Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center performs DBS surgery on Alzheimer's patient

During a five-hour surgery last October at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Kathy Sanford became the first Alzheimer's patient in the United States to have a pacemaker implanted in her brain.

25 Jan 2013

Research shows brain cells regulate blood vessel development

Zhen Huang freely admits he was not interested in blood vessels four years ago when he was studying brain development in a fetal mouse. Instead, he wanted to see how changing a particular gene in brain cells called glia would affect the growth of neurons.

25 Jan 2013

New book discusses the basics of brain tumors

Empowering patients during the course of their treatment is the goal of a new book, Navigating Life with a Brain Tumor, written by neuro-oncologists from Mayo Clinic in Arizona and Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

24 Jan 2013

Neuromuscular blockade (NMB) reversal

General anesthesia is made up of three components: hypnotic medicines, to induce sleep; analgesics, or medicines to inhibit pain; and NMB agents that induce muscle relaxation. Anesthesiology professionals use NMB to relax a patient’s muscles and prevent involuntary movement that could impact surgery.

24 Jan 2013

Researchers discover unique hairpin-like structure that facilitates Abeta clumping

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of late-life dementia. The disorder is thought to be caused by a protein known as the amyloid-beta protein, or Abeta, which clumps together in the brain, forming plaques that are thought to destroy neurons. This destruction starts early, too, and can presage clinical signs of the disease by up to 20 years.

24 Jan 2013

Inspiration, Ipsen and Baxter enter Asset Purchase Agreement for OBI-1

Ipsen and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Inc. today announced they entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) whereby Baxter International (Baxter) agrees to acquire the worldwide rights to OBI-1, a recombinant porcine factor VIII (rpFVIII) in development for congenital hemophilia A with inhibitors and acquired hemophilia A, and Ipsen's industrial facility in Milford (Boston, MA).

24 Jan 2013

Journal of Unsolved Questions presents 5th issue on 'scientific labor'

In its recently published 5th issue, the Journal of Unsolved Questions (JUnQ) invites readers to take a look behind the doors of researchers' offices and laboratories, presenting "reports from the academic workforce". Researchers from archeology to neurology were invited to reflect upon "Scientific Labor". With this cover topic, JUnQ continues its endeavor to promote a realistic view of academic work.

23 Jan 2013

Taking antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy affects the IQ of children

Research published in The Lancet Neurology shows that taking the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy affects the IQ of children up to the age of six.

23 Jan 2013

Amyloid clue to Parkinson’s dementia

Study findings link amyloid β burden to future cognitive decline in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

22 Jan 2013

STN confirmed as preferred stimulation target in Parkinson’s

Subthalamic nucleus stimulation is at worst equivalent and at best superior to globus pallidus pars interna stimulation in patients with Parkinson’s disease, shows a randomized trial.

22 Jan 2013

Imaging supports Braak Parkinson’s staging

A magnetic resonance imaging study supports the hypothesis that degeneration occurs in the substantia nigra pars compacta before the basal forebrain in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

22 Jan 2013

Management of hospital-onset seizures lacks standards

Seizures in patients admitted to hospital for nonseizure reasons – hospital-onset seizures – largely affect those without any history of seizures, often recur, and are linked to a high mortality, according to a study in JAMA Neurology.

21 Jan 2013

Low blood flow to the premature brain disrupts cells' ability to fully mature

Physician-scientists at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital are challenging the way pediatric neurologists think about brain injury in the pre-term infant. In a study published online in the Jan. 16 issue of Science Translational Medicine, the OHSU Doernbecher researchers report for the first time that low blood and oxygen flow to the developing brain does not, as previously thought, cause an irreversible loss of brain cells, but rather disrupts the cells' ability to fully mature.

19 Jan 2013

Preterm infants with slower growth have delayed development in the cerebral cortex

Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex, report Canadian researchers in a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine.

17 Jan 2013

Athletes with concussions in early adulthood may be at increased risk of depression as they age

National Football League (NFL) players may be at increased risk of depression as they age due to brain damage resulting from concussions, according to two studies released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.

17 Jan 2013

Women who have migraine with aura more likely to develop major cardiovascular events

Women who have migraines with aura, which are often visual disturbances such as flashing lights, may be more likely to have problems with their heart and blood vessels, and those on newer contraceptives may be at higher risk for blood clots, according to two studies released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.

17 Jan 2013

Boehringer Ingelheim receives FDA Priority Review for afatinib to treat EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for its investigational oncology compound afatinib has been accepted for filing and granted Priority Review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

17 Jan 2013

ARHGEF28 gene mutations present in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Research

Researchers at Western University in London, Canada, have identified a new genetic mutation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), opening the door to future targeted therapies. Dr. Michael Strong, a scientist with Western's Robarts Research Institute and Distinguished University Professor in Clinical Neurological Sciences at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and colleagues found that mutations within the ARHGEF28 gene are present in ALS.

16 Jan 2013

Researchers identify new group of growth factor receptors that signal to brain tumours

One in 25,000 people worldwide is affected by neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a condition where the loss of a tumour suppressor called Merlin results in multiple tumours in the brain and nervous system.

16 Jan 2013

Stroke survivors with depression more likely to die

People who are depressed after a stroke may have a tripled risk of dying early and four times the risk of death from stroke than people who have not experienced a stroke or depression, according to a study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.

16 Jan 2013