Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Tics are not a rare or uncommon disorder

Experts have confirmed it: tics are not a rare or uncommon disorder. It is the second study to be conducted in Spain to date, and the first of great importance, revealing that the prevalence of these motor disorders in the child population is 16.86%. The incidence is greater in boys than girls, and they tend to disappear or reduce with age.

9 Sep 2011

PKC epsilon enzyme might be target for treatment of nicotine addiction, alcohol abuse

An enzyme that appears to play a role in controlling the brain's response to nicotine and alcohol in mice might be a promising target for a drug that simultaneously would treat nicotine addiction and alcohol abuse in people, according to a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.

9 Sep 2011

UC research: Physicians report similar degrees of work intensity

Although society's perception might be that surgeons endure greater mental challenges and stress in their work duties than a primary care doctor, new research from experts at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that this isn't necessarily the case.

9 Sep 2011

Simple universal test to detect Alzheimer’s early

A ten-minute memory test that gives early warning of Alzheimer’s in people as young as 50 is being piloted in GP surgeries. Using a touch-screen computer or an iPad, it can distinguish between normal forgetfulness and the more dangerous memory lapses that signal dementia in its earliest stages. If trials are successful, it could be in widespread use in under a year. The developer, Cambridge Cognition, said the mobile electronic test will allow GPs to access patients presenting memory problems more quickly, simply and accurately than with tradition paper-based tests.

8 Sep 2011

Stents for blocked brain arteries may not be as successful in prolonging survival as believed: Study

A study out this Wednesday says that insertion of an artery-opening device called a stent into the brain to improve blood flow to prevent a second stroke may do more harm than managing high-risk patients with drugs and lifestyle changes. Blocked brain arteries caused by the build-up of fatty deposits called plaque account for more than 50,000 of the 795,000 strokes occurring in the United States each year. Stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States.

8 Sep 2011

Aggressive medical management better than stenting for prevention of recurrent stroke

Patients at a high risk for a second stroke who received intensive medical treatment had fewer strokes and deaths than patients who received a brain stent in addition to the medical treatment, a large nationwide clinical trial has shown. The investigators published the results in today's online first edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

8 Sep 2011

Enrollment complete in Concentric Medical's Stentriever trial for acute ischemic stroke

Concentric Medical, Inc., a global leader in acute ischemic stroke intervention, today announced completion of enrollment of the TREVO Study.

8 Sep 2011

Microvascular compression syndrome may cause Parkinson's

A potentially treatable blood vessel abnormality in the brain may be the cause of Parkinson's Disease in some patients, according to a study published today in the journal Neurology International by a team of leading physicians and neuroscientists at Pittsburgh's Allegheny General Hospital.

8 Sep 2011

Dysregulated neuronal RNA transport may cause Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome

SUNY Downstate scientist Ilham Muslimov, MD, PhD, along with senior author Henri Tiedge, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology and of neurology, published a study suggesting that cellular dysregulation associated with certain neurodegenerative disorders may result from molecular competition in neuronal RNA transport pathways.

8 Sep 2011

Aggressive medical treatment without stenting better for high-risk stroke patients

An article appearing in the Sept. 7 New England Journal of Medicine, reporting on National Institutes of Health research on brain stents, says aggressive medical treatment without stenting is better for high-risk stroke patients.

8 Sep 2011

Scientist identifies how lack of dopamine leads to symptoms of Parkinson's

A scientist at the Gladstone Institutes has identified how the lack of a brain chemical known as dopamine can rewire the interaction between two groups of brain cells and lead to symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

8 Sep 2011

Study: Aerobic physical activity linked to reduced risk of dementia

Any exercise that gets the heart pumping may reduce the risk of dementia and slow the condition's progression once it starts, reported a Mayo Clinic study published this month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

8 Sep 2011

Researchers identify new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson's disease

A large team of international researchers have identified a new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson's disease that they say may be related to the inability of brain cells to handle biological stress.

8 Sep 2011

Running may trigger the production of new brain cells throughout life, research shows

Researchers have, for the first time, isolated exercise as the key factor in triggering the production of functional new cells in the learning and memory centre of the brain.

7 Sep 2011

Patient quality, care coordination programs surface in California

The University of California, San Francisco's heart failure program is an effort to reduce repeat hospitalizations by giving patients plenty of information and support to help them after they are discharged. Since the program began three years ago, the hospital's readmission rate has dropped by 30 percent. The hospital says the program has also saved Medicare at least $1 million a year.

7 Sep 2011

NINDS awards NeuroSigma STTR Phase I grant to support development of eTNS therapy for epilepsy

NeuroSigma, Inc., a Los Angeles-based medical device company, today announced it has received a notice of award for an NIH Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

6 Sep 2011

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures may go undiagnosed for longer in veterans

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures may go undiagnosed for much longer in veterans compared to civilians, according to a new study published in the September 6, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Sep 2011

Autism diagnosis by brain scan a possibility

A team of Stanford scientists have found that the brains of autistic children have a distinctive topography and could be captured using new imaging techniques. This could someday create a template for the autistic brain that could be used to diagnose kids at a very early age they claim.

5 Sep 2011

Stroke in the young on the rise: Study

A new study has revealed that more children and young adults in the U.S. are having strokes. Researchers speculate that unhealthy lifestyles could be a likely contributor.

5 Sep 2011

Novel analysis of MRI scans reveals distinct features of autistic brain

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have used a novel method for analyzing brain-scan data to distinguish children with autism from typically developing children.

3 Sep 2011