Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Clinical and scientific advances made in the field of neuro-oncology

Many important clinical and basic scientific advances have been made in the past five years in the field of neuro-oncology, according to an editorial and several articles in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Mar 2010

Abused children more likely to suffer abdominal pain and nausea

Children who have been abused psychologically, physically or sexually are more likely to suffer unexplained abdominal pain and nausea or vomiting than children who have not been abused, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.

9 Mar 2010

Positive results from INSYS Therapeutics' phase III trial for Fentanyl SL Spray

INSYS Therapeutics, Inc. announces positive results from the pivotal phase III efficacy trial for patients utilizing the Fentanyl Sublingual Spray technology to treat breakthrough cancer pain. All primary and secondary endpoints were achieved in the study, and the drug is the first product to ever show statistically significant pain relief when measuring the summary of pain intensity difference at five minutes in a phase III breakthrough cancer pain trial using Fentanyl.

9 Mar 2010

MS Awareness Week: Time for nation to go orange and move it to end MS

MS Awareness Week March 8-14 is the time for the nation to go orange and move it to end multiple sclerosis, a disease where someone is newly diagnosed every hour of every day. Supported by a Congressional resolution, this year MS Awareness Week and the state of MS research aptly coincide. Move it to create a world free of MS!

8 Mar 2010

UCB Rheumatoid Arthritis Family Scholarship applications open until March 19, 2010

Applications are being accepted until March 19, 2010 for the UCB Rheumatoid Arthritis Family Scholarship. These scholarships are for rheumatoid arthritis patients or their immediate family members. Winners are awarded up to $10,000 to continue their studies at an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S.

6 Mar 2010

NAF to hold third annual Ataxia Investigators Meeting in Rosemont

The National Ataxia Foundation, in conjunction with the University of Chicago program in pathobiology and translational neuroscience, will hold its third annual Ataxia Investigators Meeting March 9-11, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, in Rosemont, Ill. A three-day meeting for patients, caregivers and families will follow at the same location.

6 Mar 2010

Adults with depression and diabetes face increase risk of dementia

Adults who have both diabetes and major depression are more than twice as likely to develop dementia, compared to adults with diabetes only, according to a study published in the recent Journal of General Internal Medicine.

6 Mar 2010

Saladax Biomedical announces closing of $8.4M Series C Preferred offering

Saladax Biomedical, Inc. announced today the close of an $8.4 million Series C Preferred offering led by Excel Venture Management of Boston. Participants included Golden Seeds LLC, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania, as well as a number of angel investors. The funding will be used to accelerate product development and expand clinical support of Saladax’s MYCARE™ line of diagnostic tests, which measure blood levels of cancer and Central Nervous System (CNS) disorder drugs, providing physicians with guidance to personalize patient dosing for optimal efficacy.

5 Mar 2010

Researchers discuss the synergy between nanoscience and neuroscience

Is it possible to build supercomputers that can replicate the human brain, or to develop nanotechnology that can lead to an implantable chip for interfacing with neurons and other types of cellular networks?

5 Mar 2010

Phase 1 clinical study of ISIS-SOD1Rx in patients with Lou Gehrig's disease commenced

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1 study of ISIS-SOD1Rx in patients with an inherited, aggressive form of Lou Gehrig's disease also known as familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

5 Mar 2010

Worm proteins may provide option in management of gastrointestinal inflammation in IBD patients

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) suffer from chronic inflammation of the gut leading to gastrointestinal motility alterations with symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramps and diarrhea that profoundly affect their quality of life. The lack of exposure to worm infections, as a result of improved living standards and medical conditions, might have contributed to the increased incidence of IBD in the Western world.

5 Mar 2010

Endothelial cells can produce copious amounts of adult stem cells: Study

In a leap toward making stem cell therapy widely available, researchers at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered that endothelial cells, the most basic building blocks of the vascular system, produce growth factors that can grow copious amounts of adult stem cells and their progeny over the course of weeks.

5 Mar 2010

Recipients for 2010 Scholar Awards announced

The American Society of Hematology announces the 2010 recipients of its Scholar Awards. The program is designed to support hematologists who have chosen a career in research by providing partial salary or other support during that critical period required for completion of training and achievement of status as an independent investigator.

5 Mar 2010

Data evaluating safety, efficacy of STELARA and REMICADE in patients with plaque psoriasis to be presented

Data evaluating the efficacy and safety of STELARA™ (ustekinumab) and REMICADE® (infliximab) in patients with plaque psoriasis who had an inadequate response to Enbrel® (etanercept) will be presented at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in Miami, Fla., from March 5-9, 2010.

5 Mar 2010

Risk of MS increases by many folds following infection with EBV: Study

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and a team of collaborators have observed for the first time that the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) increases by many folds following infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

5 Mar 2010

Isotechnika Pharma receives grant of $237,069 to support NICAM program

Isotechnika Pharma Inc. today announced that it has received funding approval from the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) for its Non-Immunosuppressive Cyclosporin Analog Molecules (NICAM) program.

5 Mar 2010

'Fake pot' can cause hallucinations and seizures

In the last month, Anthony Scalzo, M.D., professor of toxicology at Saint Louis University, has seen nearly 30 cases involving teenagers who were experiencing hallucinations, severe agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, vomiting and, in some cases, tremors and seizures.

4 Mar 2010

Zoraxel for treatment of ED: Rexahn Pharmaceuticals submits Phase IIb protocol to FDA

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that it has submitted a Phase IIb protocol to the FDA for ZoraxelTM for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED).

4 Mar 2010

Study indicates ocular shingles may increase stroke risk

Having a shingles infection that affects the eyes may increase the risk of stroke, according to new research published in the March 3, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Mar 2010

Shock: Norepinephrine favored over dopamine

Physicians treating patients with shock should consider norepinephrine instead of dopamine as a tool for stabilizing blood pressure, according to an editorial in the March 4, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

3 Mar 2010