Central Nervous System News and Research

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New autism research findings presented at 10th annual IMFAR

Much about autism is unknown, but researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) are working to learn more about the neurodevelopmental disorder and its most effective treatments. A team of researchers from URMC joins researchers from across the world in San Diego this week for the 10th annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR).

16 May 2011

UCSD scientists discover steroid hormone that inhibits brain inflammation

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a steroid hormone that inhibits inflammation in the brain. The findings, to be published in the May 13 issue of the journal Cell, have implications for understanding the exaggerated inflammatory responses that are characteristic features of numerous neurodegenerative diseases.

13 May 2011

Hydroxyurea safe and effective for infants, toddlers with sickle-cell disease

In what is being hailed as a significant advance in the treatment of children with sickle cell anemia, a drug commonly used to treat adults has been shown to be safe and effective in children.

13 May 2011

New method for mapping myelin sheaths of nerve cells

Researchers including members from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new method for making detailed X-ray images of brain cells.

13 May 2011

Tosedostat and OPAXIO study results to be presented at ASCO Annual Meeting

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. announced that data from a study with OPAXIO, in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas, and interim results from a study of tosedostat in elderly patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, will be presented at the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, which will be held June 3-7, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Both studies were selected for oral poster discussion sessions.

12 May 2011

China Pharma first quarter revenue increases 20% to $18.1 million

China Pharma Holdings, Inc., a fully-integrated specialty pharmaceuticals company in China, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

11 May 2011

Naurex announces completion of $18 million Series A financing

Naurex Inc., a clinical-stage company developing innovative treatments to address unmet needs in psychiatry and neurology, today announced the completion of an $18 million Series A financing led by Adams Street Partners and Latterell Venture Partners.

11 May 2011

biocrea and Pfizer jointly presented details on novel PDE10 inhibitors

biocrea, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on novel treatments for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), today reported details on the design and synthesis of novel, brain-penetrating phosphodiesterase-10 (PDE10) inhibitors developed in collaboration with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE). The data were featured in joint presentations1 with Pfizer at the recent 241st ACS National Meeting & Exposition, an event organized by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

10 May 2011

Seventh Annual Neuro-Oncology Symposium to be held at Hackensack University Medical Center

The John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center will host the Seventh Annual Neuro-Oncology Symposium on Friday, May 20 from 7:30am - 1:00pm. This continuing medical education conference will present the latest neuro-oncology trends by leaders in the field.

10 May 2011

Scientists reveal nerve cells' navigation system

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered how two closely related proteins guide projections from nerve cells with exquisite accuracy, alternately attracting and repelling these axons as they navigate the most miniscule and frenetic niches of the nervous system to make remarkably precise connections.

9 May 2011

Heptares, Shire sign deal to develop novel A2A antagonist for CNS disease treatment

Heptares Therapeutics today announced it has signed an exclusive option agreement with Shire Pharmaceuticals for a novel adenosine A2A antagonist discovered by Heptares and currently in preclinical development.

9 May 2011

Elan Drug Technologies, Alkermes merge to form new company in Ireland

Alkermes, Inc. and Elan Corporation, plc today announced the execution of a definitive agreement under which Alkermes will merge with Elan Drug Technologies, the profitable, world-class drug formulation and manufacturing business unit of Elan, in a cash and stock transaction currently valued at approximately $960 million.

9 May 2011

Mithridion's MCD-386CR receives Orphan Drug designation from FDA for PSP treatment

Mithridion, Inc., a privately-owned clinical stage drug development company focusing on serious Central Nervous System disorders, announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has awarded Orphan Drug designation for MCD-386CR, its lead drug candidate, for the treatment of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

9 May 2011

Novel neurotransmitter could fight against neurological diseases

A team of scientists has discovered that D-aspartic acid is a novel neurotransmitter that could potentially be used in the fight against neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

6 May 2011

New technique can reveal fat distribution in healthy human brain

Mapping the fat distribution of the healthy human brain is a key step in understanding neurological diseases, in general, and the neurodegeneration that accompanies Alzheimer's disease in particular. Antonio Veloso and colleagues, from the University of the Basque Country in Leioa, Spain, find a new technique to reveal the fat distribution of three different areas of the healthy human brain.

5 May 2011

New research sheds light on origins of cryptococcal fungal infection

New research has shed light on the origins of a fungal infection which is one of the major causes of death from AIDS-related illnesses. The study, published today in the journal PLoS Pathogens, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the BBSRC, shows how the more virulent forms of Cryptococcus neoformans evolved and spread out of Africa and into Asia.

4 May 2011

Hebei Aoxing Pharma receives Chinese patent for naloxone sublingual film

Aoxing Pharmaceutical, a specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on research, development, manufacturing and distribution of narcotic and pain-management products, announced that its operating subsidiary in China, Hebei Aoxing Pharmaceutical Group Company, has been granted a patent by the State Intellectual Property Office of The People's Republic of China for naloxone sublingual film.

3 May 2011

Teva signs definitive agreement to acquire Cephalon shares for $6.8 billion

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Cephalon, Inc. today announced that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Teva will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Cephalon for $81.50 per share in cash, or a total enterprise value of approximately $6.8 billion. The transaction is not conditioned on financing and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2011.

2 May 2011

Abnormal connections created by central nervous system linked to persistence of chronic pain

Chronic pain is an epidemic. One in four Americans suffers from chronic pain due to disease—including cancer and HIV—and the medications used to treat those diseases. One reason for the persistence of chronic pain may be that the patient's central nervous system creates abnormal connections or improves connections that shouldn't be strengthened, explains Susan G. Dorsey, PhD, RN, co-director of the School of Nursing's Center of Excellence in Disorders of Neuroregulatory Function.

30 Apr 2011

Three hundred neurosurgeons to participate in Central Park softball tournament

With summer just around the corner, that means the Annual Neurosurgery Charity Softball Tournament will take place in Central Park for the eighth consecutive year.

30 Apr 2011