Feature Channels: Neuro

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have discovered the way in which red wine consumption may protect the brain from damage following a stroke.

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UCLA researchers have found that a variant of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene, found in more than a third of the world’s population and known to cause weight gain, is also associated with a loss of brain tissue.

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New research shows a gene variant may help protect the memory and thinking skills of older people. The research will be published in the April 20, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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A new technique assisting in early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease has been developed at the University of Haifa. This technique involves analysis of voice and articulation.

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Researchers have identified a gene that appears to increase a person’s risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of Alzheimer’s disease. The research will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 – 17, 2010. The gene, abbreviated MTHFD1L, is located on chromosome six.

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Tapeworm infections of the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures, appear to be increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states, Loyola University Health System researchers report.

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An investigational intervention using naturally occurring antibodies in human blood has preserved the thinking abilities of a group of mild- to moderate-stage Alzheimer's patients over 18 months and significantly reduced the rate of atrophy (shrinkage) of their brains, according to a study performed at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

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A new study finds that reports of a neurologic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have been low after 2009 H1N1 vaccination, according to a research study that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 – 17, 2010. The study is one of the first national reports of the occurrence of GBS after 2009 H1N1 vaccination.

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Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a neurologic condition of involuntary, sudden and frequent episodes of laughing or crying and is quite common in patients with underlying neurologic diseases or injuries, especially those with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Now, a new investigational treatment may help stop these involuntary outbursts.

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Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine will present several studies at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, including a potential new drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and surprising trends showing a reduction in the disease’s severity. The meeting will take place April 10-17 in Toronto.

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New research finds any beneficial effect of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol on stroke may be counteracted by cigarette smoking, according to research that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 – 17, 2010.

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A new University of Iowa study offers some good news for caregivers and loved ones of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Patients might forget a joke or a meaningful conversation -- but even so, the warm feelings associated with the experience can stick around and boost their mood.

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UCLA researchers have, for the first time, made direct recordings of mirror neurons in the living human brain.

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The American Academy of Neurology has issued a new guideline to help determine when people with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia should stop driving. The guideline is published in the April 12, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and will be presented April 12, 2010, at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting in Toronto.

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People with no health insurance are less likely than the privately insured to receive proper treatment for their migraines, according to a study published in the April 13, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Lean mass—the weight of an individual’s bones, muscles and organs without body fat—appears to decline among patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. These decreases may be associated with declines in brain volume and function.

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Research in rodents highlights the need for human clinical trials of antidepressants and other drugs shown to increase the growth of new neurons. Science at the Buck Institute for Age Research suggests a new strategy for treatment of stroke.

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Researchers may be one step closer to slowing the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. An animal study supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows that by targeting the blood-brain barrier, researchers are able to slow the accumulation of a protein associated with the progression of the illness.

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The American Academy of Neurology Foundation is pleased to announce the winning entries for the 2010 Neuro Film Festival, a new contest to raise awareness through video about the need to for more money to support research into the prevention, treatment and cure of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, autism, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis.

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In a step towards a possible treatment for Huntington’s disease, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown for the first time that the accumulation of a mutated protein may explain damaging cellular behavior in Huntington’s disease.

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In a competition modeled after TV quiz shows, a team of neurologists from the United States will face Canadian neurologists in the annual "Neurobowl®" on April 11.

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A new study shows that smoking may increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in people who also have specific established risk factors for MS. The research is found in the April 7, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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A special lighting of Toronto’s CN Tower will recognize “Stop Brain Disorders Week” on Sunday, April 11, 2010. A mayoral proclamation has been issued declaring the week of April 11th as “Stop Brain Disorders Week” in the city of Toronto, where the world’s largest gathering of neurologists is taking place with the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) Annual Meeting at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

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NeurogesX, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGSX) announced today that Qutenza® (capsaicin) 8% patch, the first and only product containing prescription-strength capsaicin, is now available.

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People who are shy or introverted may actually process their world differently than others, leading to differences in how they respond to stimuli, according to Stony Brook researchers and collaborators in China.

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There is strength in numbers if you want to get your voice heard. But how to do you get your say if you are in the minority? That's a dilemma faced not only by the citizens of a democracy but also by some neurons in the brain.

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Directors of the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science discuss their new “high-risk, high-payoff” mission to push the technology of observation, measurement and control to ever-smaller dimensions.

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Using new one-of-a-kind “mouse models” that promise to have a significant impact on future Parkinson’s disease research, Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers are among the first to discover how mutations in a gene called LRRK2 may cause inherited (or “familial”) Parkinson’s disease, the most common form of the disease. The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, is the first in vivo evidence that LRRK2 regulates dopamine transmission and controls motor performance, and that the mutation of LRRK2 eliminates the normal function of LRRK2, leading to Parkinson’s disease.

