Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Scientists to develop methotrexate nose drops for brain cancer

Scientists are reporting the development and successful initial testing of a new form of methotrexate the mainstay anticancer drug designed to be given as nose drops rather than injected. It shows promise as a more effective treatment for brain cancer, they say. The report appears in ACS' Molecular Pharmaceutics, a bi-monthly journal.

23 Sep 2010

New study signals hope for treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease

A new study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists signals hope for treatment of a neurodegenerative disease and a new model for understanding the mechanism at work in other more common neurodegenerative disorders.

23 Sep 2010

Nerve inflammation may cause postsurgical neuropathies: Study

A new Mayo Clinic study found that nerve inflammation may cause the pain, numbness and weakness following surgical procedures that is known as postsurgical neuropathy. The development of postsurgical neuropathies is typically attributed to compression or stretching of nerves during surgery. This new research shows that, in some cases, the neuropathy is actually caused by the immune system attacking the nerves and is potentially treatable with immunosuppressive drugs.

23 Sep 2010

Biogen Idec concurs with FDA on safety monitoring for Gilenya through REMS

Biogen Idec is committed to improving the lives of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and no company is doing more for these patients. There has been a desire within the MS community for an oral treatment for a long time, and the approval of Gilenya has made this a reality.

23 Sep 2010

FDA approves Gilenya capsules for reducing MS relapses

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Gilenya capsules (fingolimod) to reduce relapses and delay disability progression in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

22 Sep 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim to present linagliptin Phase III data at 46th EASD

New Phase III data found that investigational linagliptin therapy resulted in significant reductions in blood sugar as measured by hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) when compared to placebo, both when added to sulfonylurea (SU) in inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients, and when administered as monotherapy in T2D patients for whom metformin is inappropriate.

22 Sep 2010

Researchers explain how nerve cells transmit electrical signals

Billions of brain cells are communicating at any given moment. Like an organic supercomputer they keep everything going, from breathing to solving riddles, and "programming errors" can lead to serious conditions such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

22 Sep 2010

Impact of cancer treatment on cardiovascular function

For the past two decades, cancer therapy has become more sophisticated and effective, resulting in an ever-expanding group of long-term cancer survivors. There is also a growing awareness of the potentially negative effects of cancer treatment on the heart and the management of cardiac disease during and after cancer therapy.

22 Sep 2010

FDA grants orphan-drug designation to Catalyst's CPP-115 investigational drug

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today announced that its investigational drug, CPP-115, a novel GABA aminotransferase inhibitor, has been granted orphan-drug designation for the treatment of infantile spasms (West Syndrome) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

22 Sep 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation for MultiStem stem cell therapy

Athersys, Inc. announced today that MultiStem, Athersys' multipotent adult progenitor stem cell therapy, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of graft vs. host disease (GvHD).

21 Sep 2010

Researchers discover new drug to control acute and chronic pain

American and Italian researchers have found that a novel drug allows anandamide a marijuana like chemical in the body to effectively control pain at the site of an injury.

21 Sep 2010

National Science Foundation awards UofL researcher $500,000 for nervous system study

Michal Hetman, MD, PhD, associate professor and endowed chair in molecular signaling in the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center and the UofL Department of Neurological Surgery, has received a three-year, $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund a project that will aim to explain how the nervous system grows and develops.

21 Sep 2010

Intravenous aspirin safe, effective option for severe headache or migraine

A new study shows that aspirin, given intravenously (IV), may be a safe and effective option for people hospitalized for severe headache or migraine, undergoing medication withdrawal. The research will be published in the September 21, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Sep 2010

Six3 gene safeguards future retina

New research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators adds to evidence that the Six3 gene functions like a doorman in the developing brain and visual system, safeguarding the future retina by keeping the region where the eye is forming free of a signaling protein capable of disrupting the process.

21 Sep 2010

Seven abstracts on Lantheus' PET imaging candidates to be presented at ASNC2010

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic medical imaging, today announced that seven abstracts related to two of the company's cardiac Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging candidates will be presented at ASNC2010, the 15th Annual Scientific Session of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, being held September 23-26, 2010 in Philadelphia.

20 Sep 2010

MultiStem multipotent adult progenitor cell therapy preserves 'blood brain barrier'

Athersys, Inc. announced today the publication of a key study in the October issue of Experimental Neurology conducted by researchers at Athersys, the University of Texas Medical School, the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices, and Texas A&M University.

20 Sep 2010

Chelsea Therapeutics' Phase III NORTHERA Study 301 meets primary endpoint

Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. announced that preliminary analyses of its Phase III NORTHERA™ Study 301 met its primary endpoint. Treatment with Northera provided clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement.

20 Sep 2010

URB937 drug boosts natural painkiller level: Study

A new study has shown how a novel compound boosts levels of a natural painkiller at the site of an injury. The ground-breaking study published today in Nature Neuroscience shows how the potential drug URB937 acts in peripheral tissue and may have the potential to relieve pain without the side effects associated with many current painkillers that act centrally on the nervous system.

20 Sep 2010

H1N1 influenza increases neurological complications in children: Study

A recent study by researchers at the University of Utah determined that the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) caused a higher rate of neurological complications in children than the seasonal flu. The most common complications observed were seizures and encephalopathy.

20 Sep 2010

Tiotropium bromide shows potential as an alternative asthma treatment

A drug commonly used for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) successfully treats adults whose asthma is not well-controlled on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids, reported researchers supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

20 Sep 2010