Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Unvented cooking indoors causes small-particle air pollution and raises blood pressure in women

An estimated two billion people in the developing world heat and cook with a biomass fuel such as wood, but the practice exposes people - especially women - to large doses of small-particle air pollution, which can cause premature death and lung disease.

8 Jul 2011

Scientists discover way to separate neural wheat from the chaff

University of Florida scientists have discovered a way to separate the neural wheat from the chaff during the process of generating brain cells for potential patient therapies.

8 Jul 2011

Exenatide tQT clinical trial meets pre-specified primary endpoint

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. today announced results from a thorough QT (tQT) study that assessed the potential of exenatide to increase the QT interval across a wide range of plasma concentrations.

8 Jul 2011

Cultural, gender and ethnic stereotypes can distort treatment of Parkinson's

Cultural, ethnic and gender stereotypes can significantly distort clinical judgments about "facially masked" patients with Parkinson's disease, according to a newly published study from researchers at Tufts University, Brandeis University and the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan.

7 Jul 2011

Study: Breastfeeding does not appear to protect women from MS relapses

New research finds breastfeeding doesn't appear to protect against multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, despite previous studies suggesting there may be a protective role. The research is published in the July 6, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Jul 2011

Neurochemical-producing probiotics can promote healthy gut and mind

Probiotics, often referred to as 'good bacteria', are known to promote a healthy gut, but can they promote a healthy mind? Exploring the new world of neurological probiotics, researchers in BioEssays present new ideas on how neurochemicals delivered directly to the gut, via probiotic intestinal microbiota, exert their beneficial effects in maintaining gastrointestinal health and even psychological well-being.

6 Jul 2011

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can have visible, negative effects on brain

Long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, as well as learning and memory problems and even depression, new research in mice suggests.

5 Jul 2011

Fruit flies with poor posture help scientists understand human intellectual disability

Clumsy fruit flies with poor posture are helping an international team of scientists understand inherited intellectual disability in humans - and vice versa.

5 Jul 2011

Massage therapy more effective for patients with chronic low back pain

Massage therapy helps ease chronic low back pain and improve function, according to a randomized controlled trial that the Annals of Internal Medicine will publish in its July 5 issue.

5 Jul 2011

Johns Hopkins team reconstitutes single stem cells' family tree

A Johns Hopkins team has discovered in young adult mice that a lone brain stem cell is capable not only of replacing itself and giving rise to specialized neurons and glia - important types of brain cells - but also of taking a wholly unexpected path: generating two new brain stem cells.

2 Jul 2011

Potential new treatment for rare, inherited metabolic disease

The rare disorder alpha-mannosidosis can cause serious damage to the nervous system and other organ systems. In Tromsø, Norway, researchers have been studying the disease for 20 years - and a treatment may soon be available.

1 Jul 2011

Researchers identify altered expression of endogenous retroviruses in BSE-infected macaques

Prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle are transmissible neurodegenerative diseases linked to the aggregation of the prion protein in the central nervous system.

1 Jul 2011

Positive topline results from Alkermes ALKS 9070 phase 1b study for schizophrenia

Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive topline results from a phase 1b, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of ALKS 9070 in patients with schizophrenia.

30 Jun 2011

Harvard University, UCB enter innovative research collaboration

UCB and Harvard University officially launched their innovative Research Alliance during a signing ceremony that took place in Boston last night in the presence of his Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium.

30 Jun 2011

Brain stem cells shown to generate multiple new brain stem cells

A Johns Hopkins team has discovered in young adult mice that a lone brain stem cell is capable not only of replacing itself and giving rise to specialized neurons and glia – important types of brain cells – but also of taking a wholly unexpected path: generating two new brain stem cells.

30 Jun 2011

Almirall, Forest Labs submit aclidinium bromide NDA to FDA for treatment of COPD

Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Almirall, S.A. announced they have recently submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for aclidinium bromide, a long-acting inhaled antimuscarinic agent developed for the treatment of COPD.

30 Jun 2011

Sensitivity of bladder cancer cells linked to chemotherapy and expression of miR-34a gene

Researchers at the UC Davis Cancer Center have discovered a way of sensitizing muscle-invasive bladder cancer cells so that they succumb to the toxic effects of chemotherapy. The finding adds to mounting evidence that tiny strands of RNA - called microRNA - play key roles in some of the deadliest types of cancer.

30 Jun 2011

Mary Ann Liebert peer-reviewed journal highlights advances in gene therapy for neurological diseases

Novel tools and methods for delivering therapeutic genes to cells in the central nervous system hold great promise for the development of new treatments to combat incurable neurologic diseases.

30 Jun 2011

FDA's ODAC recommends withdrawal of Avastin approval for metastatic breast cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced today that, during a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing, the FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended that the FDA withdraw its approval of Avastin in combination with paclitaxel chemotherapy for previously untreated HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

30 Jun 2011

Emotional empathy linked to physiological responses to angry faces

Egocentric, self-centred, and insensitive to the needs of others: these social problems often arise in people with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and have been attributed in part to a loss of emotional empathy, the capacity to recognise and understand the emotions of other people.

29 Jun 2011