Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Vitamin B12 may help protect against Alzheimer's disease

A new study shows that vitamin B12 may protect against Alzheimer's disease, adding more evidence to the scientific debate about whether the vitamin is effective in reducing the risk of memory loss. The research will be published in the October 19, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Oct 2010

Intellipharmaceutics announces FDA acceptance to file ANDA for Protonix generic version

Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic version of Protonix (delayed release pantoprazole sodium).

18 Oct 2010

UCSF professor receives National Medal of Science

UCSF Nobel laureate Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, UCSF professor of neurology and director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, today (Oct. 15, 2010) was named to receive the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for science and technology.

18 Oct 2010

Botox receives FDA approval for treatment of chronic migraine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Botox injection (onabotulinumtoxinA) to prevent headaches in adult patients with chronic migraine. Chronic migraine is defined as having a history of migraine and experiencing a headache on most days of the month.

18 Oct 2010

Biogen, Elan announce clinical utility data of two-step ELISA to detect anti-JCV antibodies

Biogen Idec and Elan Corporation, plc today announced data further supporting the potential clinical utility of an investigational assay that detects anti-JC virus (JCV) antibodies in human plasma or serum.

18 Oct 2010

Genetic link to depression: New avenues for therapy

Yale University scientists have found a gene that appears to play a key role in the onset of depression. This could mean new avenues of therapy for the disease. The gene in question is called MKP-1 and was identified after comparing the genetic codes of 21 deceased people who had been diagnosed with depression with those of 18 otherwise healthy individuals. The findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine on 17th of October.

18 Oct 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical announces new data from PreCISe study

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced new data from the five-year extension of the PreCISe study demonstrating that earlier initiation of treatment with Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) in patients presenting with first signs of multiple sclerosis (MS), provided greater effects in delaying conversion to clinically definite MS (CDMS) compared to later treatment initiation after diagnosis of CDMS or after three years on the study.

18 Oct 2010

FDA approves BOTOX as prophylactic treatment for Chronic Migraine

Allergan, Inc. today announced the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BOTOX(onabotulinumtoxinA) for the prophylactic (preventive) treatment of headaches in adults with Chronic Migraine.

18 Oct 2010

Neuroprotective properties of laquinimod for RRMS presented at 26th ECTRIMS Congress

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced today that data providing further evidence of the neuroprotective properties of laquinimod in animal studies were presented at the 26th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Gothenburg, Sweden.

15 Oct 2010

Questcor's H.P. Acthar Gel sNDA for infantile spasms receives FDA approval

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Questcor's supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for H.P. Acthar® Gel (repository corticotropin injection) in the treatment of infantile spasms (IS), an ultra-rare orphan disorder affecting approximately 2,000 American children annually. IS is a devastating and potentially life-threatening form of epilepsy seen in infancy and early childhood.

15 Oct 2010

Genentech and Biogen Idec announce positive results from ocrelizumab phase II RRMS study

Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, and Biogen Idec today announced 24-week results from a phase II study of ocrelizumab in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of the disease. Ocrelizumab demonstrated a significant reduction in disease activity as measured by brain lesions and relapse rate.

15 Oct 2010

Questcor, CNF partner to fund infantile spasms research

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it is partnering with the Child Neurology Foundation (CNF) to fund a $30,000 grant to support research into infantile spasms (IS). Catherine Chu-Shore, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital was selected by CNF as the recipient of this first-ever "Logan Infantile Spasms Research Award."

15 Oct 2010

Study suggests treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia

A study in the Oct. 15, 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that adults with fibromyalgia had a much higher prevalence and risk of restless legs syndrome than healthy controls. The study suggests that treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia.

15 Oct 2010

Sanofi-aventis announces TEMSO phase III study results for relapsing multiple sclerosis

Sanofi-aventis announced today the results from the two year phase III TEMSO study of teriflunomide, a novel oral disease modifier investigated for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS).

15 Oct 2010

Genzyme reports five-year patient data from Phase 2 multiple sclerosis trial

Genzyme Corporation today reported five-year patient data from its completed Phase 2 multiple sclerosis (MS) trial. This sub-group analysis found that nearly 90 percent of alemtuzumab-treated patients were free of sustained accumulation of disability, and that patients receiving alemtuzumab also maintained improved mean disability scores and a low risk of relapse over the 60-month follow-up period.

15 Oct 2010

FDA approves Gamunex-C for primary immunodeficiency treatment

Talecris Biotherapeutics announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gamunex-C (Immune Globulin Injection [Human], 10% Caprylate/Chromatography Purified) for subcutaneous administration in the treatment of primary immunodeficiency (PI).

15 Oct 2010

EFNS recommends use of DaTSCAN injection with SPECT imaging for AD diagnosis

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, today announced that DaTSCAN (ioflupane I 123 injection), a radiopharmaceutical agent intended for use with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of the brain, has been recommended in updated European Federation of the Neurological Societies (EFNS) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The guidelines appear in the October issue of the European Journal of Neurology.

14 Oct 2010

CNF initiates annual event to raise awareness on infantile spasms

The Child Neurology Foundation (CNF) announced today the start of Infantile Spasms Awareness Week, an annual event to raise awareness and understanding of infantile spasms (IS) with pediatricians, child neurologists, parents and caregivers.

14 Oct 2010

ApoE4 protein causes GABAergic interneuron loss, learning and memory deficits

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an extremely complicated disease. Several proteins seem to be involved in its cause and progression. For example, the lipid-transport protein apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) is the major genetic risk factor for AD, and apoE4 carriers account for 65% of all Alzheimer's cases, but exactly how apoE4 contributes to the disease is unclear.

14 Oct 2010

Experts reach consensus about DBS treatment for Parkinson's disease

Since the late 1990s, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven to be a lifeline for some patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, a cruel neurological disorder that can cause lack of control over movement, poor balance and coordination, and rigidity, among other symptoms.

14 Oct 2010