Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Preliminary results from Remedy Pharmaceuticals' RP-1127 Phase 2 trial on stroke

Each year, over 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke. For most, medical science can do very little. Some will die; a number will suffer debilitating aftereffects. Now, preliminary results of a Phase 2 clinical trial using Remedy Pharmaceuticals' new drug, RP-1127, presented at the 2012 International Stroke Conference in New Orleans on February 2, offer hope to many of these patients.

6 Feb 2012

Diabetic mothers and risk of birth defects in baby: Study

Anew study published in Diabetologica reveals that pregnant women with diabetes are almost four times more likely to have a baby with a birth defect.

6 Feb 2012

Neuralstem announces registered direct placement of 5,200,000 shares of common stock

Neuralstem, Inc. announced today that it has entered into agreements with certain institutional and accredited investors for a registered direct placement of 5,200,000 shares of common stock at a price of $1.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $5,200,000.

6 Feb 2012

BioLineRx, Genoscience and RFS Pharma enter agreement for BL-8030 Hepatitis C treatment

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today it has signed a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Genoscience and RFS Pharma to develop and commercialize BL-8030, an orally available treatment for Hepatitis C.

6 Feb 2012

Concussions linked with number of hits received by football players

A two-year study of high school football players suggests that concussions are likely caused by many hits over time and not from a single blow to the head, as commonly believed.

3 Feb 2012

New England Journal of Medicine publishes Diamyd Medical's antigen-based diabetes therapy study

An article with the results of Diamyd Medical's European Phase III study of the antigen-based diabetes therapy Diamyd® has been published in the scientific journal the New England Journal of Medicine. The now published results were previously presented at the American Diabetes Association's 71st Scientific Sessions in San Diego, California, USA, on June 28, 2011.

3 Feb 2012

Scientists reveal novel mechanism underpinning age-dependent changes to cognitive abilities

New findings, led by neuroscientists at the University of Bristol and published this week in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, reveal a novel mechanism through which the brain may become more reluctant to function as we grow older.

2 Feb 2012

High beta-amyloid levels may affect brain performance in healthy adults

High levels of the protein beta-amyloid in the brain that is associated with Alzheimer's disease may affect brain performance even in healthy adults, according to a study published in the February 1, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Feb 2012

The Methodist Hospital now offers advanced rehabilitation system for treatment of foot drop

The Methodist Hospital Outpatient Rehabilitation Center now offers an advanced rehabilitation system for the treatment of foot drop in people with mobility issues caused by stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury.

2 Feb 2012

Abnormal tau protein propagates along linked brain circuits

For decades, researchers have debated whether Alzheimer's disease starts independently in vulnerable brain regions at different times, or if it begins in one region and then spreads to neuroanatomically connected areas. A new study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers strongly supports the latter, demonstrating that abnormal tau protein, a key feature of the neurofibrillary tangles seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer's, propagates along linked brain circuits, "jumping" from neuron to neuron.

2 Feb 2012

FDA EMDAC to discuss Arena's lorcaserin NDA resubmission in second quarter

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eisai Inc. announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified Arena that an Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting to discuss the lorcaserin New Drug Application (NDA) resubmission will be held in the second quarter of 2012. Confirmation and details of the meeting will be published in the Federal Register.

2 Feb 2012

Omeros, BioMed sign new 15-year lease agreement

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. announced today the signing of a new 15-year lease with Omeros Corporation for BioMed's Waterfront Research Center property located in Seattle, Washington.

1 Feb 2012

Novartis' Gleevec receives FDA approval for use in patients with CD117-positive GIST

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted Gleevec (imatinib) regular approval for use in adult patients following surgical removal of CD117-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

1 Feb 2012

Study finds no link between BDV and psychiatric illness

Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have linked Borna disease virus (BDV) with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and dementia. Genetic fragments and antibodies to this RNA virus, which causes behavior disorders in a range of mammals and birds, have been found to be prevalent in psychiatric patients, but study results have been inconsistent. Now, the first blinded, case-control study to examine this issue finds no association between the virus and psychiatric illness.

1 Feb 2012

Link between maternal nurturing and size of hippocampus in healthy children

School-age children whose mothers nurtured them early in life have brains with a larger hippocampus, a key structure important to learning, memory and response to stress. The new research, by child psychiatrists and neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is the first to show that changes in this critical region of children's brain anatomy are linked to a mother's nurturing.

31 Jan 2012

ISCB honors CMU professor with Overton Prize

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) has awarded its Overton Prize for outstanding accomplishment to Ziv Bar-Joseph, associate professor in Carnegie Mellon University's Lane Center for Computational Biology and Machine Learning Department.

31 Jan 2012

Musical training can avoid age-related hearing loss

Age-related delays in neural timing are not inevitable and can be avoided or offset with musical training, according to a new study from Northwestern University. The study is the first to provide biological evidence that lifelong musical experience has an impact on the aging process.

31 Jan 2012

First evidence links cancer to mutations in genes involved in DNA organization

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project provides first evidence linking cancer to mutations in genes involved in DNA organization

30 Jan 2012

Link between genetic abnormalities and cerebral palsy

For years it was thought that a difficult birth and other perinatal factors were the leading causes of cerebral palsy (CP), a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing and thinking. Now, researchers at Geisinger Health System find that the majority of cerebral palsy causes may in fact be caused by genetic abnormalities.

27 Jan 2012

FDA approves UCB's Keppra for treatment of partial onset seizures in infants

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Keppra (levetiracetam) tablets and oral solution as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures in adults and children one month of age and older with epilepsy.

27 Jan 2012