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University of Colorado Boulder combines Raman spectroscopy and nanoindentation for improved materials characterisation

The University of Colorado Boulder, USA, combines Raman spectroscopy and nanoindentation for improved materials characterisation.

From Renishaw plc - Spectroscopy 16 May 2016

Study indicates mRS is poorly suited to evaluate, report quality of neuro-surgery

Surgery has become a volatile field during the past few years, with study after study challenging prevailing treatment practices. For example, surgical treatment of acute appendicitis and arthroscopic surgery on degenerative knees have been called into question by recent research results reached by Finnish researchers.

18 Apr 2016

Researchers clarify potential transmissibility of Alzheimer's disease

MedUni Vienna researchers have published the results of a clarifying research study on the potential transmissibility of Alzheimer's disease. Although the protein associated with Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-β, might be transmissible under very unusual circumstances, this does not go along with a transmission of the clinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease. The affected persons develop no clinical symptoms of the disease.

29 Mar 2016

Clot-busting drugs decrease mortality in one of worst forms of hemorrhagic stroke

The use of clot-busting drugs to clear blood from the brain's ventricles may be the first effective strategy to decrease mortality for a type of catastrophic bleeding stroke, according to phase-3 clinical trial results announced Thursday at the International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.

19 Feb 2016

Fasudil improves memory in rats, promotes degradation of toxic tau in the eyes of fruit flies

Could a kinase inhibitor some doctors prescribe to keep blood flowing after brain surgery be used to treat neurodegeneration? New research suggests it might be worth exploring the question.

10 Feb 2016

Bond villain fails neuroanatomy, says St. Michael's Hospital neurosurgeon

James Bond's nemesis in the most recent film likely failed neuroanatomy, said real-life neurosurgeon and scientist Dr. Michael Cusimano of St. Michael's Hospital.

30 Dec 2015

Novel 'hypnosedation' technique offers new option for patients undergoing awake surgery for gliomas

Could hypnosis help to reduce the psychological trauma associated with "awake craniotomy" for brain cancers? A new "hypnosedation" technique offers a new alternative for patients undergoing awake surgery for gliomas, suggests a study in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, published by Wolters Kluwer.

29 Dec 2015

Dopamine measurements provides information crucial for human choice

Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have reported measurements of dopamine release with unprecedented temporal precision in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease. The measurements, collected during brain surgery as the conscious patients played an investment game, demonstrate how rapid dopamine release encodes information crucial for human choice.

24 Nov 2015

Doctors use MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat essential tremor

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is one of six locations nationally - and the only one in the Midwest - studying the safety and effectiveness of a promising new technology using MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat patients suffering from essential tremor as part of a multi-center FDA trial.

18 Oct 2015

Michigan researchers use Raman spectroscopy to study various childhood diseases

Renishaw, a world leader in metrology and spectroscopy, reports on the use of its inVia confocal Raman microscope in the study of various diseases–with a major focus on childhood diseases–at the Children's Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University.

6 Oct 2015

Promising research aims at finding cure for hydrocephalus

Scientists are focusing in on promising research aimed at finding a cure for hydrocephalus; and a new initiative funded by the Hydrocephalus Association, the largest private funder of hydrocephalus research in the United States, is uniting these researchers to accelerate their progress.

27 Aug 2015

Patient satisfaction a poor proxy for quality of care in elective cranial neurosurgery

Patient satisfaction is a very poor proxy for quality of care comparisons in elective cranial neurosurgery. Because deaths are rare events in elective cranial neurosurgery, reporting of surgeon or even department-specific mortality figures cannot differentiate a high or low level of the quality of care.

18 Aug 2015

Rice and UTHealth scientists awarded $1.02 million NSF grant to examine how the brain processes language

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $1.02 million grant to scientists at Rice University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School to study how the brain processes language. The joint research may one day help people who lose the ability to communicate.

14 Aug 2015

Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute uncover brain surgery that changed history

Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute have spent years of medical sleuthing across three continents to uncover a brain surgery that changed history.

30 Jul 2015

NIH awards $1.8 million grant for brain imaging technique

A researcher at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has received a four-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new technique for imaging blood flow across the surface of the brain that could help patients undergoing neurosurgery.

24 Jun 2015

Stanford researchers find how neurons work together to control movement in people with paralysis

Stanford University researchers studying how the brain controls movement in people with paralysis, related to their diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's disease, have found that groups of neurons work together, firing in complex rhythms to signal muscles about when and where to move.

24 Jun 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers develop new imaging technology to help remove brain tumors safely

Brain surgery is famously difficult for good reason: When removing a tumor, for example, neurosurgeons walk a tightrope as they try to take out as much of the cancer as possible while keeping crucial brain tissue intact — and visually distinguishing the two is often impossible.

18 Jun 2015

New noninvasive brain stimulator may help tamp down Parkinson's symptoms at home

Parkinson's disease patients whose symptoms such as tremor, muscle stiffness and slowed movement make it tough to hold an eating utensil steady have few options for relief outside of a hospital or clinic. Medication can help, but over time it tends to become less effective.

12 Jun 2015

Star-shaped brain cells control cerebral blood flow and blood pressure

A star-shaped brain cell called an astrocyte appears to help keep blood pressure and blood flow inside the brain on a healthy, even keel, scientists report.

10 Jun 2015

Diagnosing brain lesions in children can be challenging, report Loyola physicians

Brain lesions in children can be especially challenging to diagnose, according to a report in the journal Frontiers in Neurology by a multidisciplinary team of Loyola University Medical Center physicians.'