Neurology News and Research

Latest Neurology News and Research

Medications containing barbiturates or narcotics may make migraine worse

A team of researchers led by investigators at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has determined that certain commonly-prescribed medications may have the unintended consequence of increasing the frequency of migraine attacks.

18 Nov 2008

New rapid screening test to detect mild cognitive impairment

With millions of baby boomers entering late adulthood, the number of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is expected to drastically rise over the next several decades.

18 Nov 2008

Large deformation diffeomorphic mapping reveals brain abnormalities that may play key role in ADHD

A study published in the online advance edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry for the first time reveals shape differences in the brains of children with ADHD, which could help pinpoint the specific neural circuits involved in the disorder.

17 Nov 2008

Drops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients

A new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures.

17 Nov 2008

Study looks at investigational compound MK-677 in Alzheimer's disease

A new study shows that a drug that increases the release of growth hormone failed to slow the rate of progression of Alzheimer's disease in humans.

17 Nov 2008

Microvesicles released from glioblastoma cells carry information that may guide treatment

Microvesicles - tiny membrane-covered sacs - released from glioblastoma cells contain molecules that may provide data that can guide treatment of the deadly brain tumor.

16 Nov 2008

Seniors with sharp brains reveal first secrets of sharp memory in old age

Maybe you have an 85-year-old grandfather who still whips through the newspaper crossword puzzle every morning or a 94-year-old aunt who never forgets a name or a face.

16 Nov 2008

New research reveals key steps in HIV's assault on the brain

Scientists have unraveled in unprecedented detail the cascade of events that go wrong in brain cells affected by HIV, a virus whose assault on the nervous system continues unabated despite antiviral medications that can keep the virus at bay for years in the rest of the body.

16 Nov 2008

Alzheimer's gene apolipoprotein E4 slows export of amyloid-beta

The only known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease slows down the brain's ability to export a toxic protein known as amyloid-beta that is central to the damage the disease causes, scientists have found.

16 Nov 2008

Alzheimer's gene slows brain's ability to export toxic protein

13 Nov 2008

Isoflurane induces Alzheimer's-associated changes in mouse brains

For the first time researchers have shown that a commonly used anesthetic can produce changes associated with Alzheimer's disease in the brains of living mammals, confirming previous laboratory studies.

12 Nov 2008

Interferon beta treatment success for multiple sclerosis shown with MRI

Regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluations show that only about half of patients with multiple sclerosis achieve and sustain a response to treatment with interferon beta over three years, according to a study posted online today that will appear in the January 2009 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

11 Nov 2008

Education delays onset of the dementia

A test that reveals brain changes believed to be at the heart of Alzheimer's disease has bolstered the theory that education can delay the onset of the dementia and cognitive decline that are characteristic of the disorder.

10 Nov 2008

Greater thinking, learning and memory abilities delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

Individuals with higher education levels appear to score higher on cognitive tests despite having evidence of brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Neurology , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Nov 2008

Education lessens the effects of Alzheimer's

The scientists from the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, say their research supports the 'cognitive reserve' hypothesis and individuals with levels of higher education levels score higher on cognitive tests despite having Alzheimer's disease.

10 Nov 2008

Simple brain mechanisms explain arbitrary human visual decisions

Mark Twain, a skeptic of the idea of free will, argues in his essay "What Is Man?" that humans do not command their minds or the opinions they form.

10 Nov 2008

Latest glaucoma research

Glaucoma-related highlights of today's scientific program of the 2008 Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) and European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) include a study that correlates optic nerve damage in glaucoma patients with carotid artery narrowing and potentially elevated risk for stroke, and a survey that looks at how the practice of fasting, common to the world's seven major religions, may affect patient compliance with treatment for glaucoma and other eye diseases.

10 Nov 2008

Silencing growth inhibitors could help recovery from brain injury

Silencing natural growth inhibitors may make it possible to regenerate nerves damaged by brain or spinal cord injury, finds a study from Children's Hospital Boston.

7 Nov 2008

Roswell Park Cancer Institute to help reduce smoking in Hungary

Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) faculty members recently met with the Hungarian Health Minister and other government officials to discuss strategies to reduce smoking in Hungary.

7 Nov 2008

Migraines associated with lower risk of breast cancer

Women who suffer from migraines may take at least some comfort in a recent, first-of-its-kind study that suggests a history of such headaches is associated with a significantly lower risk of breast cancer. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center report these findings in the November issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

6 Nov 2008