Feature Channels: Neuro

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EANS-4th WORLD ICH Congress 2011 to convene key specialists on May 2-5 in NewcastleGateshead.

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New evidence suggests that walking on a treadmill at a comfortable speed and for longer duration is the most effective exercise to improve mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease. That’s according to the first randomized trial comparing three types of exercise training in Parkinson’s disease. The late-breaking research will be presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9–16, 2011, in Honolulu.

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University of Maryland researchers found that Parkinson's patients who did low intensity training on a treadmill for a longer duration improved their walking more than patients who walked at a higher-intensity for a shorter time.

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The American Association of Neuromuscular & and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPMR), released a new guideline on the most effective treatments for diabetic nerve pain, the burning or tingling pain in the hands and feet that affects millions of people with diabetes.

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New research suggests that a high number of Iraqi refugees are affected by brain and nervous system disorders, including those who are victims of torture and the disabled. The late-breaking research will be presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9 – 16, 2011, in Honolulu.

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Brisk walking several times per week bestows benefits in just 3 months

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Results of the first randomized, placebo-controlled long-term clinical trial show the investigational drug safinamide may reduce dyskinesia or involuntary movements in mid-to-late stage Parkinson’s disease. The findings will be presented as late-breaking research at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9–16, 2011, in Honolulu.

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Low back and leg pain secondary to degeneration of the lumbar spine (spondylolisthesis) is occurring with increasing frequency, concurrent with the rising population of people age 65 and older living in the US. As a result, there has been a marked increase in the rate of spinal fusion operations and corresponding healthcare costs over the past two decades. Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. set out to assess the cost-effectiveness of TLIF, a single lumbar fusion surgical technique commonly used to stabilize the vertebrae of the spine and disc between the vertebrae.

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Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has been the mainstay surgical treatment for cervical disc degeneration for many years. A study performed by researchers at Boulder Neurosurgical Associates and the University of Colorado at Boulder suggests that more optimistic patient expectation and mental health are significant factors that lead to improved clinical outcomes and higher patient satisfaction scores following cervical spine surgery.

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On December 5, 1960, 4-month-old Theo Dahl, the only son of best-selling author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal, suffered a shattered skull in a horrific traffic accident involving his pram in New York City. What began as a personal tragedy for the family would soon evolve into an elaborate crusade by Roald Dahl to expound upon pre-existing valve technology for hydrocephalus with the goal of developing a shunt that would not obstruct.

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The Allen Human Brain Atlas reveals more than 90 percent similarity among humans and details genes at work throughout the brain to advance scientific research and medical outcomes

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In a research collaboration blind to affairs of politics, ethnicity, and religion, an international team led by Israeli scientists has identified the genetic cause of a neurological disorder afflicting members of a Palestinian family.

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The American Academy of Neurology has issued a new guideline on the most effective treatments for diabetic nerve pain, the burning or tingling pain in the hands and feet that affects millions of people with diabetes. The guideline is published in the April 11, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and will be presented April 11, 2011, at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting in Honolulu.

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A leading panel of neurologists, including a University of Maryland physician, has issued new recommendations to help doctors offer the most up-to-date treatments for people with diabetic neuropathy.

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Scientists at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are a step closer to treating, and perhaps preventing, muscle damage caused by neurodegenerative disorders and other forms of disease. In a newly published study, released today and cited as a Paper of the Week by the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the team has discovered that the gene polymerase I and transcript release factor, or PTRF, is an essential component of the cell process that repairs damaged muscle tissue. This discovery has the potential to lead to development of therapeutic treatment for patients who suffer from severe complications of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, cardiovascular disorders and other degenerative conditions.

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The drug laquinimod reduced the number of relapses for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), in a large, long-term Phase III clinical study that will be presented as late-breaking research at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9–16, 2011, in Honolulu.

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In the first clinical trial of gene therapy for treatment of intractable pain, researchers from the University of Michigan Department of Neurology observed that the treatment that appears to provide substantial pain relief.

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Neurosurgeons know all too well the potentially devastating consequences of head injuries associated with sports. Neurosurgeons have been leaders in the field of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and have served as team physicians at all levels of athletics. In releasing this position statement, the Joint Section on Neurotrauma and Critical Care of the AANS and CNS has acknowledged the seriousness of sports-related head injuries and neurosurgeons’ key role in treatment and prevention.

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Glioblastoma, or malignant glioma, is the most common malignant brain tumor, and also the most deadly, because it is very resistant to treatment. In general, current treatments have not yielded significant increases in survival rates, which is why research into novel therapies is so crucial. A novel brain tumor vaccine clinical trial study conducted at UCLA demonstrates a longer survival time in patients with glioblastoma.

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Tumors of the pituitary gland, often referred to as “the master gland” can cause striking physical, mental and psychological debilitation in patients. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston analyzed the value of fluorescence endoscopy in visually differentiating pituitary tumors from surrounding areas and its potential for improved tumor resection.

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Meningiomas are the most common benign intracranial tumors, and in individuals ages 35 and older, the most common type of brain tumor diagnosed. Researchers at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, analyzed factors predictive of outcomes and recurrence in patients with posterior fossa meningiomas treated with stereotactic radiosurgery.

