Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Physical exercise may prevent brain shrinkage in early Alzheimer's

Mild Alzheimer's disease patients with higher physical fitness had larger brains compared to mild Alzheimer's patients with lower physical fitness, according to a study published in the July 15, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Jul 2008

UT Southwestern launches study of surgical option for treating diabetic and other neuropathies

UT Southwestern Medical Center plastic surgeons and specialists in diabetes, neurology, pain management and rehabilitation are launching a cutting-edge study of peripheral nerve surgery to alleviate long-standing pain and numbness in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

10 Jul 2008

Neuron to publish Prana's PBT2 preclinical research on Alzheimer's disease

Prana Biotechnology Ltd. has announced the publication of key research findings with its lead Alzheimer's Disease drug, PBT2.

10 Jul 2008

Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of dementia

New research suggests that lowering blood pressure in older people could reduce their chances of dementia by 13%.

8 Jul 2008

Sumatriptan/naproxen sodium drug combo taken early relieves migraine symptoms

A combination drug taken within an hour after the start of a migraine is effective in relieving symptoms, according to research published in the July 8, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Jul 2008

The secrets to a long and healthy life

More and more people are living longer. But living to extreme old age is unusual and tends to run in some families. A new study, supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aims to learn more about the secrets to long healthy life, and investigators are seeking long-lived families to help study this important question.

7 Jul 2008

Statins have unexpected effect on pool of powerful brain cells

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia.

3 Jul 2008

Women over 90 significantly more likely to have dementia than men of the same age

...according UC Irvine researchers involved with the 90+ Study, one of the nation's largest studies of dementia and other health factors in the fastest-growing age demographic.

3 Jul 2008

New insight into role of statins in dementia

3 Jul 2008

Low childhood IQ linked to dementia risk later in life

The researchers from Edinburgh University compared the records of 173 people who took part in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932, a mental ability test taken by almost every child aged 11 in Scotland, they found that lower childhood IQ increased the risk of vascular dementia.

30 Jun 2008

Children with lower IQs are more likely to suffer dementia later in life

Children with lower IQs are more likely decades later to develop vascular dementia than children with high IQs, according to research published in the June 25, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Jun 2008

Researchers develop brain-machine interfaces that learn with the brain

Devices known as brain-machine interfaces could someday be used routinely to help paralyzed patients and amputees control prosthetic limbs with just their thoughts. Now, University of Florida researchers have taken the concept a step further, devising a way for computerized devices not only to translate brain signals into movement but also to evolve with the brain as it learns.

24 Jun 2008

Women, Latinos face higher brain aneurysm risk

A type of stroke that can strike at any age, and kills one-third of its victims, appears to be more common in women and Mexican-Americans than in non-Hispanic white men, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Stroke Program.

15 Jun 2008

Researchers find gamma-secretase modulators being tested for Alzheimer’s work in unexpected and beneficial ways

Researchers at Mayo Clinic, with their national and international collaborators, have discovered how a class of agents now in testing to treat Alzheimer's disease work, and say they may open up an avenue of drug discovery for this disease and others.

11 Jun 2008

Massachusetts insurers to expand health plans with physician ranking system despite lawsuit

Two of Massachusetts' largest health insurers are expanding or launching health plans that feature physician ranking systems despite opposition to those systems by the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Boston Globe reports. Under such ranking systems, patients who seek care from a top-rated, or top-tiered, physician have lower copayments.

11 Jun 2008

"HiCy" drug regimen reverses multiple sclerosis symptoms in selected patients

A short-term, very-high dose regimen of the immune-suppressing drug cyclophosphamide seems to slow progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in most of a small group of patients studied and may even restore neurological function lost to the disease, Johns Hopkins researchers report. The findings in nine people, most of whom had failed all other treatments, suggest new ways to treat a disease that tends to progress relentlessly.

10 Jun 2008

European research project to explore Alzheimer's diagnosis

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, GE Healthcare, a division of the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and a Consortium of leading research institutions across Europe announced the PredictAD project, a research collaboration aimed at developing new diagnostic procedures for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

10 Jun 2008

Genetic variation linked to earlier onset of Alzheimer's symptoms

Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a genetic variation associated with an earlier age of onset in Alzheimer's disease.

9 Jun 2008

GlaxoSmithKline Acquires Sirtris Pharmaceuticals

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Sirtris) for approximately USD720 million (or approx. GBP362 million) through a cash tender offer and merger of USD22.50 (or approx. GBP11.33) per share.

8 Jun 2008

Human stem cells show promise against fatal children's diseases

Scientists have used human stem cells to dramatically improve the condition of mice with a neurological condition similar to a set of diseases in children that are invariably fatal, according to an article in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

4 Jun 2008