Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Genzyme reports positive data from 5-year alemtuzumab Phase 2 study in MS

Genzyme Corp., a subsidiary of sanofi-aventis Group, today reported additional five-year patient data from its completed Phase 2 multiple sclerosis (MS) trial showing that nearly two-thirds of alemtuzumab treated patients remained free of clinically-active disease as much as four years after most patients received their last course of the investigational drug.

15 Apr 2011

Mortality rates increase 800% when epilepsy and autism occur together

A comprehensive investigation of brain tissue donated to the Autism Speaks Autism Tissue Program (ATP), a postmortem brain tissue donation program, determined that one-third of the brain donors with autism also had epilepsy, and co-morbidity data from the California State Department of Developmental Services revealed a higher than expected rate of mortality in individuals with both autism and epilepsy than for individuals with autism alone.

15 Apr 2011

Takeda announces EDARBI availability in U.S. pharmacies for hypertension treatment

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., today announced that EDARBI, an angiotensin II receptor blocker approved for the treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure, is now available by prescription for adults in U.S. pharmacies.

15 Apr 2011

AAN, PDF honor Boston researcher with Clinician Scientist Development Award

A clinician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston is receiving $240,000 to further his research into how stem cells may be used to treat Parkinson's disease through the American Academy of Neurology Foundation and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation Clinician Scientist Development Award in Parkinson's Disease Research.

15 Apr 2011

Brain damage starts decade earlier in Alzheimer’s patients

A new study published in the journal Neurology has shown that the brains of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease start shrinking up to a decade before symptoms appear. Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston did brain imaging tests on older adults with no signs of memory loss.

15 Apr 2011

Manage type 2 diabetes to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s

A new study from a team of Chinese researchers has shown that controlling type 2 diabetes symptoms may produce many health benefits including a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

15 Apr 2011

Perampanel drug can effectively treat seizures in patients with epilepsy

A new drug called perampanel appears to significantly reduce seizures in people with hard-to-control epilepsy, according to results of the first clinical trial to test the higher 12 mg dose of the drug.

15 Apr 2011

Ortho-McNeil Neurologics announces voluntary recall of TOPAMAX 100mg Tablets

Ortho-McNeil Neurologics Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced it is voluntarily recalling two lots of TOPAMAX® (topiramate) 100mg Tablets. These two lots were shipped between 10/19/2010 and 12/28/2010 and distributed in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

15 Apr 2011

Study finds association between C-reactive protein and memory decline

High levels of a protein associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation in the brain correlate with aspects of memory decline in otherwise cognitively normal older adults, according to a study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.

15 Apr 2011

Botox may offer new hope for patients with low cerebrospinal fluid headaches

A Mayo Clinic case study finds Botox may offer new hope to patients suffering disabling low cerebrospinal fluid headaches. The successful treatment also offers new insight into Botox and headache treatment generally.

15 Apr 2011

Brain starts shrinking in Alzheimer’s disease a decade earlier: Study

According to American researchers, brain scans of healthy people showed signs that the brain was shrinking in Alzheimer's-affected areas nearly a decade before the disease was diagnosed. This comes in the latest issue of the journal Neurology and it may offer a new way to detect the disease early, an advance that could help in the development of effective treatments for Alzheimer's, a brain-wasting disease that affects up to 26 million people globally.

13 Apr 2011

Teva presents new CNS products study data in RRMS, Parkinson's at AAN meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced that several new studies further support the efficacy and safety of the company's innovative central nervous system products.

12 Apr 2011

Positive results from laquinimod Phase III ALLEGRO study in multiple sclerosis to be presented at AAN

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced today results from the two-year Phase III ALLEGRO study of laquinimod, an oral, once-daily, investigational immunomodulator for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). These data will be presented as late-breaking research at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).

12 Apr 2011

Israeli scientists identify genetic cause of hereditary spastic paraparesis

In a research collaboration blind to affairs of politics, ethnicity, and religion, an international team led by Israeli scientists has identified the genetic cause of a neurological disorder afflicting members of a Palestinian family.

12 Apr 2011

Laquinimod drug greatly reduces number of relapses in patients with MS

The drug laquinimod reduced the number of relapses for people with multiple sclerosis, in a large, long-term Phase III clinical study that will be presented as late-breaking research at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9-16, 2011, in Honolulu.

12 Apr 2011

New guideline on most effective treatments for diabetic nerve pain

The American Academy of Neurology has issued a new guideline on the most effective treatments for diabetic nerve pain, the burning or tingling pain in the hands and feet that affects millions of people with diabetes. The guideline is published in the April 11, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and will be presented April 11, 2011, at the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting in Honolulu.

12 Apr 2011

Epilepsy medication USL255 associated with less fluctuation in plasma levels compared to topiramate IR

Upsher-Smith Laboratories today announced the presentation of data indicating that once daily administration of USL255, a proprietary extended-release (ER) formulation of the epilepsy medication topiramate, was associated with less fluctuation in topiramate plasma levels compared to immediate-release (IR) topiramate administered twice daily in healthy volunteers.

12 Apr 2011

REACH introduces new web-based services for physicians

REACH Health, Inc., a leading provider of comprehensive clinical telemedicine solutions, today announced that it has launched REACH Physician Services for Tele-Stroke, Tele-Neurology and Tele-ICU call coverage.

12 Apr 2011

Alzheimer’s drug – a failure of sorts: Study

Results from the study shows that drug, memantine, is no better than a dummy pill when it comes to ameliorating disease symptoms, including the decline of mental abilities and also helping patients with moderate Alzheimer's, the researchers say. Sold under the brand Namenda by Forest Laboratories Inc and Germany's Merz Pharma, the drug had U.S. sales of about $1.2 billion last year.

11 Apr 2011

Neurosurgeons to present techniques and discuss surgical approaches at AANS meeting

Neurosurgeons from NYU Langone Medical Center will present techniques and discuss surgical approaches and applications of technology at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, held April 9-13, 2011 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

11 Apr 2011