Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Study shows that GSK-3 gene determines the total number of neurons required for brain

In populating the growing brain, neural stem cells must strike a delicate balance between two key processes - proliferation, in which the cells multiply to provide plenty of starting materials - and differentiation, in which those materials evolve into functioning neurons.

5 Oct 2009

New genetic alteration can cause familial cancers

Duke University Medical Center and National Cancer Institute scientists have discovered that a novel genetic alteration - a second copy of an entire gene - is a cause of familial chordoma, an uncommon form of cancer arising in bones and frequently affecting the nervous system.

5 Oct 2009

Breast milk should not be stored and fed later

The levels of the components in breast milk change every 24 hours in response to the needs of the baby. A new study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience shows, for example, how this milk could help newborn babies to sleep.

3 Oct 2009

Arginetix raises funds for development programs

Arginetix, Inc. today announced it has closed a $10.75 million Series A financing. The company is developing small molecule inhibitors of the enzyme arginase for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis and asthma.

2 Oct 2009

Preliminary Phase 2 study results of Plicera drug released

Amicus Therapeutics today announced preliminary results from its Phase 2 randomized, open-label study to assess the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of its investigational drug, Plicera(TM) (afegostat tartrate), in treatment-naive adult patients with type 1 Gaucher disease.

2 Oct 2009

Stress linked to ischemic strokes

Strong links have been uncovered between stress and ischemic strokes. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine have carried out the first study into the correlation between self-reported feelings of prolonged psychological stress and different stroke subtypes.

1 Oct 2009

New software to detect multiple sclerosis before brain damage occurs

Researchers of the Unit for Systems Biology of the University of Jaén, led by Francisco J. Esteban, are developing a software for clinical use to detect multiple sclerosis even before the typical brain damage of this neurodegenerative disease appear. In order to do so, this scientific multidisciplinary team is calculating the fractal dimension of the brain images registered on magnetic resonance imaging.

1 Oct 2009

Orexigen's Empatic Phase 2b results demonstrate weight loss

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that its 24-week, Phase 2b trial for Empatic(TM) (bupropion SR/zonisamide SR), the Company's second late stage investigational combination drug for the treatment of obesity, met its primary efficacy endpoint by demonstrating statistically significantly greater weight loss for both Empatic doses compared to monotherapies and placebo.

1 Oct 2009

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners to continue development of CPP-109 drug

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today announced that the Company will continue to develop CPP-109 (Catalyst's version of vigabatrin) for the treatment of cocaine and methamphetamine addiction.

1 Oct 2009

Alexza enters into agreement with institutional investors to raise $19.7 million

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with various institutional investors to raise $19.7 million in a private placement of its common stock.

1 Oct 2009

Todd Cancer Institute granted approval for constructing proton therapy center

The Todd Cancer Institute (TCI) at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center (LBMMC) and Miller Children’s Hospital (MCH) today announced it has been granted approval to proceed with the architecture and engineering for its proton therapy center, becoming one of only 13 centers in the country currently planning for a compact unit.

1 Oct 2009

UCF research team develops miniature diagnostic tool kit for dementia

With the risk of developing dementia growing at an alarming pace, a University of Central Florida research team is working with the Boston University School of Medicine to develop a miniature diagnostic toolkit in the hopes of stimulating earlier detection and treatment.

1 Oct 2009

Streptococcal infection does not cause OCD or Tourette syndrome, says study

New research shows that streptococcal infection does not appear to cause or trigger Tourette syndrome or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The research is published in the September 30, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

1 Oct 2009

EMD Serono submits NDA for Cladribine Tablets in the U.S.

EMD Serono, Inc. an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Cladribine Tablets, EMD Serono's proprietary investigational oral formulation of cladribine, as a therapy for reducing relapses in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

1 Oct 2009

Tβ4 therapy in EAE mice improves neurological functional recovery

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (NYSE Amex:RGN) announced today that researchers at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan, demonstrated for the first time that Tβ4 treatment of EAE (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis – an animal model for multiple sclerosis) significantly improves neurological functional recovery.

30 Sep 2009

University scientists achieve breakthrough in brain research

Chaos brews in the brains of newborns: the nerve cells are still bound only loosely to each other. Under the leadership of Academy Research Fellow Sari Lauri, a team of researchers at the University of Helsinki has been studying for years how a neural network capable of processing information effectively is created out of chaos. The team has now found a new kind of mechanism that adjusts the functional development of nerve cell contacts.

30 Sep 2009

Transient ischemic attack can trigger stroke

One out of every eight strokes is preceded by a "warning stroke," which is a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or mild stroke, according to research published in the September 29, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Sep 2009

Quintiles Transnational enter into marketing agreement with Allergan for SANCTURA XR

Quintiles Transnational Corp. and Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) today announced an agreement under which Quintiles will co-promote Allergan's SANCTURA XR® (trospium chloride extended release capsules), an anticholinergic approved for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency, predominantly to primary care physicians in the United States.

28 Sep 2009

Universal bilirubin screening can reduce jaundice incidence in newborns

Screening all newborns for excessive bilirubin in the blood can significantly decrease the incidence of severe jaundice which, in extreme cases, can lead to seizures and brain damage, according to researchers at UCSF Children's Hospital and Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, CA.

28 Sep 2009