UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a chemical system in the brain that reacts differently in cocaine addicts, findings that could result in new treatment options for individuals addicted to the drug.
In study to appear online this week in PNAS, USC neuroscientists trace circuits in part of the rat brain and find no sign of a top-down hierarchy; the distributed network of the Internet may be a better model, they say.
Nina Brown, 68, and millions of others with a debilitating neurological condition called Parkinson’s disease are counting on researchers for a cure. At The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), protein chemists are working to develop a therapeutic vaccine.
In a world first, Dr. Andres M. Lozano and his team at Toronto Western Hospital has shown using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on patients with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease is safe and may help improve memory.
A new study shows a gene variant may increase the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. The research will be published in the August 3, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Individuals with Parkinson’s disease were more likely to have a neurochemical response to a placebo medication if they were told they had higher odds of receiving an active drug, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Results from a new study suggest that oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may yield additional benefit of protecting against the formation and rupture of brain aneurysms in women. The findings from this first-of-its-kind study by a neurointerventional expert from Rush University Medical Center were presented at the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery (SNIS) 7th annual meeting.
Sanford-Burnham researchers uncover new clues about the cause of brain cell death in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases
A new study shows that a sleep disorder may be a sign of dementia or Parkinson’s disease up to 50 years before the disorders are diagnosed. The research is published in the July 28, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The protein SIRT1 in the brain is tied into a mechanism that allows animals to survive when food is scarce, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research suggests that SIRT1 may be involved with the life span-increasing effect of low-calorie diets, they report.
Research reveals that an enzyme linked with many disorders - including cancer, stroke and rheumatoid arthritis - is also involved in the generation of the toxic fragments in Huntington's disease.
Michelangelo, the 16th century master painter and accomplished anatomist, appears to have hidden an image of the brainstem and spinal cord in a depiction of God in the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers reports. These findings by a neurosurgeon and a medical illustrator, published in the May Neurosurgery, may explain long controversial and unusual features of one of the frescoes’ figures.
While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a warning of an increased risk of suicide for all epilepsy drugs, a new study shows that only certain drugs may increase the risk. The study is published in the July 27, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Much-studied protein involved in aging, and tied to red wine ingredient resveratrol, is required for recall in mice; but over-expression fails to improve performance, according to a new study in Journal of Neuroscience.
A large academic study has demonstrated structural changes in specific brain regions in female patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that causes pain and discomfort in the abdomen, along with diarrhea, constipation or both. According to researchers, the finding removes the idea once and for all that IBS symptoms are not real and are 'only psychological.'
Detailed analysis of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes reveals a secret that's been hidden for 500 years: an image of the human brainstem in a panel showing God at the beginning of Creation, according to an article in the May 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, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.
Soldiers who receive traumatic brain injuries during war may be at a higher risk of epilepsy even decades after the brain injury occurred. The new research is published in the July 20, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A compelling article details the experiences of a group of pediatric neurosurgeons over the course of a 2-year mission at Bagram Airfield/Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital (CJTH), 27 miles north of Kabul. While there, they performed lifesaving procedures on innocent young bystanders of the military conflict in Afghanistan. The authors provide more than a glimpse into the types of injuries incurred by innocent children – they include statistics on the types of injuries and neurosurgical procedures performed, including four illustrative case studies.
Bioengineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are developing a volume sensor designed to better regulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in hydrocephalus.
Research finds that mice without working rods and cones can still see -- and not just light, but also patterns and images -- thanks to other photosensitive cells in the retina.
Doctors should use a diffusion MRI scan to diagnose stroke instead of a CT scan, according to a new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology. The guideline is published in the July 13, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
New research shows that people with Alzheimer’s disease who have large heads have better memory and thinking skills than those with the disease who have smaller heads, even when they have the same amount of brain cell death due to the disease. The research is published in the July 13, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution’s imprint on the human brain.
Study in Nature Neuroscience (embargo lifted July 11, 2010) finds neural basis for observation that practicing several skills in single session works better than narrow drills on one skill. Study also helps define time window for brain's learning of new skills.
