of Neurology and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society are awarding the 2013 John Dystel Prize for MS Research to George C. Ebers, MD, a leading researcher with the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals Trust in Oxford, United Kingdom.

2 Mar 2013

AAN to award 2013 Michael S. Pessin Stroke Leadership Prize to Amytis Towfighi

The American Academy of Neurology is awarding the 2013 Michael S. Pessin Stroke Leadership Prize to Amytis Towfighi, MD, with the University of Southern California and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center for her research in post-stroke preventive care.

2 Mar 2013

MID1 complex binds with messenger RNA and controls synthesis of defective Huntingtin

Huntington's disease, also known as Huntington's chorea, is a hereditary brain disease causing movement disorders and dementia. In Germany, there are about 8,000 patients affected by Huntington's disease, with several hundred new cases arising every year. The disease usually manifests between the ages of 35 and 50.

27 Feb 2013

Dietary antioxidants may not protect against stroke and dementia

Contrary to other research, a new study found that the total level of antioxidants in people's diets is not related to their risk of developing stroke or dementia.

21 Feb 2013

UCLA plays a vital role in ongoing research into Rasmussen encephalitis

How do you find a cure for a devastating pediatric brain disease so rare that it can take decades to build a meaningful research base? In 2010, the parents of a patient created the Rasmussen Encephalitis (RE) Children's Project to help solve this problem. In a short amount of time, the foundation has raised funds to establish a consortium of top researchers, build a collection of samples of the disease from around the world and support projects to study the disease tissue and search for genetic links. The goal is to find a cure.

20 Feb 2013

FDA issues draft guidance on developing new treatments for Alzheimer's

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a proposal designed to assist companies developing new treatments for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, before the onset of noticeable (overt) dementia.

11 Feb 2013

Researchers pinpoint several inherited mutations in autism

While autism clearly runs in some families, few inherited genetic causes have been found. A major reason is that these causes are so varied that it's hard to find enough people with a given mutation to establish a clear pattern. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have pinpointed several inherited mutations—among the first to be identified—through an unusual approach: using whole-exome sequencing to study large Middle Eastern families with autism.

23 Jan 2013

New model of tau pathology spread

Brain diseases associated with the misformed protein tau, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau pathologies, are characterized by neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) comprised of pathological tau filaments.

19 Jan 2013

TUBB5 gene responsible for microcephaly: IMP study

Neurobiologists at the Research institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna have discovered one of the key genes required to make a brain. Mutations in this gene, called TUBB5, cause neurodevelopmental disease in children.

14 Dec 2012

Study describes 68 cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in athletes, military veterans

A study done by investigators at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, in collaboration with the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), describes 68 cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among deceased athletes and military veterans whose brain and spinal cords were donated to the VA CSTE Brain Bank.

4 Dec 2012

Allon Files Preliminary Shelf Prospectus

Allon Therapeutics Inc. has filed a preliminary short form base shelf prospectus with the securities commissions in each province and territory of Canada (other than Quebec).

23 Nov 2012

Peak interest in health issues comes at about age 51 for baby boomers

For baby boomers, the peak interest in health issues comes at about age 51, with a second peak coming near age 65, according to a new study.

16 Nov 2012

Radiosurgery alone can achieve local control of brain metastases

Radiosurgery to the surgical cavity without whole-brain radiotherapy achieves good rates of local control in patients with brain cancer metastases, a study has shown.

2 Nov 2012

Mayo researchers discover new therapy for patients with neuromyelitis optica

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a new therapy for patients with neuromyelitis optica that appears to stop inflammation of the eye nerves and spinal cord. NMO is a debilitating central nervous system disorder that is often misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS).

10 Oct 2012

Scientists discover how protein deficiency may be linked to frontotemporal dementia

Using animal models, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered how a protein deficiency may be linked to frontotemporal dementia (FTD)-a form of early-onset dementia that is similar to Alzheimer's disease. These results lay the foundation for therapies that one day may benefit those who suffer from this and related diseases that wreak havoc on the brain.

9 Oct 2012

Congressional champion for brain science research issues statement in response to $30M NFL grant

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), the Congressional champion for brain science research and author of the Fattah Neuroscience Initiative, issues this statement in response to today's $30 million grant by the National Football League to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

6 Sep 2012

Molecular missteps disrupt brain function in adult-onset muscular dystrophy

The molecular missteps that disrupt brain function in the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy have been revealed in a new study published by Cell Press. Myotonic dystrophy is marked by progressive muscle wasting and weakness, as well as excessive daytime sleepiness, memory problems, and mental retardation.

10 Aug 2012

Single event of brain trauma can lead to Alzheimer’s

A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer’s. The paper, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, identifies the complex mechanisms that result in a rapid and robust post-injury elevation of the enzyme, BACE1, in the brain. These results may lead to the development of a drug treatment that targets this mechanism to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

25 Jul 2012