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.

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

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

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

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

Supercomputer to help the diagnosis of epilepsy, stroke, depression and other brain conditions

The University of Oregon, Electrical Geodesics, Inc. (EGI), and IBM have announced a new project that uses grid computing, Linux and IBM supercomputer technology to speed and improve the diagnosis of Epilepsy, stroke, depression and other brain conditions.

22 Mar 2004

Side Effects of Diabetes Drugs Involve Unsuspected Brain Region

A brain region involved in emotional and intellectual processes appears to also play an unsuspected role in the body’s visceral response to dangerously low blood sugar levels, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. Low blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, is a common and dangerous side effect of drugs that control insulin levels in people with diabetes.

22 Mar 2004

£76 million research centre to make the UK a global centre of excellence for clinical imaging

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Imperial College London today announce a unique research collaboration in medical imaging. GSK will contribute funding of £28m for the construction of a new Clinical Imaging Centre, next to Hammersmith Hospital in West London, UK. Research will focus on cancer, stroke, neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis and psychiatric diseases. In association with the Clinical Imaging Centre, GSK and Imperial have entered into a 10-year research agreement for medical imaging.

22 Mar 2004

New Theory About Alzheimer's Disease

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has proposed a new theory about the cause of Alzheimer's disease, the progressive neurodegenerative disorder that currently afflicts some 4.5 million Americans. According to the hypothesis, the disease arises as a consequence of inflammation, which creates abnormal metabolites out of normal brain molecules.

22 Mar 2004

Drug Based on Brain Chemical Could End Narcolepsy and Insomnia

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have discovered a potentially new avenue for treating human narcolepsy, and the work may also lead to more effective ways for insomniacs to boost their wakefulness during the daytime.

22 Mar 2004

Cigarette Smoking May Lower Rates of Neurodegenerative Diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

While the health risks of tobacco are well known, several studies have shown that people with a history of cigarette smoking have lower rates of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. However, the explanations for nicotine's neuroprotective effects continue to be debated.

22 Mar 2004

Nickel-Titanium Clot-buster reverses vessel damage

A novel corkscrew-like device that mechanically removes clots from the brain has shown promise in recanalizing occluded vessels and reversing damage caused by ischemic stroke, according to researchers at the 29th International Stroke Conference.

20 Mar 2004