Of the three main types of oral drugs commonly added to levodopa therapy for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, one might be the most effective, according to a new review.
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found a compound that preserves newly created brain cells and boosts learning and memory in an animal study.
Researchers have linked rejection by a romantic partner to brain activity associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology.
The pain and anguish of rejection by a romantic partner may be the result of activity in parts of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings, according to a study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology.
Severe trauma to the head and spine resulting from all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents are increasing dramatically, with an estimated cost of $3.24 billion, according to research released today from the University of Utah Department of Neurosurgery.
A new study shows that having depression may nearly double your risk of developing dementia later in life. The research will be published in the July 6, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers at Rush University Medical found that depressive symptoms show little change during the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The study suggests depression is a true risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and not just an early sign of the disease.
A new study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine finds that a comparable region in the brains of chickens concerned with analyzing auditory inputs is constructed similarly to that of mammals.
A South Dakota State University researcher and his colleagues elsewhere have discovered a previously unreported mitochondrial protein that interacts with a protein known to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.
Until now, the cause of depression in people with MS was not well understood. Now, in the first such study in living humans, researchers at UCLA suggest the cause is not psychological, but physical: atrophy of a specific region of the hippocampus, a critical part of the brain involved in mood and memory, among other functions.
New research has identified the memory and brain scan tests that appear to predict best whether a person with cognitive problems might develop Alzheimer’s disease. The research is published in the June 30, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology
Neural circuitry is constantly changing to meet the challenges of its environment. Neuroscientist Tobias Bonhoeffer tells how new techniques enable researchers to watch this process of adaptation as never before.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that lower, though not necessarily impaired, performance on tests measuring story learning or retention and processing speed in motor tasks dependent on visual control, as well as symptoms of depression, predicted subsequent cognitive decline in a normal population.
Study used MRI to detect deterioration of white matter bracts in the brains of healthy adults at high risk for Alzheimer's disease. Data suggest that changes in white matter connections may be among the earliest brain changes in Alzheimer's disease, which may prove important for early detection by non-invasive imaging.
Using an experimental mouse model for malaria, an international group of scientists has discovered that adding antioxidant therapy to traditional antimalarial treatment may prevent long-lasting cognitive impairment in cerebral malaria.
A trial of a novel radioactive compound readily and safely distinguished the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients from healthy volunteers on brain scans and opens the doors to making such imaging available beyond facilities that can manufacture their own radioactive compounds. The results, reported by a Johns Hopkins team in the June Journal of Nuclear Medicine, could lead to better ways to distinguish Alzheimer’s from other types of dementia, track disease progression and develop new therapeutics to fight the memory-ravaging disease.
Most concussions deliver a force of 95Gs to the human body, reports head injury expert Kim Gorgens of the University of Denver. Football players absorb 103Gs on their hits.
A team of researchers led by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center has developed a method to predict post-stroke recovery of language by measuring the initial severity of impairment. Being able to predict recovery has important implications for stroke survivors and their families, as they plan for short and long-term treatment needs. Findings are reported online in the journal Stroke.
A team of researchers, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have identified a key player in the dramatic loss of neurons in mice and fly models, a discovery that could help illuminate the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in human neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that the drug carvedilol, currently prescribed for the treatment of hypertension, may lessen the degenerative impact of Alzheimer’s disease and promote healthy memory functions.
A group of tests may help predict which people with Parkinson’s disease are more likely to fall, according to a study published in the June 23, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
An organic compound found in red wine – resveratrol – has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Professor Peter M. Tessier.
UNC researchers are the first to identify brain abnormalities in children at high risk for schizophrenia shortly after birth. The finding could lead to earlier detection of schizophrenia and enable better prevention and treatment.
An earlier study has shown that the stress of the Second Lebanon War in Israel increased the frequency of attacks in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The present study reveals that a potential way to minimize MS exacerbation is by directly coping with the situation.