Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Magnetic stimulation of brain nerve cells may speed up recovery from hemispatial neglect

Imagine waking up and being unable to see or recognize anything on the left side of your body. This condition, called hemispatial neglect, is common after a stroke that occurs on the right side of the brain. The current treatment of attention and concentration training using computer and pencil-and-paper tasks is inadequate.

15 Dec 2011

Link between high tau levels and worse outcome after head trauma

High levels of tau protein in fluid bathing the brain are linked to poor recovery after head trauma, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Fondazione IRCCS Ca Granda-Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan, Italy.

14 Dec 2011

People with myotonic muscular dystrophy more likely to develop cancer

People who have the most common type of adult muscular dystrophy also have a higher risk of getting cancer, according to a paper published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Dec 2011

New exercise and memory study for Parkinson's disease patients

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center have launched a study of exercise and computerized memory training to see if those activities may help people with Parkinson's disease prevent memory changes. The type of memory that will be examined is known as "executive function;" it allows people to take in information and use it in a new way.

13 Dec 2011

Brain atrophy is evident in Parkinson's patients with MCI

Atrophy in the hippocampus, the region of the brain known for memory formation and storage, is evident in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with cognitive impairment, including early decline known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

13 Dec 2011

Intertwined diseases may both contribute to cognitive decline in Parkinson's

A method of classifying brain atrophy patterns in Alzheimer's disease patients using MRIs can also detect cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Researchers also found that higher baseline Alzheimer's patterns of atrophy predicted long-term cognitive decline in cognitively normal Parkinson's patients.

13 Dec 2011

Alzheimer’s disease vaccine developed by Australian scientists

Scientists from the University of Sydney on Saturday have announced that they have developed a vaccine to help halt the progression of Alzheimer's disease of humans. The progress of neurodegenerative condition affects more than 35 million people worldwide.

12 Dec 2011

Second annual clinical meeting of Cell Society to be held in San Diego

Although demand and interest in adult stem cell therapies are increasing, it has been challenging for physicians, patients and policy-makers to retrieve the most current and accurate information available. Cell Society International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the clinical applications of adult stem cell therapies worldwide. Cell Society firmly believes that cell therapies offer improved medical treatment for many complicated and hard to treat diseases/injuries.

12 Dec 2011

Study may help personalize pain medication management for sickle cell disease patients

A study that may help personalize pain medication management for sickle cell disease patients is underway at Georgia Health Sciences University.

9 Dec 2011

HCI earns NCI's Center for Quantitative Imaging Excellence certification

Precise, accurate imaging—think mammography, CT and MRI scans—is important to cancer screening, treatment, and follow-up care. Now, even more advanced technology is emerging, and with it, the need for imaging specialists with the expertise to use them.

9 Dec 2011

Longer looks: Romney and abortion politics

The heart attacks never came. Four days later, Chris woke up. It was not the awakening of Hollywood movies in which the patient comes to, just as he was, speaking full sentences and completely mobile. Three years later, Chris still cannot talk. Although he breathes on his own, his lungs battle a steady barrage of infections; a feeding tube provides all his sustenance, and his muscles have contracted into short, twisted knots. He can move only the slightest bit. … Still, Wayne and Judy say that his cognition is improving.

9 Dec 2011

Young football players may be at higher risk for stroke

Young football players may be at higher risk for stroke, according to a new study released in Journal of Child Neurology (JCN), published by SAGE.

9 Dec 2011

Treating 'brain tsunamis' could stop many victims of major head injury from further damage

Treating 'brain tsunamis' or 'killer waves' could stop many victims of major head injury from suffering additional brain damage, a study published in Lancet Neurology has found.

8 Dec 2011

Alzheimer’s vaccine cures memory of mice

A vaccine that slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia has been developed by researchers at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI).

7 Dec 2011

Health Alliance, Bayer sign outcomes-based contract to support MS patients

Bayer HealthCare and Health Alliance Medical Plans have entered into an outcomes-based contract for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) who are taking Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) to reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations.

7 Dec 2011

Circadian activity rhythm linked to subsequent development of dementia or MCI

Older women with weaker circadian rhythms, who are less physically active or are more active later in the day are more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment than women who have a more robust circadian rhythm or are more physically active earlier in the day. That's the finding of a new study in the latest issue of the Annals of Neurology.

7 Dec 2011

Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore establish Office of Clinical trials

Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have established an Office of Clinical Trials (OCT) to bring new therapies more rapidly to patients through the facilitation of efficient, compliant and timely conduct and management of clinical studies.

6 Dec 2011

Study looks at how severely low birth weight impacts attention and memory during adulthood

Babies born at a very low birth weight are more likely to have memory and attention problems when they become adults than babies born at a low to normal weight, according to a study published in the December 6, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Dec 2011

Autism linked with disorganized structure of brain's white matter

It's still unclear what's different in the brains of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but evidence from genetic and cell studies points to abnormalities in how brain cells (neurons) connect to each other. A study at Children's Hospital Boston now provides visual evidence associating autism with a disorganized structure of brain connections, as well as defects in myelin -- the fatty, insulating coating that helps nerve fibers conduct signals and that makes up the brain's white matter.

6 Dec 2011

Study reveals mechanism of action of laquinimod in patients with RRMS

Laquinimod is an orally available synthetic compound that has been successfully evaluated in phase II/III clinical studies for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

6 Dec 2011