Feature Channels: Neuro

• share
• favorite_border

Data from the largest multicenter study accessing cognitive functioning in children with multiple sclerosis (MS) reveals that one-third of these patients have cognitive impairment, according to a research paper published in the Journal of Child Neurology. Led by Lauren B. Krupp, MD, Director of the Lourie Center for Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital, the study indicates that patients experience a range of problems related to cognition.

• share
• favorite_border

A team of academic researchers has pinpointed how vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids may enhance the immune system's ability to clear the brain of amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. In a small pilot study, the scientists identified key genes and signaling networks regulated by vitamin D3 and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) that may help control inflammation and improve plaque clearance.

• share
• favorite_border

Vanderbilt neuroscientist Kenneth Catania has performed a series of tests that shows definitively that the common mole uses stereo sniffing to locate its prey.

• share
• favorite_border

Johns Hopkins researchers have found that mice can recover from physically debilitating strokes that damage the primary motor cortex, the region of the brain that controls most movement in the body, if the rodents are quickly subjected to physical conditioning that rapidly “rewires” a different part of the brain to take over lost function.

• share
• favorite_border

Each year, as many as 500,000 Americans experience mini strokes called transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Up to 15 percent will go on to experience full-blown strokes within three months.

• share
• favorite_border

A group of recipients of cadaver-derived human growth hormone (c-hGH) does not appear to be at increased risk for Alzheimer and Parkinson disease despite their likely exposure to neurodegenerative disease (ND)-associated proteins and elevated risk of infectious prion protein-related disease, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of Iowa say the human brain has a new, second gatekeeper that registers fear. That region, likely the brainstem, signals fear from internal dangers. The finding could lead to more precise treatment for people suffering from panic attacks and other anxiety disorders. Results appear in Nature Neuroscience.

• share
• favorite_border

Sixteen new breakfast clinics, four new practical clinics and an expanded Sunday program are among the educational opportunities neurosurgical practitioners will have at the 81st AANS Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana from April 27-May 1, 2013.

• share
• favorite_border

A new approach to delivering therapeutics could lead to better treatment of central nervous system disorders. The work will be presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 2-6, 2013, in Philadelphia, Pa.

• share
• favorite_border

Medical illustrators and neurological imaging experts at Johns Hopkins have figured out how night-hunting owls can almost fully rotate their heads - by as much as 270 degrees in either direction - without damaging the delicate blood vessels in their necks and heads, and without cutting off blood supply to their brains.

• share
• favorite_border

Being obese may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in children and teenage girls, according to new research published in the January 30, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

• share
• favorite_border

Findings offer a better understanding of the development and progression of multiple sclerosis and potential future therapeutic target.

• share
• favorite_border

The “July Effect” -- the notion that the influx of new residents and fellows at teaching hospitals each July makes that the worse time of year to be a patient -- seems to be a myth, according to new Mayo Clinic research that examined nearly 1 million hospitalizations for patients undergoing spine surgery from 2001 to 2008. Among those going under the knife, researchers discovered that the month surgery occurred had an insignificant impact on patient outcomes.

• share
• favorite_border

Cardiac disease is associated with increased risk of mild cognitive impairment such as problems with language, thinking and judgment -- particularly among women with heart disease, a Mayo Clinic study shows.

• share
• favorite_border

In experiments on rats outfitted with tiny goggles, scientists say they have learned that the brain’s initial vision processing center not only relays visual stimuli, but also can “learn” time intervals and create specifically timed expectations of future rewards. The research sheds new light on learning and memory-making, the investigators say, and could help explain why people with Alzheimer’s disease have trouble remembering recent events.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study suggests that triggers for migraine with aura may not be as strong as some people think. The research is published in the January 23, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Auras that occur with migraine include visual disturbances, with symptoms such as flashing lights or wavy lines.

• share
• favorite_border

During a five-hour surgery last October at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Kathy Sanford became the first Alzheimer’s patient in the United States to have a pacemaker implanted in her brain. She is the first of up to 10 patients who will be enrolled in an FDA-approved study at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have found that dissecting a spinal tumor away from the spinal cord and then delivering radiation to the remaining metastatic tumor using stereotactic radiosurgery is a safe, effective method to control spinal metastases - regardless of the radiosensitivity of the tumor that has invaded the spine.

• share
• favorite_border

For the first time, UCLA researchers have used a brain-imaging tool to identify the abnormal tau proteins associated with sports concussion in five retired National Football League players who are still living. Previously, confirmation of the presence of this protein could only be established by an autopsy. Follow-up studies will help determine the impact and usefulness of identifying these proteins early.

• share
• favorite_border

• 65% of stroke survivors with PTSD, vs. 33% of those without PTSD, failed to adhere to treatment. • Nonadherence in PTSD patients was partially explained by increased ambivalence toward medication. • About one-third of stroke survivors with PTSD viewed medications as disruptions to their lives, worried about long-term effects of medications or potential dependence on them.