Using polymer nanofibers thinner than human hairs as scaffolds, researchers have coaxed a type of brain cell to wrap around fibers that mimic the shape and size of nerves found in the body.
Common medication to treat insomnia, anxiety, itching or allergies can have a negative impact on memory or concentration in the elderly, according to Dr. Cara Tannenbaum, Research Chair at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM, Montreal Geriatric University Institute) and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Montreal (UdeM).
Weizmann Institute researchers find that humans are able to learn to use “whiskers” to locate objects in their environment, much as rats do. The findings give new insight into the process of sensing and may point to new avenues in developing aids for the blind.
Mayo Clinic and collaborators, including the Departments of Health in Minnesota and Iowa, Regional Health in South Dakota and Sanford Health in North Dakota, have received a $2.2 million federal grant to test new ways to provide specialized TBI care, with a focus on reaching rural areas and underserved urban populations.
Members of the AANS can now sign up for the 81st AANS Annual Scientific Meeting - the largest gathering of neurosurgeons in the nation - which places an emphasis on the field’s latest research and technological advances.
U.Va. researchers have found that the simple eyes of fruit fly larvae provide just enough visual input to allow the animal’s relatively large brain to assemble images.
Guest editors select articles to aid practitioners in neurosurgical risk prevention and other strategies to reduce adverse events during neurosurgical procedures.
People who undergo repeated surgeries to remove glioblastomas — the most aggressive and deadliest type of brain tumors — may survive longer than those who have just a one-time operation, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.
New research from the University of South Carolina provides fresh evidence that choosing a candidate may depend largely on our biological make-up. That’s because the brains of self-identified Democrats and Republicans are hard-wired differently and may be naturally inclined to hold varying, if not opposing, perceptions and values. This study showed a strong link with broad social connectedness with Democrats, and a strong link with tight social connectedness with Republicans
Children with migraine are more likely to have below average school performance than kids who do not have headaches, according to new research published in the October 30, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Results of a large-scale, randomized clinical trial called RESPECT revealed that patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure is superior to medical therapy in preventing recurrent stroke, according to a presentation of findings today at the TCT conference.
Study provides the first evidence suggesting that the empathy deficits in patients with brain damage to the anterior insular cortex are surprisingly similar to the empathy deficits found in several psychiatric diseases, including autism spectrum disorders, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and conduct disorders, suggesting potentially common neural deficits in those psychiatric populations.
Alabama researchers find that when faced with disease, especially with conditions such as hydrocephalus, patients and caregivers are turning more frequently to the Internet and social media for advice and support.
Exercising regularly in old age may better protect against brain shrinkage than engaging in mental or social activities, according to a new study published in the October 23, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Research suggests that brain shrinkage may lead to problems with memory and thinking.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a key difference in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and those who are cognitively normal but still have brain plaques that characterize this type of dementia.
A link has been discovered between Alzheimer’s disease and the activity level of protein eIF2alpha. Prof. Kobi Rosenblum, U of Haifa: "Altering the performance of this protein via drug via drug therapy could constitute a treatment for Alzheimer’s."
By reprogramming skin cells from Parkinson's disease patients with a known genetic mutation, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified damage to neural stem cells as a powerful player in the disease. The findings, reported online October 17th in Nature, may lead to new ways to diagnose and treat the disease.
Neurobiologists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna investigated how the brain is able to group external stimuli into stable categories. They found the answer in the discrete dynamics of neuronal circuits. The journal Neuron publishes the results in its current issue.
A process developed to increase efficiency and productivity in Japanese car factories has helped improve stroke treatment at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, report researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
– Research shows that use of popular antidepressants is linked to an increased risk of some strokes caused by bleeding in the brain, but that the risk is low, according to a multi-study analysis published in the October 17, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
An inexpensive, five-minute eye scan can accurately assess the amount of brain damage in people with the debilitating autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis (MS), and offer clues about how quickly the disease is progressing, according to results of two Johns Hopkins studies.
Electrical stimulation using extradural electrodes—placed underneath the skull but not implanted in the brain—is a safe approach with meaningful benefits for patients with Parkinson's disease, reports the October issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have identified an experimental drug that may go beyond symptom relief to counter the inflammation and nerve cell death that underlie Parkinson’s disease, according to their presentation at the Neuroscience 2012 meeting in New Orleans.
