Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

HRI to begin enrollment in RAD001 Phase II trial for Neurofibromatosis Type-2

House Research Institute (HRI) is recruiting patients for a Phase II clinical trial to test a medication that may slow the progression of Neurofibromatosis Type-2, commonly referred to as NF2.

13 Feb 2013

Study finds abnormal production of C9RANT in patients with ALS, frontotemporal dementia

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered an abnormal protein that accumulates in the brains of many patients affected with two common neurodegenerative disorders — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, and frontotemporal dementia.

13 Feb 2013

Exposure to harmful quantities of lead may lead to juvenile delinquency

Lead is a common element but is found in old paints (including those once used on children's toys), soil, old piping, water, and the atmosphere from lead-containing vehicular fuels, even drinking vessels. At high dose it is lethal but also causes seemingly trivial symptoms such as headaches. However, in children lead can also lead to irreversible damage to the organs, the kidneys in particular, and the nervous system including the brain.

13 Feb 2013

Enzyme therapy slows progression of Batten disease in dogs

Batten disease is a rare, fatal genetic disorder that affects children. Currently, no effective treatment exists for the disease, which ultimately kills all who are affected. Dachshunds also suffer from Batten disease, and now researchers from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and School of Medicine, in collaboration with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., have developed a treatment for the disease that has significantly delayed the onset and progression of symptoms in the Dachshunds.

12 Feb 2013

Study shows effects of maternal obesity on fetuses

In a study to be presented on February 15 between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in San Francisco, California, researchers from Tufts Medical Center will present findings showing the effects of maternal obesity on a fetus, specifically in the development of the brain.

11 Feb 2013

Intra-arterial therapy no more effective than IV t-PA in treating acute ischemic stroke

A stroke survivor's chances of living independently after 90 days are not improved by the use of devices inserted into the artery to dissolve or remove a stroke-causing clot shortly after the onset of symptoms, according to a randomized controlled trial involving 656 patients.

11 Feb 2013

Reprogrammed human skin cells highly effective in treating myelin disorders

A study out today in the journal Cell Stem Cell shows that human brain cells created by reprogramming skin cells are highly effective in treating myelin disorders, a family of diseases that includes multiple sclerosis and rare childhood disorders called pediatric leukodystrophies.

10 Feb 2013

Drugs that target retromer pathway could help prevent or treat Parkinson's

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a protein trafficking defect within brain cells that may underlie common non-familial forms of Parkinson's disease.

9 Feb 2013

Nerve stimulator may be new option for migraine sufferers

Wearing a nerve stimulator for 20 minutes a day may be a new option for migraine sufferers, according to new research published in the February 6, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Feb 2013

Studies to identify molecular causes and preventive and therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's

On the fourth floor of Wichita State University's McKinley Hall, biochemistry professor Kandatege Wimalasena and his group of doctoral and undergraduate students are hard at work researching Parkinson's disease (PD) - the second-most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting 1 to 2 percent of people older than 60.

7 Feb 2013

Anxiety may contribute to cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder

Compromised cognitive and adaptive functioning in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder may be partly explained by related comorbid anxiety, suggest researchers.

7 Feb 2013

Anxiety may contribute to cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder

Compromised cognitive and adaptive functioning in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder may be partly explained by related comorbid anxiety, suggest researchers.

7 Feb 2013

Migraine, epilepsy and genetics: an interview with Dr. Melodie Winawer

This work is the product of an extraordinary consortium called the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome project (EPGP). It is a consortium of 27 centres in the U.S. and internationally with several hundred physicians and staff who have worked together to enrol more than 4000 patients with epilepsy and their family members.

7 Feb 2013

Sympathetic nervous system implicated in acupuncture analgesia

Acupuncture appears to activate the sympathetic nervous system in people experiencing pain, a randomized study indicates.

6 Feb 2013

Study findings suggest physical and pharmacological solutions for human stroke victims

Johns Hopkins researchers have found that mice can recover from physically debilitating strokes that damage the primary motor cortex, the region of the brain that controls most movement in the body, if the rodents are quickly subjected to physical conditioning that rapidly "rewires" a different part of the brain to take over lost function.

6 Feb 2013

Survivors of CNS cancer in childhood are at increased risk for disturbance in body image

Survivors of cancer of the central nervous system (CNS) in childhood are at heightened risk for disturbance in body image and self-image in relation to sports or other physical activities, according to a nationwide study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology.

5 Feb 2013

DCC receptor plays key role in regulating brain plasticity

Our ability to learn and form new memories is fully dependent on the brain's ability to be plastic - that is to change and adapt according to new experiences and environments. A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute - The Neuro, McGill University, reveals that DCC, the receptor for a crucial protein in the nervous system known as netrin, plays a key role in regulating the plasticity of nerve cell connections in the brain.

5 Feb 2013

Orphan, St George's sign licensing agreement to develop new therapies for metabolic disorders

St George's, University of London has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with rare-disease research-and-development firm Orphan Technologies Ltd to develop new therapies for deadly metabolic disorders.

5 Feb 2013

Patients with MS more likely to develop MI and stroke, regardless of migration background

A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) run a high risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure, regardless of migration background. According to Dr Tahereh Moradi, principal investigator, the study is the first in the world to examine the risk of cardiovascular diseases in male and female MS patients with both non-immigrant and immigrant backgrounds.

5 Feb 2013