Nervous System News and Research

Latest Nervous System News and Research

UCB and sanofi-aventis U.S. receive FDA's approval for XYZAL to treat allergies in children

UCB and sanofi-aventis U.S. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved XYZAL(R) (levocetirizine dihydrochloride) for children age six months and older for the relief of symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis (indoor allergies) and chronic idiopathic urticaria (chronic hives) and for children age two years and older for symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis (outdoor allergies).

25 Aug 2009

Scientists cultivate multiple types of retina cells from human stem cells

A team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells — suggesting a future in which damaged retinas could be repaired by cells grown from the patient's own skin.

25 Aug 2009

People with high diastolic blood pressure more likely to have cognitive impairment

High blood pressure is linked to memory problems in people over 45, according to research published in the August 25, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Aug 2009

Biovail enters into an agreement with Santhera to develop and market JP-1730/fipamezole drug

Biovail Corporation (NYSE:BVF) (TSX:BVF) today announced that its subsidiary, Biovail Laboratories International SRL (BLS), has entered into an agreement with Santhera Pharmaceuticals (Switzerland) Ltd., a subsidiary of Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG (SIX: SANN) to acquire the U.S. and Canadian rights to develop and commercialize Santhera’s JP-1730/fipamezole for the treatment of Dyskinesia in Parkinson’s Disease (DPD). JP-1730/ fipamezole is a first-in-class compound that, in a recent Phase IIb study, displayed the potential to reduce levodopa-induced dyskinesia.

24 Aug 2009

Nervous system integrity could play a central role in preventing prion diseases

A new study shows that nervous system integrity and axonal properties may play a key role in prion diseases. The findings, from researchers at the Rudolf Virchow Center and the Institute of Virology of the University of W-rzburg, expand our understanding of the development of prion disease and suggest novel targets for therapeutic and diagnostic approaches in its early stages.

24 Aug 2009

Lundbeck to launch Sabril in the US following FDA's NDA approval

Lundbeck Inc. (“Lundbeck”), a wholly owned subsidiary of H. Lundbeck A/S in Denmark (Copenhagen: LUN), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted two New Drug Application (NDA) approvals for Sabril® (vigabatrin) Tablets and Oral Solution. Lundbeck plans to launch Sabril in the United States in the third quarter.

24 Aug 2009

FDA issues complete response letter regarding the NDA for carisbamate

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a complete response letter regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for carisbamate, an anti-epileptic drug in development, announced Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

23 Aug 2009

PTSD could be treated with Craniosacral therapy according to a research study

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is impacting people worldwide. In the United States alone, more than five million people will suffer from PTSD this year. There are major emotional, financial, and negative health implications associated with PTSD making it a timely priority.

21 Aug 2009

Role of HPRT genes detected in Lesch Nyan X-linked inherited disorders

A study from the Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows that a gene called HPRT plays an important role in setting the program by which primitive or precursor cells decide to become normal nerve cells in the human brain. This unconventional view of metabolic genes known as "housekeeping" genes is now online at the journal Molecular Therapy.

21 Aug 2009

RBC Life Sciences reports on patent-pending, nutritional supplement

RBC Life Sciences, Inc., a provider of proprietary nutritional supplements and wound care/pain management products, announced today the debut of NeuroBright(TM), a patent-pending, nutritional supplement that improved test subjects' learning and memory skills by 50 percent during a recent laboratory trial.

20 Aug 2009

Depression causes reduced function in the reward center of brain

Clinically depressed individuals are less capable of finding pleasure in activities they previously enjoyed, a recent study has proven. Research featured in the August 26 issue of the NeuroReport shows reduced brain function in the reward center of the brain in depressed individuals, when compared to healthy subjects.

19 Aug 2009

Brain's motor and perception regions disconnected in tone-deaf people

Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf - unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.

19 Aug 2009

Young innovators Andrea Armani and Ellis Meng to feature in Technology Review magazine's 2009 TR35 list

The University of Southern California today announced that two faculty members from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have been recognized by Technology Review magazine as some of the world's top innovators under the age of 35. Andrea Armani, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and Ellis Meng, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, will both appear on the prestigious 2009 TR35 list.

19 Aug 2009

New understanding on meningitis cause

A specific protein on the surface of a common bacterial pathogen allows the bacteria to leave the bloodstream and enter the brain, initiating the deadly infection known as meningitis. The new finding, which may guide development of improved vaccines to protect those most vulnerable, including young infants and the elderly, is now available online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

19 Aug 2009

Discovery of key factor that stimulates brain cancer cells to spread

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that the activity of a protein in brain cells helps stimulate the spread of an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In a move toward therapy, the researchers showed that a small designer protein can block this activity and reduce the spreading of GBM cells grown in the laboratory.

19 Aug 2009

ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers suppress inflammation in mice

Conventional blood pressure medication can treat inflammation in an animal model mimicking multiple sclerosis (MS). This discovery was made by Dr. Michael Platten, head consultant at the department of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of the Helmholtz Experimental Neuroimmunology Junior Research Group on at the German Cancer Research Center and his team in cooperation with scientists from Stanford University in California.

19 Aug 2009

Smoking increases risk for brain shrinkage in multiple sclerosis

People who smoke and have multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at increased risk of brain shrinkage and increased brain lesions related to the disease, according to a study published in the August 18, 2009, print issue of NeurologyÂ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Smoking has already been linked to an increased risk of developing MS.

18 Aug 2009

Human Genome Sciences achieves systemic lupus goals with candidate drug

Human Genome Sciences announced that BENLYSTA™ met the primary endpoint in BLISS-52, the first of two pivotal Phase 3 trials in patients with serologically active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These results show that BENLYSTA™ has the potential to become the first new approved drug in decades giving hope to people living with systemic lupus.

17 Aug 2009

Running and addiction

Although exercise is good for your health, extreme exercise may be physically addicting. Rats given a drug that produces withdrawal in heroin addicts went into withdrawal after running excessively in exercise wheels, according to new research. Rats that ran the hardest had the most severe withdrawal symptoms.

17 Aug 2009

FDA approves Extavia for multiple sclerosis

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Extavia(R) (interferon beta-1b), the first in a new planned portfolio of multiple sclerosis (MS) medicines from Novartis to help patients manage this devastating disease.

17 Aug 2009