A new study shows that having a high amount of beta amyloid or “plaques” in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease may cause steeper memory decline in mentally healthy older people than does having the APOE ɛ4 allele, also associated with the disease. The study is published in the October 16, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Mother rats respond much differently to cocaine than female rats that have never given birth, according to new research that looks at both behavior and brain chemistry. The findings may help lay the groundwork for more tailored human addiction treatment.
Neuroscientists from New York University and the University of California, Irvine have isolated the “when” and “where” of molecular activity that occurs in the formation of short-, intermediate-, and long-term memories. Their findings offer new insights into the molecular architecture of memory formation and, with it, a better road map for developing therapeutic interventions for related afflictions.
Companionship has the potential to reduce pain linked to nerve damage, according to a new study. This animal research suggests that the social contact had both behavioral and physiological influences.
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine are presenting important discoveries on the involvement of the immune system and dopamine cells in the onset of depression at Neuroscience 2012, the Society for Neuroscience’s 42nd annual meeting on October 13 -17 in New Orleans, and are available for interviews.
The unexpected survival of embryonic neurons transplanted into the brains of newborn mice in a series of experiments at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) raises hope for the possibility of using neuronal transplantation to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia.
The month of October is designated as Lewy Body Dementia month. Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a degenerative brain disease that progressively impairs thinking and movement, and impacts behavior and sleep. Although it affects an estimated 1.3 million people in the U.S., LBD is under-recognized, under-diagnosed and under-treated. It is most often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.
Babies born prematurely to low-income parents have a disproportionately high risk for developing dangerous brain bleeds that require multiple surgeries and extensive follow-up, according to a small Johns Hopkins Children's Center study.
Bad news articles in the media increase women’s sensitivity to stressful situations, but do not have a similar effect on men, according to a study undertaken by University of Montreal researchers at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital.
– New research reveals that stroke may be affecting people at a younger age. The study is published in the October 10, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers from Stony Brook University have developed a high-resolution, 3D optical Doppler imaging tomography technique that captures the effects of cocaine restricting the blood supply in vessels of the brain.
A Phase I clinical trial led by investigators from the University of California, San Francisco and sponsored by Stem Cells Inc., showed that neural stem cells successfully engrafted into the brains of patients and appear to have produced myelin.
Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a new therapy for patients with neuromyelitis optica that appears to stop inflammation of the eye nerves and spinal cord. NMO is a debilitating central nervous system disorder that is often misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). In the study, patients with severe symptoms of the disease, also known as NMO, were given eculizumab, a drug typically used to treat blood disorders.
Eating tomatoes and tomato-based foods is associated with a lower risk of stroke, according to new research published in the October 9, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Tomatoes are high in the antioxidant lycopene.
A series of rehabilitation studies published in Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation demonstrate that innovative treatments for individuals with spinal cord injuries can lead to functional improvements.
A team of Canadian scientists and clinicians, led by Dr. Michael Hill of the Calgary Stroke Program at Foothills Medical Centre and University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), have demonstrated that a neuroprotectant drug, developed by Dr. Michael Tymianski at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, located at the Toronto Western Hospital, protects the human brain against the damaging effects of stroke.
UCLA researchers have for the first time measured the activity of a brain region known to be involved in learning, memory and Alzheimer’s disease during sleep. They discovered that this part of the brain behaves as if it’s remembering something, even under anesthesia.
Research shows that managing and treating vascular disease risk factors are not only beneficial to preventing heart disease and stroke, but also common forms of dementia.
Perelman School of Medicine researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have created a map of vision in the brain based upon an individual's brain structure, even for people who cannot see. Their result can, among other things, guide efforts to restore vision using a neural prosthesis that stimulates the surface of the brain.
New research suggests that a mother’s high blood pressure during pregnancy may have an effect on her child’s thinking skills all the way into old age. The study is published in the October 3, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Scientists at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, located at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network have developed the first lab study in the world to accurately predict the outcomes of a human clinical for their drug that protects the brain against the damaging effects of stroke.
A promising study out today in the prestigious Journal of Neurosciences showed that in a mouse model of Rett syndrome, researchers were able to reverse abnormalities in brain activity and improve neurological function by treating the animals with an FDA-approved anesthesia drug, ketamine.
Researchers compare symptoms and neurocognitive findings in male and female soccer players - and could not find any verifiable evidence of differences in concussion symptoms, incidence or neruocognitive tests.