Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

New guideline recommends when to use CT scans in ER for seizures

A guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends immediate brain CT scans to screen certain emergency room patients with seizures.

29 Oct 2007

Deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson's makes some act irrationally

An implantable brain device meant to help Parkinson's disease patients better control their movements, has been found to have some worrying side-effects.

29 Oct 2007

Therapeutic gene expression can be sustainable for 1 year

Researchers at the Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have shown for the first time that it is possible to sustain therapeutic gene expression in the central nervous system for up to a year, even in the presence of an anti-viral immune response mechanism that is normally present in humans.

28 Oct 2007

Scientists discover new causes for neurodegeneration

Diseases that cause neurons to break-down, such as Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (Mad Cow Disease), continue to be elusive to scientists and resistant to treatments.

25 Oct 2007

Emerging cancer therapies and novel targets

What are the cancer drugs of tomorrow and how will they be developed? At the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, researchers will present some answers to these and other pressing questions regarding emerging cancer therapeutics.

25 Oct 2007

Medical College of Wisconsin receives grant to study infantile hemangiomas

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee a three-year, $1 million Orphan Products Development grant to study infantile hemangiomas – a vascular tumor of the skin or internal organs.

25 Oct 2007

Darkness increases the impact of social stress

Just in time for Halloween, researchers are releasing new data that show darkness increases the impact of social stress, in an article scheduled for publication in the November 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry.

24 Oct 2007

Orexigen presents findings on obesity drug candidates

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders including obesity, has presented the results of a preclinical study that further supports the Company's understanding of an aspect of the mechanism of action of Contrave, one of its two late-stage obesity drug candidates.

24 Oct 2007

Advances in drug screening

With the discovery of suitable molecular targets - cellular molecules along pathways crucial for sustaining the life of cancer cells - comes the perplexing dilemma of where to find the next therapeutics that will bind to and disable those targets.

23 Oct 2007

Breakthrough reveals important human receptor structure that will aid drug development

Scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge have obtained the first clear images of the proteins that relay vital messages to cells.

22 Oct 2007

The accumulation of sugar in neurons may explain the origin of several neurodegenerative diseases

A phenomenon considered healthy for cells, such as the accumulation of long chains of glucose (glycogen), which tissues store for energy purposes, is harmful for neurons.

22 Oct 2007

West Nile virus' spread through nerve cells linked to serious complication

Scientists believe they have found an explanation for a puzzling and serious complication of West Nile virus infection.

19 Oct 2007

Mayo Clinic clarifies diagnosis for primary central nervous system vasculitis (PCNSV)

Mayo Clinic has clarified the methods of diagnosis and optimal management of a rare and little-understood blood vessel disease of the brain and spinal cord that often leads to stroke or death.

19 Oct 2007

FDA expands approved age range for Menactra, bacterial meningitis vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded the approved age range for Menactra, a bacterial meningitis vaccine, to include children ages 2 to 10 years.

19 Oct 2007

FDA details safe sources for imported puffer fish

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released consumer and industry advisories regarding safe sources of puffer fish.

19 Oct 2007

Tolerance to inhalants may be caused by changes in gene expression

Changes in the expression of genes may be the reason why people who abuse inhalants, such as spray paint or glue, quickly develop a tolerance, biologists at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered.

18 Oct 2007

Mental disorders are disorders of the brain

Depression, anxiety disorders such as panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorders, alcohol and drug dependence, dementia and Parkinson's disease are just a few examples of "disorders of the brain".

17 Oct 2007

Insomniac fish help understand the genetics behind sleep disorders

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have hooked a fish that suffers from insomnia in their quest to understand the genetics behind sleep disorders.

16 Oct 2007

Researchers working on the development of drugs to limit neuronal death

Neurons die en masse when the spinal cord is injured or when a person suffers a stroke. Researchers of the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, and of Aarhus University, Denmark, have unraveled the molecular mechanism which causes the death not only of damaged neurons, but also of healthy nerve cells.

16 Oct 2007