Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Researchers gain new insights into potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

It is estimated that about 35 million people worldwide currently suffer from dementia and it is expected that the number will increase to 135 million by the year 2050. The disease is already one of the most common health problems in the elderly, which is why experts predict that the numbers of people affected will increase over time.

8 Dec 2014

Study provides insights into genetic underpinnings of childhood epilepsies

Technological advances in genetic analysis have uncovered changes in single genes that account for a surprising number of infantile and early-childhood epilepsies. Though some of the affected genes have been identified, the physical manifestations of these alterations remain largely uncharacterized.

7 Dec 2014

Researchers reveal that genetic mutations may cause more cases of ALS

Genetic mutations may cause more cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than scientists previously had realized, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The scientists also showed that the number of mutated genes influences the age when the fatal paralyzing disorder first appears.

7 Dec 2014

Genetics may play major role in Lou Gehrig's disease, study reveals

Genetics may play a larger role in causing Lou Gehrig's disease than previously believed, potentially accounting for more than one-third of all cases, according to one of the most comprehensive genetic studies to date of patients who suffer from the condition also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

6 Dec 2014

Maria T. Lymberis to receive 2014 Gary S. Nye Award for Physician Health and Well-Being

Maria T. Lymberis, MD, a member of the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc., will be honored with the 2014 Gary S. Nye Award for Physician Health and Well-Being for her longstanding commitment to physician health in her local community and in the state of California, as well as her career-long contributions to medical ethics.

6 Dec 2014

CNF names Elizabeth A. Thiele as winner of 2014 Infantile Spasms Heroes Award

Today the Child Neurology Foundation, named Elizabeth A. Thiele, MD, PhD, as its 2014 Infantile Spasms (IS) Heroes Award winner to help kick off IS Awareness Week (December 5-11, 2014). The IS Heroes Award was established in 2010 by CNF, www.childneurologyfoundation.org, to recognize a deserving healthcare professional for making a positive difference in the life of a child with infantile spasms.

5 Dec 2014

Researchers developing eye tests to evaluate diabetic neuropathy receive global recognition

Researchers from QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation developing eye tests to assess diabetic neuropathy and pave the way for earlier treatment are key partners in a consortium awarded $US1.1 million from the leading American medical research agency.

5 Dec 2014

UAB research suggests potential therapeutic target for patients with frontotemporal dementia

Drugs that boost the function of a specific type of neurotransmitter receptor may provide benefit to patients with the second most common type of dementia, according to research by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham published today in the Journal of Neuroscience.

4 Dec 2014

Prodromal symptoms precede PD by up to a decade

Many prodromal symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear long before a clinical diagnosis is made, shows a large study of patients in primary care.

3 Dec 2014

Northwestern Medicine neurosurgeons use new adaptive hybrid surgery technology to treat brain tumor

It started with numbness on the left side of his face. A few months later, Steve Mores couldn't feel his tongue or chew on the left side of his mouth. TV commercials featuring food or even being in a grocery store made him nauseous. A long time drummer in a popular band, Mores lost 30 pounds and had to find a replacement.

3 Dec 2014

Frontal lesions predict better improvement in people with spatial neglect after prism therapy

Stroke researchers have found that the presence of frontal lesions predicts better functional improvement in individuals with spatial neglect who received prism adaptation therapy. "Integrity of medial temporal structures may predict better improvement of spatial neglect with prism adaptation treatment" was published in September in the Neuroimaging and Rehabilitation Special Issue of Brain Imaging & Behavior.

3 Dec 2014

Neuroimaging markers have synergistic effect on cognitive decline

The Alzheimer disease neuroimaging markers β-amyloid and neurodegeneration have synergistic effects on the rate of cognitive decline in clinically normal people, research shows.

2 Dec 2014

Initial relapsing phase hastens postprogression MS disability

Patients in the progressive phase of multiple sclerosis have a faster decline towards disability if they previously had a clinical relapsing phase, say researchers.

2 Dec 2014

‘Landmark’ study confirms aetiology effect on epilepsy mortality risk

A “landmark” meta-analysis confirms the increased mortality risk in patients who have symptomatic or cryptogenic epilepsy.

2 Dec 2014

Study provides insight into variable impact of TBI on long-term memory

Kessler Foundation researchers have authored a new article that provides insight into the variable impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on long-term memory. The article, "Working memory capacity links cognitive reserve with long-term memory in moderate to severe TBI: a translational approach," was epublished ahead of print on October 7 in the Journal of Neurology (10.1007/s00415-014-7523-4).

2 Dec 2014

UC San Diego Health System, IVFCMG partner to enhance health care services

UC San Diego Health System and Imperial Valley Family Care Medical Group are pleased to announce a comprehensive affiliation that will enhance the depth and quality of multi-specialty health care services and clinical trials available to patients in the Imperial Valley and surrounding communities.

2 Dec 2014

Valeant to redeem US$445.0M aggregate principal amount of 6.875% Senior Notes due 2018

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, will redeem US$445.0 million aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 6.875% Senior Notes due 2018, CUSIP Nos. 91911XAN4, U9098VAF9 (the "Notes") on December 29, 2014 and has mailed an irrevocable notice of redemption for the Notes.

29 Nov 2014

Caregivers may need to be mindful of seniors' ability to manage their own money, say experts

Many Americans have struggled with the thorny issue of suggesting an elderly loved one should give up the car keys, but experts suggest caregivers may also need to be mindful of seniors' ability to manage their own money.

28 Nov 2014

UCL research opens up new way to treat neurological disorders

The way that tetanus neurotoxin enters nerve cells has been discovered by UCL scientists, who showed that this process can be blocked, offering a potential therapeutic intervention for tetanus. This newly-discovered pathway could be exploited to deliver therapies to the nervous system, opening up a whole new way to treat neurological disorders such as motor neuron disease and peripheral neuropathies.

28 Nov 2014

Functional connectivity loss may underlie Parkinson’s cognitive decline

Patients with Parkinson’s disease have deceases in functional connectivity over time and these correlate closely with cognitive decline, research shows.

27 Nov 2014