Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

New national effort to accelerate development of therapies for neurological diseases

The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has selected Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College to participate in a new national effort to accelerate the development of therapies for people with neurological diseases.

14 Mar 2012

Warm weather may hinder cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis

Warm weather may hinder cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results of a Kessler Foundation study e-published online ahead of print by Neurology. An accompanying editorial by Meier & Christodoulou, MS and heat: The smoke and the fire, details the study's unique aspects, ie, longitudinal followup in a cohort with apparently quiescent disease.

14 Mar 2012

Biomedical research advances through new Australian Institute

The Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology (BMET) will be officially opened this evening at the University of Sydney, and will significantly advance this highly multidisciplinary research for life sciences and medicine.

14 Mar 2012

Rats’ decision making as good as humans: Study

It is a known fact that rats are smart. But now US researchers have shown that they may be just as good as humans at juggling information in order to make the best decision. The discovery could help scientists better understand how the brain works in order to help people with autism who have difficulty processing various stimuli the way that others can, said the study authors.

14 Mar 2012

Researchers identify genetic signature for eosinophilic esophagitis

Researchers have identified a genetic signature for a severe, often painful food allergy – eosinophilic esophagitis – that could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment for children unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

12 Mar 2012

HSS summit: Current classification system for osteoarthritis is inadequate

A recent summit that brought together international multidisciplinary experts has provided a foundation for addressing what is the leading cause of disability in the United States: osteoarthritis.

12 Mar 2012

LSD for alcohol addiction: Study

Hallucinogenic drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the 1960s. A study, presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at data from six trials and more than 500 patients. It said there was a “significant beneficial effect” on alcohol abuse, which lasted several months after the drug was taken.

12 Mar 2012

Gene that causes aggression in men under stress discovered

Scientists have found that “macho” gene that makes men behave more aggressively than women under stress. They say this one gene could explain why men have a 'fight or flight' response while women are more likely to try and defuse the situation. The study has been published in the journal BioEssays.

11 Mar 2012

Measuring wellbeing in Huntington’s disease

The new tool, the first Huntington’s disease-specific quality of life instrument of its kind, aims to fully capture the impact of this complex disease on the everyday life of sufferers. By using this new tool to more accurately measure the impact of Huntington’s and also any effect of therapeutic interventions, scientists will be in a better position to evaluate the usefulness of interventions on patients’ everyday quality of life to see if there is actually a practical benefit. It is hoped that in this way, this tool will lead to more effective treatments.

8 Mar 2012

Cancer-based blood vessel theory questioned

Johns Hopkins scientists have published laboratory data refuting studies that suggest blood vessels that form within brain cancers are largely made up of cancer cells. The theory of cancer-based blood vessels calls into question the use and value of anticancer drugs that target these blood vessels, including bevacizumab (Avastin).

8 Mar 2012

Patients with advanced Alzheimer’s benefit from drugs: Study finds

According to new developments patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease could benefit from drug treatment to slow its progression. Scientists have shown for the first time that drugs used to slow the disease in its early stages also work when the condition is advanced, greatly extending the population who could be treated.

8 Mar 2012

Surgical intervention can be life-restoring for people with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy

While the thought of any type of surgery can be disconcerting, the thought of brain surgery can be downright frightening. But for people with a particular form of epilepsy, surgical intervention can literally be life-restoring.

8 Mar 2012

MRF clinical trial to examine antigen-specific MS therapy

The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) announced today that its research might soon lead into a clinical proof-of-concept trial at the Department of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research (nims), University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland, and the Institute for Neuroimmunology and Clinical Multiple Sclerosis Research (inims) in Hamburg, Germany.

8 Mar 2012

Women with multiple pregnancies may have reduced risk of MS

Women who have multiple pregnancies may have a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to research published in the March 7, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

8 Mar 2012

Transgenomic fourth quarter total revenue increases 68% to $8.6M

Transgenomic, Inc. today reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011 and provided a business update.

7 Mar 2012

AMTR soon after failure of AEDs may reduce risk of seizures in epilepsy patients

Patients with epilepsy who underwent brain surgery soon after failing to respond to drug treatment, but who also continued to receive drug therapy, had a lower risk of seizures during the 2nd year of follow-up compared to patients who received drug treatment alone, according to a study in the March 7 issue of JAMA.

7 Mar 2012

Concussion in kids may lead to memory and cognitive problems at school later in life

The researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University looked at 186 children aged 8 to 15 who experienced concussion - most commonly in a fall or while playing sports - or other brain injury from a car accident or other causes. The children’s parents were asked to fill out a standard questionnaire to assess their child’s cognitive and physical status before the concussion, and again two weeks, three months and a year later. These responses were compared to those from parents of 99 similar children who came into the emergency room with orthopedic injuries.

7 Mar 2012

NeuroVista technology shows promise in detecting and predicting seizures

Mayo Clinic and partners from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Pharmacy, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and NeuroVista Corporation have been awarded $7.5 million grant (U01) from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

7 Mar 2012

New AD marker can predict mental decline

A new marker of Alzheimer's disease can predict how rapidly a patient's memory and other mental abilities will decline after the disorder is diagnosed, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

6 Mar 2012

Neuroimaging for stroke patients may be unnecessarily costly and redundant

Neuroimaging for stroke patients may be unnecessarily costly and redundant, contributing to rising costs nationwide for stroke care, according to University of Michigan research.

6 Mar 2012