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New research shows that a high level of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation in the blood, is associated with brain changes that are linked to problems with executive thinking skills. The study is published in the March 30, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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McGill University researcher and international collaborators genetically manipulate a rat to create the ideal model for studying Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

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Researchers discover that a modified protein plays a key role in memory processes.

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Children with brain injuries may use gesture to signal they need help in developing language, research at the University of Chicago shows. The children who make the fewest gestures early in development also develop spoken vocabulary more slowly.

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You see pictures of a monkey, scrambled eggs and a brightly dressed group of women laughing. Research scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the California Institute of Technology see electrical spikes coming from the neurons of your brain.

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A recent study suggests that a deficiency of a protein in the brain of Down syndrome patients could contribute to the cognitive impairment and congenital heart defects that characterize the syndrome.

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Clinicians may be able to better predict the effects of strokes and other brain injuries by adapting a scanning approach originally developed for study of brain organization, neurologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

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People with Alzheimer’s disease experience a rate of cognitive decline four times greater than those with no cognitive impairment according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

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For more than 30 years, scientists have known that multiple sclerosis (MS) is much more common in higher latitudes than in the tropics. Because sunlight is more abundant near the equator, many researchers have wondered if the high levels of vitamin D engendered by sunlight could explain this unusual pattern of prevalence.

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The American Academy of Neurology has issued a new guideline recommending the most effective treatments to help people with Parkinson’s disease who experience sleep, constipation, and sexual problems, which are common but often underrecognized symptoms. The guideline is published in the March 16, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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African-American, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged patients with brain tumors are significantly less likely to be referred to high-volume hospitals that specialize in neurosurgery than other patients of similar age, the same gender, and with similar comorbidities, according to new research by Johns Hopkins doctors. The finding, published in the March Archives of Surgery, suggests a scenario in direct contrast to recommendations from federal health care agencies encouraging better access and quality of health care for people of all races.

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A family history of Alzheimer’s is one of the biggest risk factors for developing the memory-robbing disease, which affects more than 5 million Americans and is the most common form of senile dementia. Now an international collaboration led by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers has found the likely basis for this heightened familial risk—especially from the maternal side.

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On March 21, Benny Zafrani will be running the Los Angeles Marathon. That, by itself, is not remarkable – after all, thousands of others will be doing the same thing. However, Benny is on a mission to raise funds for pediatric brain tumor research. And his mission was spurred by personal experience.

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Regularly participating in activities, like sports, can increase the risk of head injury. Physical blows to the head, even mild ones, can be common causes of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Dr. Todd Trask, neurosurgeon at the Methodist Neurological Institute, cautions those who participate in activities where head injuries are a possibility, and offers tips on how to protect the head and prevent injuries. (Note: March is National Brain Injury Awareness Month.)

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New research from Vanderbilt University reveals for the first time how our brains coordinate two different types of attention and why we may be temporarily blinded by surprises.

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Researchers have new insight into the relationship between Parkinson’s disease and smoking. Several studies have shown that smokers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. A new study published in the March 10, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, shows that smoking for a greater number of years may reduce the risk of the disease, but smoking a larger number of cigarettes per day may not reduce the risk.

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Many Americans will lose an hour of sleep on March 14, the first day of daylight-saving time—making it harder to wake up, causing difficulty in staying alert and increasing the chance of sleepy-driving car crashes. However, this is not the only time when the amount of sleep should be of concern because many aspects of health are related to sleep. Read on for more information.

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Two winners have been selected for the Promising New Investigators Travel Scholarship Awards given annually by the Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome Information Service (NMSIS).

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Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and UTHealth’s Medical School will collaborate on the largest clinical trial of hypothermia (brain cooling) for stroke to date. The ICTuS 2 study (Intravascular Cooling for Acute Stroke) will be led by overall principal investigator Patrick D. Lyden, M.D., former director of the UC San Diego Stroke Center and currently chairman of the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai.

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Patients already taking warfarin who develop an acute stroke appear more likely to experience a brain hemorrhage following treatment with an intravenous clot-dissolving medication, even if their blood clotting function appears normal, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Many important clinical and basic scientific advances have been made in the past five years in the field of neuro-oncology, according to an editorial and several articles in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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In a far-reaching dialogue, three pioneering researchers -- Nicholas Spitzer, Kwabena Boahen and Hongkun Park -- discuss the synergy between nanoscience and neuroscience, what it means for the future, and how it is driving current research.