Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

New research discovers link between HIV-related cognitive deficits and Alzheimer's-related dementia

More than half of HIV patients experience memory problems and other cognitive impairments as they age, and doctors know little about the underlying causes. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests HIV-related cognitive deficits share a common link with Alzheimer's-related dementia: low levels of the protein amyloid beta in the spinal fluid.

8 Dec 2009

UCB presents data on Vimpat AED at AES meeting

UCB today announced new findings on its antiepileptic drug (AED) Vimpat® that offer additional clinical evidence supporting the use of this AED as adjunctive therapy in adult patients with partial-onset seizures. Results of presented research demonstrate sustained efficacy in adult patients taking Vimpat® for up to three years, and a consistent long-term tolerability profile.

7 Dec 2009

DBS therapy offers hope for epilepsy patients

Long-term data from an investigational study of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Therapy for Epilepsy was released this week by Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) at the American Epilepsy Society Meeting (AES) in Boston.

7 Dec 2009

New Emergency Stroke System ensures patients’ access to effective treatment

Thanks to Los Angeles County's new Emergency Stroke System, individuals who experience a stroke may now be able to more quickly access some of the latest advances in stroke interventions.

5 Dec 2009

'Brain advantages' for effective business leadership

Business leaders are in charge-of people, of budgets, of production lines. Most leaders also believe that they are in charge of their greatest resource-their own brain. But how true is that? The more we understand about how the brain works, the clearer it becomes that often our brain kicks in before we do.

5 Dec 2009

Cannabis can reduce spasticity in MS patients

Cannabis can reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A systematic review, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found that five out six randomized controlled trials reported a reduction in spasticity and an improvement in mobility.

4 Dec 2009

Master gene linked to childhood brain tumor

The master gene Math1 is involved in the genesis of the most common childhood brain tumor, medulloblastoma, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in a report in the current issue of the journal Science.

4 Dec 2009

GIND scientists identify drug treatments that can normalize neuron development in AD

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) have discovered that two main causes of AD amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides and apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) impair the growth of new neurons born in adult brains. What is more, they have identified drug treatments that can normalize the development of these cells even in the presence of Aβ or apoE4. The findings are described in two separate papers published in the current issue of Cell Stem Cell.

4 Dec 2009

New research trial to study the impact of exercise on Parkinson's patients

Officials at the new Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute announced today the center's participation in a novel Parkinson's study aimed at determining the physical and neurological impact of simple exercise on Parkinson's patients.

4 Dec 2009

Study shows younger, female and Hispanic stroke survivors are less likely to take antithrombotic medications

People who have had an ischemic stroke are at higher lifetime risk for another stroke, but several types of medication can reduce that risk. One of the simplest regimens involves antithrombotic medications, otherwise known as blood thinners, of which the most common is aspirin.

3 Dec 2009

Endo Pharmaceuticals receives FDA complete response letter for AVEED NDA

Endo Pharmaceuticals today announced that it received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for its extended-duration testosterone undecanoate injection, AVEED(TM), for men diagnosed with low testosterone.

3 Dec 2009

AclarusDx Alzheimer’s test now available as RUO product

ExonHit Therapeutics is pleased to announce that AclarusDx™ Alzheimer’s test (formerly known as EHT Dx21), its blood-based test for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is now available as a Research Use Only (RUO) product for pharmaceutical companies and leading academic centers conducting clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease.

3 Dec 2009

Repeated use of ecstasy drug increases the risk of developing sleep apnea

Repeated use of the drug popularly known as "ecstasy" significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance, a new study by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests.

2 Dec 2009

Sepracor to present clinical study data of STEDESA at the 2009 AES meeting

Sepracor Inc. today announced that clinical study data for STEDESA™ (eslicarbazepine acetate) will be presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society (AES) in Boston. Seven posters describing new safety analyses will be presented at the Hynes Convention Center during the formal poster session on Saturday, December 5, 2009 between 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm EST.

2 Dec 2009

A leader in the fight against brain diseases and in drug discovery joins UF

A leader in the fight against brain diseases and in drug discovery to help Alzheimer's patients has joined the University of Florida College of Medicine, interim dean Michael Good, M.D., announced.

2 Dec 2009

Ecotones Duet Sleep Sound Machine recommended as part of a healthy sleep plan

Last month on a prominent nationally syndicated radio show, Dr. Rafael Pelayo, Associate Professor at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine, recommended the Ecotones Duet Sleep Sound Machine as part of a healthy sleep plan for people trying to achieve a better night's sleep with minimal use of drugs.

2 Dec 2009

Roche announces results of phase III taspoglutide study in diabetes patients

Ipsen, an innovation-driven global specialty pharmaceutical group, today announced that its partner Roche has disclosed the results of the second and third of eight T-emerge phase III studies in patients with diabetes for taspoglutide, the first human once weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue originating from Ipsen’s research and developed by Roche.

2 Dec 2009

Study examines role of low-oxygen exposure in heart failure patients

Distance runners who live at high altitudes with low oxygen levels are known to improve their performance during races in areas that are at sea level. Can heart failure patients, who suffer from fatigue, improve their exercise performance by staying in a tent-like, high-altitude simulator?

1 Dec 2009

Article on TYSABRI for treating patients with multiple sclerosis published

Best-practice recommendations for the selection and management of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who may benefit from, or are receiving treatment with TYSABRI- (natalizumab) were published today in a supplement to the medical journal Multiple Sclerosis.

1 Dec 2009

Americans living in the Southern region may have elevated risk of dying from stroke

The "stroke belt" has a tight hold. People born in the Southern stroke belt have a higher risk of dying from stroke as adults, even if they later move away, compared to people who were born in other parts of the country.

1 Dec 2009