Brain News and Research

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The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ. Enclosed in the cranium, it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times as large as the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size.

Newly formed FAS Center for Systems Neuroscience

Harvard has long been recognized for its strength in neuroscience: Researchers in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) are leaders in studies of behavior, perception, and brain development, while Harvard Medical School (HMS) was the first in the nation to establish a department of neurobiology.

29 Mar 2004

Discovery of molecule that is part of the machinery that mediates the sense of hearing

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, at the University of California in San Diego, and at the Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a key molecule that is part of the machinery that mediates the sense of hearing.

28 Mar 2004

Groundbreaking work on the development of motor skills in infants is being expanded to include at-risk children

For the last three years, Galloway and his graduate students have been studying the early motor skills of infants and have found that the encouragement of movement very early in life can spur physical development.

27 Mar 2004

A common antibiotic used to treat arthritis and acne shows promise for limiting the severity of spinal cord and brain injuries

When a fall, car crash, bullet, or knife crushes or cuts a spinal cord, the injury does not stop there. Rather, tissues continue to discharge toxic chemicals for hours, even days and weeks. These chemicals kill and disable nerve cells some distance away from the core injury, compounding the damage and making rehabilitation more difficult or impossible.

26 Mar 2004

Growth factor protein succeeds in growing new coronary arteries

Three patients of the UC Heart & Vascular Center have grown new coronary artery branches to increase blood flow to the heart after receiving a new growth factor protein (FGF1) in November 2003. All three patients showed improved blood flow to the heart twelve weeks following the injection.

26 Mar 2004

Stenting for Stroke Prevention is More Effective Than Surgery in Keeping Blood Vessels Open

Research presented in a six-hour symposium on carotid artery disease at the 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology showed carotid artery stenting to be safe and effective for highrisk patients. Currently, the standard of care for stroke prevention in patients with moderate to severely blocked carotid arteries is carotid endarterectomy surgery. The ARCHeR trials treated patients who were high-risk surgical candidates with carotid artery stenting with and without embolic protection, a device to capture debris that may break off during the procedure.

25 Mar 2004

New Research Information on Tumor Necrosis Therapy

Researchers for Peregrine Pharmaceuticals presented today at the Strategic Research Institute’s Clinical-Stage Product Partnering Summit in La Jolla, CA a summary of clinical experience with Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT). The TNT technology is being developed in the U.S. and Europe by Peregrine under the trade name Cotara™. Over 200 patients have been treated with TNT world-wide and a TNT product has been approved to treat grade III or IV advanced lung cancer in the People’s Republic of China. A Cotara registration study for brain cancer has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a Phase I colorectal cancer study is on-going at Stanford University Medical Center.

25 Mar 2004

Discovery of new gene sheds light on human brain development

With the identification of the gene responsible for a newly recognized type of mental retardation, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have also discovered what appears to be the key target in the evolution of the frontal lobes of the brain's cerebral cortex. The findings offer a key insight into the complex puzzle of human brain development - and the evolution of human behavior.

25 Mar 2004

Brain signals could act as remote controls

In their first human studies of the feasibility of using brain signals to operate external devices, researchers at Duke University Medical Center report that arrays of electrodes can provide useable signals for controlling such devices. The research team is now working to develop prototype devices that may enable paralyzed people to operate "neuroprosthetic" and other external devices using only their brain signals.

25 Mar 2004

Psychologists Study Zero-Gravity Effects on the Human Brain

Psychologists from the University of Birmingham are taking part in a project where they will experience how it feels to be weightless as part of their studies into how we use the sense of touch to help control and guide our movements.

24 Mar 2004

Study tracks behaviour changes in Alzheimer sufferers

Alzheimer’s sufferers are having their DNA measured and behaviour monitored to pinpoint who is most at risk from developing behaviour problems from dementia.

24 Mar 2004

Alcohol boosts the pleasurable effects of nicotine

In tests on human volunteers, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that even small amounts of alcohol boost the pleasurable effects of nicotine, inducing people to smoke more when drinking alcoholic beverages. The findings provide a physiological explanation for the common observation that people smoke more in bars. The findings also explain statistics showing that alcoholics tend to smoke more than non-alcoholics, and that smokers are more likely to be alcoholics.

24 Mar 2004

Oregon Stem Cell Center Hunt for Human Disease Therapies

Oregon Health & Science University's fast-growing stem cell research program, which already has made significant strides in the hunt for human disease therapies, now has a place to call home.

23 Mar 2004

Cladribine Targeted to Become First Oral Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis

Serono and IVAX Corporation has announced positive results from two clinical trials with a new proprietary oral formulation of cladribine, a potential new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). The study results showed that the formulation of oral cladribine which has been developed by Serono and IVAX has met the targets for an orally administered product, with blood levels of cladribine in the expected therapeutic range. Efficacy studies of oral cladribine in MS patients are planned to start late 2004.

23 Mar 2004

New therapy for multiple sclerosis sufferers

Serono and IVAX Corporation have announced positive results from two clinical trials with a new proprietary oral formulation of cladribine, a potential new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS).

23 Mar 2004

Researchers discover new form of the Rett syndrome protein

Adrian Bird and Skirmantas Kriaucionis of the University of Edinburgh have discovered a novel form of the protein MeCP2. This alternate form, coined MeCP2 alpha, differs from the original only in the first 19 amino acids. Interestingly, Adrian Bird, Director of the Welcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology at Edinburgh University, found that MeCP2 alpha, is ten times more prevalent not only in the brain but also in other tissues. These findings are currently reported online in Nucleic Acids Research. Similar findings were reported yesterday in Nature Genetics online by Berge Minassian, a neurologist and scientist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

22 Mar 2004

New Treatment for Chronic Head Pain

Dr. Levy pioneered a procedure known as supraorbital nerve stimulation or SOS, in which neurotransmitters are implanted into the forehead to block head pain. Tiny wires are burrowed under the skin until the precise location of pain is marked by a tingling response to electrical charge. The wires are kept in place for a week, and if pain is lessened and the patient is comfortable with the technology, neurotransmitters are surgically implanted under local anesthesia. The patient is able to control pain relief by manually adjusting the level of electrical stimulation through a hand held device.

22 Mar 2004

The placebo effect, study suggest pain management is possible

A Columbia professor has uncovered fresh evidence of the existence of the often-debated placebo effect. Even the professor himself, Tor D. Wager, of the Department of Psychology, was surprised by his team's findings. The study showed that the human brain processes pain differently when people believe that they have been given a pain-relieving skin cream. Wager, lead author of the study, defines "placebo" as a treatment that has no direct pharmacological effect and that may influence one's experience and physiology through one's beliefs.

22 Mar 2004

Spina bifida on the decline

The incidence of spina bifida has decreased by 32 percent in the United States over the past decade. The decrease indicates the success of the Public Health Service’s recommendations released in 1992 urging women to increase their levels of folic acid intake prior to becoming pregnant.

22 Mar 2004

Breast feeding increases choline which means more brain cells

Five years ago, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers first reported finding that the nutrient choline played a critical role in memory and brain function by positively affecting the brain’s physical development. Differences in development influenced action, the scientists and their colleagues found. In animal experiments conducted at Duke University, both young and old rats performed significantly better on memory tasks if they received enough choline before birth compared with same-age rats whose mothers were fed choline-deficient diets. The latter showed deficits in the hippocampus and septums of their brains.

22 Mar 2004