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Thousands of Americans suffer from episodes of acute or persistent neck and arm pain every year as a result of underlying cervical disc disease. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has been the mainstay treatment for many years. This is the largest combined analysis of class 1 data to date comparing the efficacy of artificial disc surgery (arthroplasty) to the ACDF procedure.

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An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a tangle of abnormal and poorly formed blood vessels (arteries and veins), with an innate propensity to bleed. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine assessed the risks and efficacy of repeat stereotactic radiosurgery in patients with AVMs.

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A Tufts University research team shows that cell death in yeast can also result from the process by which the cell repairs damage that occurs within a repeated CAG/CTG sequence. Their findings increase understanding of how diseases like Huntington's develop in humans.

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Workshop Coincides with the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Largest in World

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Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie has issued a state proclamation declaring the week of April 9-16, 2011, as “Brain Health Awareness Week” in the Aloha state. The proclamation coincides with two large events in Honolulu; the Brain Health Fair Saturday, April 9, and the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting at the Hawaii Convention Center April 9-16, which is the world’s largest meeting of neurologists with more than 9,000 attendees.

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Workers exposed to welding fumes may be at increased risk of damage to the same brain area harmed by Parkinson's disease, according to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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Patients with a temporary surgical implant have used regions of the brain that control speech to “talk” to a computer for the first time, manipulating a cursor on a computer screen simply by saying or thinking of a particular sound.

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University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have found compelling evidence that Parkinson’s disease is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma, and that this increased cancer risk also extends to close and distant relatives of individuals with Parkinson’s disease .

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Familiar voices, magnetic stimulation being tested in two clinical trials. One study is a double-blind, randomized trial in which family members and loved ones of the patients play very important roles.

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New research suggests that workers exposed to welding fumes may be at risk for developing brain damage in an area of the brain also affected in Parkinson’s disease. The study is published in the April 6, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Meditation produces powerful pain-relieving effects in the brain, according to new research published in the April 6 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience.

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Investigators have attempted to replicate 2009 findings that associated the XMRV retrovirus with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. However those studies have been performed on blood. The current study focuses instead on cerebrospinal fluid, given the syndrome's impact on nervous system function.

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Persons with an addictive-like eating behavior appear to have greater neural activity in certain regions of the brain similar to substance dependence, including elevated activation in reward circuitry in response to food cues, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the August print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have developed a new way to stimulate neuron production in the adult mouse brain, demonstrating that neurons acquired in the brain's hippocampus during adulthood improve certain cognitive functions.

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The theme of 2011 National Neurosurgery Awareness Week, April 10-16, 2011, is "There’s Always Another Game, but You Only Have One Brain." There were an estimated 446,788 sports-related head injuries treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2009. The AANS stands behind the message that there needs to be greater awareness about the potentially devastating consequences of head and spinal cord injuries associated with sports and all involved need to take steps to prevent these types of injuries.

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The moment we open our eyes, we perceive the world with apparent ease. But the question of how neurons in the retina encode what we “see” has been a tricky one. A key obstacle to understanding how our brain functions is that its components—neurons—respond in highly nonlinear ways to complex stimuli, making stimulus-response relationships extremely difficult to discern.

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Researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have described for the first time how the brain’s memory center repairs itself following severe trauma – a process that may explain why it is harder to bounce back after multiple head injuries.

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The lead article in the April 4 issue of the journal Academic Medicine connects research on how the brain learns to how to incorporate this understanding into real world education, particularly the education of medical doctors.

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UAB researchers have found the mechanism used by malignant glioma cells to travel and spread through the brain, and may have come upon a method to interfere with that spread.

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The McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT is pleased to announce that Bruce McEwen of The Rockefeller University is the winner of the 2011 Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience.

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Patients suffering from dystonia, an uncommon yet potentially crippling movement disorder, get better results if they begin deep brain stimulation therapy sooner rather than later, according to an international study published in the March issue of the Journal of Neurology.

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A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a form of minor stroke that can last just minutes, often without any lingering symptoms. But if left untreated, those who have one are at an estimated 25 percent greater risk of having another stroke or other complication within 90 days.

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Any possible pain relief that marijuana has for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be outweighed by the drug’s apparent negative effect on thinking skills, according to research published in the March 29, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that patients with Alzheimer’s disease have lower glucose utilization in the brain than those with normal cognitive function, and that those decreased levels may be detectable approximately 20 years prior to the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. This new finding could lead to the development of novel therapies to prevent the eventual onset of Alzheimer’s. The study is published online in the journal Translational Neuroscience.

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Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a way that mutations in a gene called LRRK2 may cause the most common inherited form of Parkinson’s disease.

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John Moran was diagnosed with a malignant tumor that is usually fatal. But Loyola University Medical Center neurosurgeon Dr. Douglas Anderson thought it was worth trying to save the life of the young father of three.

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A new technique using "quantum dots" produced through nanotechnology is a promising approach to monitoring the effects of stem cell therapies for stroke and other types of brain damage, reports the April 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.

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Mayo Clinic researchers found that dopamine agonists used in treating Parkinson’s disease result in impulse control disorders in as many as 22 percent of patients.

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Mayo Clinic researchers have found that cardiac pacing may help epilepsy patients with seizure-related falls due to ictal asystole, an unusual condition in which the heart stops beating during an epileptic seizure. The study was recently published in the journal Epilepsia.