Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

DBS appears to reduce caloric intake and weight loss in obese animal models

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a precise region of the brain appears to reduce caloric intake and prompt weight loss in obese animal models, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

25 Apr 2013

Warning over US neurologist shortage

Neurologists are urging the US Congress to undertake policy changes that will encourage more medical residents to specialize in neurology to ensure patient access to care.

25 Apr 2013

Transcranial magnetic stimulation benefits in Parkinson’s disease

A course of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation delivered over the supplementary motor area improves motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease, shows results from a randomized controlled trial.

25 Apr 2013

Sirolimus effective in treating children with Pretzel syndrome, new study reports

With a better understanding of underlying mechanisms that cause a rare neurodevelopmental disorder in the Old Order Mennonite population, referred to as Pretzel syndrome, a new study reports that five children were successfully treated with a drug that modifies the disease process, minimizing seizures and improving receptive language.

25 Apr 2013

Hospital for Special Surgery receives grant for new genomics center to study autoimmune diseases

Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City has received a $5.6 million grant from The Tow Foundation to establish the Hospital for Special Surgery Genomics Center.

25 Apr 2013

Research: DBS may provide therapeutic relief to binge eating

Deep brain stimulation in a precise region of the brain appears to reduce caloric intake and prompt weight loss in obese animal models, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

24 Apr 2013

Investigational treatment for ALS passes early phase clinical trial for safety

An investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Massachusetts General Hospital report.

24 Apr 2013

Sucampo's supplemental new drug application for AMITIZA gets FDA approval

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Sucampo's supplemental new drug application for AMITIZA (lubiprostone) (24 mcg twice daily) as the first and only oral medication for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in adult patients with chronic, non-cancer pain.

24 Apr 2013

$Johns Hopkins researchers find that diagnostic errors accounted for largest fraction of claims$

Johns Hopkins researchers find that diagnostic errors accounted for largest fraction of claims

In reviewing 25 years of U.S. malpractice claim payouts, Johns Hopkins researchers found that diagnostic errors — not surgical mistakes or medication overdoses — accounted for the largest fraction of claims, the most severe patient harm, and the highest total of penalty payouts.

23 Apr 2013

Non-invasive brain surgery: an interview with Dr Andres Lozano, University of Toronto

MR-guided focused ultrasound is a new technique that involves focusing 1024 beams of ultrasound through the skull to a focal point in the brain, very much like using the sun and a magnifying glass to burn a hole in a sheet of paper.

22 Apr 2013

Study: Stem cell transplant heals neurological deficits in mice

For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember.

22 Apr 2013

Ceregene announces top-line data from CERE-12 Phase 2b clinical study for Parkinson's disease

Ceregene, Inc. today announced the top-line data from its double-blind, randomized, controlled Phase 2b clinical study of CERE-120 (AAV-neurturin), a gene therapy product designed to deliver the neurotrophic factor neurturin, for Parkinson's disease.

20 Apr 2013

Civitas Therapeutics reports positive results from Phase 2 study of CVT-301 for Parkinson's disease

Civitas Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held pharmaceutical company developing transformative therapeutics using the ARCUS respiratory delivery platform, today announced positive topline results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of CVT-301, an inhaled formulation of levodopa (L-dopa).

20 Apr 2013

Three MGH projects named among Top 10 Clinical Research Achievements of 2012

Three projects led by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have been named among the Clinical Research Forum's Top 10 Clinical Research Achievements of 2012.

19 Apr 2013

New study shows reduction of dementia risk

A new Swedish study published in the journal Neurology shows that the risk of developing dementia may have declined over the past 20 years, in direct contrast to what many previously assumed.

19 Apr 2013

Abnormal protein translation leads to Fragile X ataxia, study finds

A bizarre twist on the usual way proteins are made may explain mysterious symptoms in the grandparents of some children with mental disabilities.

19 Apr 2013

Hospital for Special Surgery to host educational symposium to discuss on sports-related injuries

Hospital for Special Surgery, the nation's top hospital for orthopedics, will host Current Concepts in Sports Medicine, an educational symposium to discuss how to identify, prevent and treat articular cartilage and hip/pelvis injuries, as well as injuries common to the throwing and multisport athlete.

19 Apr 2013

Excess glutamate drives schizophrenia in high-risk individuals

An excess of the brain neurotransmitter glutamate may cause a transition to psychosis in people who are at risk for schizophrenia, reports a study from investigators at Columbia University Medical Center published in the current issue of Neuron.

19 Apr 2013

Scientists probe source of pulsing signal in the sleeping brain

New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep at the rate of about one cycle per second, are assumed to play a role in processes such as consolidation of memory.

19 Apr 2013

FDA approval paves way for U-M to conduct Phase II trial of stem cell injections in ALS patients

For nearly two years, University of Michigan neurologist Eva Feldman , M.D., Ph.D. has led the nation's first clinical trial of stem cell injections in patients with the deadly degenerative disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often called ALS or Lou Gehrig 's disease.

19 Apr 2013