Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

National analysis identifies Columbus as one of the Hypertension Hot Spots in the U.S.

A national analysis conducted by Sperling's BestPlaces and sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., identified Columbus, Ohio, as one of the nation's Hypertension Hot Spots, or cities that have hypertension risk factors and complications.

18 Aug 2011

Herbal supplements may weaken the effect of chemotherapy drugs

Acai berry, cumin, herbal tea, turmeric and long-term use of garlic - all herbal supplements commonly believed to be beneficial to your health - may negatively impact chemotherapy treatment according to a new report presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago this summer.

18 Aug 2011

Positive link between fish oil supplements and cognitive function

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center have found positive associations between fish oil supplements and cognitive functioning as well as differences in brain structure between users and non-users of fish oil supplements.

18 Aug 2011

Context-focused intervention effective for children with cerebral palsy

A successful new rehabilitation approach to treating children with cerebral palsy puts its focus on where a child lives and plays, not just improving the child's balance, posture and movement skills.

18 Aug 2011

Alcohol before bed hampers sleep: Study

A new small-scale study showed the impact of drinking before going to bed on heart rate and sleep.

18 Aug 2011

Ultrasound can predict high risk of stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis

A new study shows that a simple ultrasound test may help to identify people at high risk of stroke who have a condition called asymptomatic carotid stenosis, a narrowing of the carotid artery found in the neck, in which few or no symptoms are present.

18 Aug 2011

Sepracor Pharmaceuticals changes company name to Sunovion

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., formerly Sepracor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that it has formally changed its name.

18 Aug 2011

Addiction – a brain disorder say experts

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a chronic brain disorder like any other chronic brain disease such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. Neurological abnormalities like disruptions in neurotransmission and the reward system drive addiction, the group said in a statement.

17 Aug 2011

U-M's epilepsy surgery could successfully treat patients with seizures

John Ligerakis was told he had to learn to live with seizures that had made it challenging for him to work or drive a car. A young professional just starting his career, Ligerakis was devastated about what his future might bring.

17 Aug 2011

HSS, pSivida enter orthopedic evaluation agreement

Drug delivery company pSivida Corp. today announced it has entered into an evaluation agreement with Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation, to investigate pSivida's drug delivery technologies in orthopedics.

17 Aug 2011

LYSOGENE launches the first gene therapy clinical trials in Sanfilippo disease

LYSOGENE announces the authorization by AFSSAPS (the French Agency for the Safety of Health Products) and by the Ethical Review Board of SAF-301, its leading intra-cerebral gene therapy phase I/II clinical trial aiming at treating Sanfilippo Type A Syndrome.

16 Aug 2011

AVI BioPharma, MDA to initiate exon-51 Phase 2 trial in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

More than a decade of targeted Muscular Dystrophy Association-funded research, made possible as a result of generous public support of the MDA Labor Day Telethon and thousands of grass-roots special events, has today culminated in MDA providing financial assistance for the start of the first Phase 2 placebo-controlled, multiple dose efficacy, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics clinical trial of an exon-51 skipping drug, eteplirsen, as a potential therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

16 Aug 2011

New role for harmonin protein in Usher syndrome

University of Iowa scientists have discovered a new role for a protein that is mutated in Usher syndrome, one of the most common forms of deaf-blindness in humans. The findings, which were published Aug. 8 in Nature Neuroscience, may help explain why this mutation causes the most severe form of the condition.

16 Aug 2011

SIGMAR1 gene mutation associated with development of juvenile ALS

Researchers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have identified a mutation on the SIGMAR1 gene associated with the development of juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

12 Aug 2011

Link between brain shrinkage, memory loss in Alzheimer's changes across age spectrum

A new study suggests that the relationship between brain shrinkage and memory loss in Alzheimer's disease changes across the age spectrum.

11 Aug 2011

New findings on human brain's photosensitivity

Valkee, inventor of the world's first bright-light headset, and scientists from the University of Oulu will present new findings on human brain's photosensitivity at the Scandinavian Physiology Society Annual Meeting 2011, August 12-14.

11 Aug 2011

Neurologist care may improve quality of life for people with Parkinson's

People with Parkinson's disease who go to a neurologist for their care are more likely to live longer, less likely to be placed in a nursing home and less likely to break a hip than people who go to a primary care physician, according to a study published in the August 10, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Aug 2011

57 genes associated with multiple sclerosis

An international research team has found nearly 30 genetic risk factors that predispose to developing multiple sclerosis. It brings to more than 50 the total number of genetic clues to the disease. The research, published in Nature, will help identify risk factors and perhaps future treatments or even a cure, hopes the MS Society.

11 Aug 2011

Researchers helps explain how the adult brain cleans out dead brain cells and produces new ones

Adult brains generate thousands of new brain cells called neurons each day; however only a small fraction of them survive. The rest die and are consumed by scavenger cells called phagocytes. Until now, scientists have not fully understood how this process works, which phagocytes are unique in the brain, and how the removal of dead neurons influences the production of new neurons.

10 Aug 2011

Elderly women with sleep apnea more likely to develop dementia

Elderly women who suffer from sleep apnea -- characterized by disrupted breathing and sleep and a reduction in the intake of oxygen -- are about twice as likely to develop dementia in the next five years as those without the condition, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

10 Aug 2011