Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

International scientist team identifies gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia

In a major advance for schizophrenia research, an international team of scientists, led by Jonathan Sebat, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a gene mutation strongly linked to the brain disorder - and a signaling pathway that may be treatable with existing compounds.

3 Feb 2011

Older people with metabolic syndrome may face high risk of developing memory loss

Older people with larger waistlines, high blood pressure and other risk factors that make up metabolic syndrome may be at a higher risk for memory loss, according to a study published in the February 2, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 Feb 2011

Targeted delivery combination crosses brain protecting barrier and homes in on tumors

A targeted delivery combination selectively crosses the tight barrier that protects the brain from the bloodstream to home in on and bind to brain tumors, a research team led by scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

2 Feb 2011

Aphios enters subcontract with SAIC-Frederick to develop phospholipid nanoencapsulated camptothecin

Aphios® Corporation today announced that it has entered into a subcontract with SAIC-Frederick, a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation, to develop phospholipid nanoencapsulated camptothecin, Camposomes™, for the treatment of pancreatic and other cancers, supporting the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology.

2 Feb 2011

Biogen Idec 2010 total revenues increase 8% to $4.7 billion

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its full year and fourth quarter 2010 results.

1 Feb 2011

Specific brain network acts as event monitoring system

Wouldn't life be easy if everything happened as we anticipated? In reality, our brains are able to adapt to the unexpected using an inbuilt network that makes predictions about the world and monitors how those predictions turn out.

1 Feb 2011

New study sheds further light on stroke recovery process

Most people who survive a stroke recover some degree of their motor, sensory and cognitive functions over the following months and years. This recovery is commonly believed to reflect a reorganisation of the central nervous system that occurs after brain damage. Now a new study, published in the February 2011 issue of Elsevier's Cortex, sheds further light on the recovery process through its effect on language skills.

1 Feb 2011

AVANIR's NUEDEXTA for pseudobulbar affect now available by prescription

AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that NUEDEXTA™ (dextromethorphan hydrobromide and quinidine sulfate) is now available by prescription in the United States. NUEDEXTA is the first and only treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pseudobulbar affect (PBA).

1 Feb 2011

Histamine can be an important molecule to develop new treatments for MS

If you think histamines are your nemesis during allergy season, here's something that might change your perspective. New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that histamine could be an important molecule to developing new treatments for multiple sclerosis.

1 Feb 2011

Taxol reduces cell regeneration obstacles after spinal cord injury: Scientists

After a spinal cord injury a number of factors impede the regeneration of nerve cells. Two of the most important of these factors are the destabilization of the cytoskeleton and the development of scar tissue.

29 Jan 2011

HPN President announces gift to UCLA to advance research for Neural Regeneration

Dr. Richard Merkin, President and CEO of Heritage Provider Network, and the Merkin Family Foundation announce the generous gift to the UCLA Department of Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA to advance research for Neural Regeneration.

29 Jan 2011

ISU researchers study parasites that cause NTDs in humans

Richard Martin, DVM, PhD, a biomedical sciences professor at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, has devoted his 35-year career to studying nematode parasites. These parasites infect approximately one-quarter of the world population, producing debilitating symptoms that devastate the lives and economies of many of the world's underdeveloped and impoverished areas.

29 Jan 2011

Adeona to sell 2.85 million common stock at $1.40 per share

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, a developer of innovative medicines for serious central nervous system diseases, announced today that it has executed an agreement for the sale of approximately 2.85 million shares of its common stock at $1.40 per share to two new institutional investors in a registered direct offering for $4 million in gross proceeds.

29 Jan 2011

Athersys enters definitive agreements to sell common stock, warrants

Athersys, announced today that it has entered into definitive agreements with certain investors to sell 4,366,667 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to an additional 1,310,000 shares of common stock in a registered direct offering for gross proceeds of approximately $13.1 million, before deducting fees and offering expenses.

29 Jan 2011

UMMS, Lundbeck announce research collaboration to develop targeted therapy for HD

The University of Massachusetts Medical School and Lundbeck Inc. today announced a research collaboration aimed at further development of a targeted therapy to slow or halt the progression of Huntington's disease.

29 Jan 2011

LFA launches new nationwide education series for people with lupus

The Lupus Foundation of America has launched a new nationwide education series, Lupus: Learn from the Experts, designed to provide people with lupus essential information about living with lupus from some of the world's leading lupus experts. The program is a series of teleconferences hosted by a lupus expert, and will cover a wide variety of topics important to people with lupus, including disability, kidney involvement, and clinical trials.

29 Jan 2011

Research provides new clues for compulsive behavior, cognitive defects linked with LND

Research from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine provides new clues for the compulsive behavior and cognitive defects associated with a rare childhood neurological disease called Lesch-Nyhan Disease.

29 Jan 2011

Neuralstem ends litigation with ReNeuron

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that it has reach a settlement with ReNeuron, Ltd. ending litigation between the parties.

28 Jan 2011

Connectome remains dynamic during development, says Scripps Research

Connected highways of nerve cells carry information to and from different areas of the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Scientists are trying to draw a complete atlas of these connections-sometimes referred to as the "connectome"-to gain a better understanding of how the brain functions in health and disease.

28 Jan 2011

Arena reduces workforce by 25% and provides update on lorcaserin

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today a reduction of its US workforce of approximately 25%, or 66 employees. As a result of the workforce reduction, which Arena plans to complete around March 28, 2011, the company expects to incur restructuring charges, primarily in the first quarter of 2011, of approximately $3.8 million in connection with one-time employee termination costs.

28 Jan 2011