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Natalizumab returns to market

Just months after receiving FDA approval, natalizumab, a medication for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory disorders, was voluntarily withdrawn by its manufacturers after three patients developed a brain infection known as Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML).

28 May 2007

Endogenous cannabinoids linked to fetal brain damage imposed by maternal cannabis use

A critical step in brain development is governed by endogenous cannabinoids, the brain's own marijuana.

28 May 2007

Researchers identify a function of neuregulin1 - impact on schizophrenia

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers have identified a function of neuregulin1 (NRG1), a gene previously linked to schizophrenia but whose role in the disease was unknown.

28 May 2007

Researchers observe brain cell development in real time

For the first time anywhere, a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has succeeded in observing in vivo the generation of neurons in the brain of a mammal.

28 May 2007

Study challenges conventional wisdom about cancer cells

A team of St. Jude investigators challenged conventional wisdom about the eye cancer retinoblastoma by using a mouse model that allowed them to study the tumors as they develop and grow.

27 May 2007

New adult brain cells may be central to lifelong learning

The steady formation of new brain cells in adults may represent more than merely a patching up of aging brains, a new study has shown.

24 May 2007

Immune antibodies penetrate neurons to clear Alzheimer's-linked amyloid

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have gotten much closer to understanding how immune-based therapies can treat Alzheimer's disease -- by studying how antibodies go inside brain cells to reduce levels of Alzheimer's-linked amyloid peptides that form plaques between neurons.

24 May 2007

Neuronal pathology of Fragile X syndrome studied

Fragile X syndrome is the most common form of inherited mental retardation, occurring in 1 in 3600 males and 1 in 4000 to 6000 females.

24 May 2007

Check and balance for neuron activity provides insight into schizophrenia, seizures

Two genes important for human development and implicated in cancer and schizophrenia also help keep a healthy balance between excitation and inhibition of brain cells, researchers say.

24 May 2007

New adult nerves have a deeper role than simply replacing dead ones

You may not be able to relive your youth, but part of your brain can. Johns Hopkins researchers have found that newly made nerves in an adult brain's learning center experience a one-month period when they are just as active as the nerves in a developing child.

24 May 2007

More evidence found indicating potassium channels play a critical role in sleep

A gene that controls the flow of potassium into cells is required to maintain normal sleep in fruit flies, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH).

24 May 2007

New understanding of how immune-based therapies can treat Alzheimer's disease

24 May 2007

Parkin protein protects neurons from stress induced cell death

Parkinson’s disease, also known as shaking palsy, is one of the most frequent diseases of the nervous system.

22 May 2007

Nanomedicine opens the way for nerve cell regeneration

The ability to regenerate nerve cells in the body could reduce the effects of trauma and disease in a dramatic way.

22 May 2007

Left-right wiring determined by neural communication in the embryonic worm

Most animals appear symmetrical at first glance, but we're full of internal lop-sidedness.

18 May 2007

Celecoxib offers promise for premature babies

Scientists have found evidence that the cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib, a common pain reliever used to treat arthritis, may offer a new way to reduce the risk of the most common cause of brain damage in babies born prematurely.

18 May 2007

Researchers develop first images of physical changes in brain cells thought to underlie memory

University of California, Irvine researchers have developed the first images of the physical changes in brain cells thought to underlie memory, a discovery that is already uncovering clues about memory loss linked to cognitive disorders.

17 May 2007

Clearer view of synaptic plasticity

Scientists are keenly studying how neurons form synapses--the physical and chemical connections between neurons--and the "pruning" of neural circuits during development, not least because synaptic abnormalities may partially underlie many developmental and neurodegenerative diseases.

17 May 2007

Implanting dopamine generators in brain cells improves Parkinson's in monkeys

Implanting dopamine generators (dopaminergics) in brain cells has produced improvement in the symptoms in Parkinson's, according to the results of tests carried out with monkeys by the Navarra University Hospital, led by Dr Mar'a Rosario Luquin Piudo, neurologist at the Hospital and at the other Navarra University-based medical centre, CIMA (the Research Centre for Applied Medicine).

17 May 2007