Neuroscience News and Research

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Millionaire leaves millions for research into motor neuron disease

A self-made millionaire Peter Goodenough who died from motor neuron disease (MND) left more than $6 million to the University's Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) to help find a cure for MND.

19 Mar 2008

Researchers may have found test for depression

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered that a change in the location of a protein in the brain could serve as a biomarker for depression, allowing a simple, rapid, laboratory test to identify patients with depression and to determine whether a particular antidepressant therapy will provide a successful response.

12 Mar 2008

Thermo Fisher Scientific creates breakthrough gene-silencing tool

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has developed a breakthrough gene-silencing tool that greatly simplifies RNA- interference (RNAi) technology and eliminates barriers associated with previous cellular delivery methods.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 12 Mar 2008

Short-term stress impairs brain-cell communication

Short-term stress lasting as little as a few hours can impair brain-cell communication in areas associated with learning and memory, University of California, Irvine researchers have found.

12 Mar 2008

New discovery could change future diagnosis and therapy of depression

12 Mar 2008

Simple blood test could show whether an antidepressant is working

Researchers in the United States have discovered that a single protein in the brain changes its location within a cell membrane when an antidepressant is working.

11 Mar 2008

Low levels of PYY hormone indicate higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity

It may soon be possible to take a simple blood test and predict whether or not someone has low levels of a particular molecule, predisposing them to the development of Type 2 diabetes.

11 Mar 2008

Cell therapy for rejuvenating aged brain by injection of human umbilical cord blood

When human umbilical cord blood cells (UCBC) were injected into aged laboratory animals, researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) found improvements in the microenvironment of the hippocampus region of the animals' brains and a subsequent rejuvenation of neural stem/progenitor cells.

11 Mar 2008

Paradoxical Alzheimer's finding may provide better understanding of memory loss

Do you remember the seventh song that played on your radio on the way to work yesterday?

10 Mar 2008

Contemplative brain network less complex in children

A brain network linked to introspective tasks - such as forming the self-image or understanding the motivations of others - is less intricate and well-connected in children, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

10 Mar 2008

Brain network linked to contemplation in adults is less complex in children

10 Mar 2008

Integrin beta3 protein yields clues to autism

Many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin - a chemical with strong links to mood and anxiety.

6 Mar 2008

Protein within neurons in the amygdala controls development of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and drinking behaviors

Doctors may one day be able to control alcohol addiction by manipulating the molecular events in the brain that underlie anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center report in the March 5 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

6 Mar 2008

Cell proteins could offer a future drug target against weight gain

Two cell proteins that relax the gut and help accommodate a big meal have been identified by UCL (University College London) scientists.

4 Mar 2008

FDA approves PRISTIQ for the treatment of adult patients with major depressive disorder

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PRISTIQ (desvenlafaxine), a structurally novel, once-daily serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), to treat adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

3 Mar 2008