Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

Catalyst Pharmaceutical raises $3.97 million from institutional investors

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today announced that it has closed its previously announced registered direct offering of 3.97 million shares of its common stock to institutional investors at a price per share of $1.00, representing gross proceeds of $3.97 million.

7 Oct 2009

Biovail provides update on its Phase III program with pimavanserin for Parkinson’s disease psychosis

Biovail Corporation today provided an update on its Phase III program with pimavanserin for Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP), which is being pursued in collaboration with ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. Following the announcement on September 1st of disappointing top-line results from the first Phase III PDP trial, Biovail and ACADIA remain committed to the successful development of pimavanserin and have established a development strategy that they believe will strengthen the PDP program.

7 Oct 2009

AVANIR's STAR trial Phase III data to be presented at the World Congress on Controversies in Neurology

AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced it will present detailed data from the Phase III confirmatory STAR trial in the treatment of pseudobulbar affect (PBA) at the 3rd World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) in Prague, Czech Republic on October 8 - 11, 2009 and the American Neurological Association (ANA) 134th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD on October 11 - 14, 2009.

6 Oct 2009

It is possible to communicate through power of thought alone: Study

New research from the University of Southampton has demonstrated that it is possible for communication from person to person through the power of thought alone.

6 Oct 2009

The latest medication to treat schizophrenia "ABILIFY" launched in Canada

A new treatment option for Canadians with schizophrenia, ABILIFY(TM) (aripiprazole), is now available in Canada. For those living with this lifelong disease who may be struggling with a treatment that doesn't work for them or with side effects that are difficult to tolerate, ABILIFY offers efficacy and good safety and tolerability with limited impact on weight, blood sugar and lipids - significant clinical benefits that may help patients stay on treatment longer.

6 Oct 2009

Update from ACADIA Pharmaceuticals regarding its Phase III program with pimavanserin

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing innovative technology to fuel drug discovery and clinical development of novel treatments for central nervous system disorders, today provided an update on its Phase III program with pimavanserin for Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP), which is being pursued in collaboration with Biovail Laboratories International SRL (“Biovail”), a subsidiary of Biovail Corporation.

6 Oct 2009

NIMH awards SRI International a $6.3M contract for study of ligands for brain imaging research

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that it has been awarded a $6.3 million contract by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to conduct preclinical safety studies of promising novel ligands that will be used for brain imaging research and clinical applications.

6 Oct 2009

16 Canadian students living with chronic illness to receive UCBeyond Scholarships

What would you do if you were faced with a chronic illness? Would you walk across Canada to raise awareness for Crohn's disease, build houses in developing countries despite physical pain or dedicate your career to educating young people living with the same disease as you?

6 Oct 2009

Study reveals information about molecular structure of prions

A collaboration between scientists at Vanderbilt University and the University of California, San Francisco has led to the first direct information about the molecular structure of prions. In addition, the study has revealed surprisingly large structural differences between natural prions and the closest synthetic analogs that scientists have created in the lab.

6 Oct 2009

Drivers with Parkinson's disease at greater risk of crashes on foggy days

Drivers with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease may be at higher risk of crashes on foggy days and other times of low visibility. The research, involving a driving simulation test, is published in the October 6, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Oct 2009

Study shows that GSK-3 gene determines the total number of neurons required for brain

In populating the growing brain, neural stem cells must strike a delicate balance between two key processes - proliferation, in which the cells multiply to provide plenty of starting materials - and differentiation, in which those materials evolve into functioning neurons.

5 Oct 2009

New genetic alteration can cause familial cancers

Duke University Medical Center and National Cancer Institute scientists have discovered that a novel genetic alteration - a second copy of an entire gene - is a cause of familial chordoma, an uncommon form of cancer arising in bones and frequently affecting the nervous system.

5 Oct 2009

Breast milk should not be stored and fed later

The levels of the components in breast milk change every 24 hours in response to the needs of the baby. A new study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience shows, for example, how this milk could help newborn babies to sleep.

3 Oct 2009

Arginetix raises funds for development programs

Arginetix, Inc. today announced it has closed a $10.75 million Series A financing. The company is developing small molecule inhibitors of the enzyme arginase for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis and asthma.

2 Oct 2009

Preliminary Phase 2 study results of Plicera drug released

Amicus Therapeutics today announced preliminary results from its Phase 2 randomized, open-label study to assess the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of its investigational drug, Plicera(TM) (afegostat tartrate), in treatment-naive adult patients with type 1 Gaucher disease.

2 Oct 2009

Stress linked to ischemic strokes

Strong links have been uncovered between stress and ischemic strokes. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine have carried out the first study into the correlation between self-reported feelings of prolonged psychological stress and different stroke subtypes.

1 Oct 2009

New software to detect multiple sclerosis before brain damage occurs

Researchers of the Unit for Systems Biology of the University of Jaén, led by Francisco J. Esteban, are developing a software for clinical use to detect multiple sclerosis even before the typical brain damage of this neurodegenerative disease appear. In order to do so, this scientific multidisciplinary team is calculating the fractal dimension of the brain images registered on magnetic resonance imaging.

1 Oct 2009

Orexigen's Empatic Phase 2b results demonstrate weight loss

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that its 24-week, Phase 2b trial for Empatic(TM) (bupropion SR/zonisamide SR), the Company's second late stage investigational combination drug for the treatment of obesity, met its primary efficacy endpoint by demonstrating statistically significantly greater weight loss for both Empatic doses compared to monotherapies and placebo.

1 Oct 2009

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners to continue development of CPP-109 drug

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today announced that the Company will continue to develop CPP-109 (Catalyst's version of vigabatrin) for the treatment of cocaine and methamphetamine addiction.

1 Oct 2009

Alexza enters into agreement with institutional investors to raise $19.7 million

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with various institutional investors to raise $19.7 million in a private placement of its common stock.

1 Oct 2009