Feature Channels: Neuro

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People with more demanding jobs may live longer after developing the disease frontotemporal dementia than people with less skilled jobs, according to a new study published in the April 22, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Frontotemporal dementia, which often affects people under the age of 65, results in changes in personality or behavior and problems with language, but does not affect the memory.

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Researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging have been attempting to understand the cascade of events following mild head injury that may lead to an increased risk for developing a progressive degenerative brain disease, and their new study, which was published in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, shows initial promise for a treatment that might interrupt the process that links the two conditions.

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Brain researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new brain mapping model which could improve the success rate of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in treating conditions including depression, neuropathic pain, and stroke. The model helps pinpoint target sites during TMS, a procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to alleviate or eliminate symptoms of stroke, depression, and attention disorders. The new model will be presented at the 67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 22.

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New research published in Nature has found several drugs could lead to new treatment options for multiple sclerosis, including two drugs that effectively treat MS at the source, in vivo.

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Marion Cox was experiencing the expected decline in the potency of his medications for Parkinson's disease when his doctor offered him a spot in a clinical trial for a new drug delivery system. Now Marion has returned to farming his 800 acres -- including operating heavy equipment -- with a small pump in a pouch under his shirt that delivers precision doses of levidopa to control his PD symptoms with minimal side effects.

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New research highlights how nerves – whether harmed by disease or traumatic injury – start to die, a discovery that unveils novel targets for developing drugs to slow or halt peripheral neuropathies and devastating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

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In order to help doctors treat the millions of people who experience their first seizure each year, the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society have released a new guideline on how to treat a first seizure. The guideline is published in the April 21, 2015, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and will be presented at the AAN Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18-25, 2015, which is the world’s largest gathering of neurologists.

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A new guideline authored by Allan Krumholz, MD, a professor of neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, found that administering an antiepileptic medication immediately after a first seizure reduces the risk of having another seizure within two years.

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Following a first seizure, physicians should discuss with patients whether it is appropriate to prescribe medication to reduce risk of another seizure, according to new guidelines released at the American Academy of Neurology meeting.

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Research by scientists at The University of Manchester has revealed that the colour of light has a major impact on how our body clock measures the time of day.

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Extending the dose of an infusion medication for multiple sclerosis (MS), Natalizumab, from 4 weeks up to 8 has been shown to be well-tolerated and effective -- and resulted in no cases of the potentially fatal side effect, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), according to a new study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

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Karina Valencia needed more hope than the physicians and staff could muster shortly after her son’s shooting, the near-death victim of a convenience store robbery. Luckily, she got the hope she needed, and more, from a peer support group set up for family and friends of hospitalized intensive care patients. In particular, was the story shared by group leader Michael Segal, a patient advocate at Harris Health System's Ben Taub Hospital—himself the victim and survivor of a convenience store shooting.

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Led by Case Western Reserve researchers, a multi-institutional team identified two topical drugs (miconazole and clobetasol) capable of stimulating regeneration of damaged brain cells and reversing paralysis in animal models of MS. The results appear online Monday, April 20, in the journal Nature.

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Epilepsy affects nearly 30 percent of all people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurobehavioral condition marked by impaired social and language development. Conversely, many patients with epilepsy display ASD-like behavior. Recent studies suggest that epileptic seizures impair the neural pathways needed for socialization, but the details of this process remain unclear.

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Montefiore and Einstein investigators to present data at the annual American Academy of Neurology meeting.

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Medical marijuana and children don’t mix, most Americans say.

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Fatigue is one of the most commonly reported and debilitating symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and can significantly reduce an individual’s quality of life. Unlike the tiredness that we all experience sometimes, fatigue in those with MS can have a hugely negative impact – it can limit or stop people from doing day-to-day activities and things that really matter to them. It is the main reason why people with MS stop working. Research undertaken at Bournemouth University (BU) has been tackling the challenge of managing fatigue in people with MS, with encouraging results.

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New trends and cutting-edge research in epilepsy will be highlighted in an Invited Science Session on April 23 from 1:00 – 2:45 p.m. at the American Academy of Neurology’s 2015 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The Invited Science Session will feature 20-minute platform presentations from authors of five groundbreaking studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s recent Annual Meeting.

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have created an in vitro, live-cell artificial vessel that can be used to study both the application and effects of devices used to extract life-threatening blood clots in the brain. The artificial vessel could have significant implications for future development of endovascular technologies, including reducing the need for animal models to test new devices or approaches.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: neurology, environment, crowdfunding, engineering, smoking, pharmaceuticals, medical research, cardiology and diabetes

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Patients with severe strokes had far better outcomes when they were treated using not only a drug to dissolve the blood clot causing the stroke, but also with a procedure to grab, dislodge and remove the clot, according to an international study that included Rush University Medical Center.

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A drug commonly taken to prevent seizures in epilepsy may surprisingly protect the eyesight of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015.

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Using a novel methodology of epigenetic quantitative analysis, investigators found no correlation between regulatory T cells and survival in the tumor microenvironment or blood, even when adjusting for well-known prognostic factors.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include:sustainability, COPD, neurology, cancer, sleep, food, and genetics.

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An international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have found genetic overlap between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and two significant cardiovascular disease risk factors: high levels of inflammatory C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma lipids or fats. The findings suggest the two cardiovascular phenotypes play a role in AD risk and perhaps offer a new avenue for potentially delaying disease progression.

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In February, UNC neurologist Hae Won Shin, MD, and neurosurgeon Eldad Hadar, MD, were the first in the state to implant the NeuroPace RNS System following the medical device’s recent FDA approval. In clinical trials, the NeuroPace system greatly reduced the number of seizures experienced by patients with severe epilepsy.

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UNC researchers have published the first direct evidence that a low dose of electric current can enhance the brain’s natural alpha oscillations to boost creativity by an average of 7.4 percent. Next up: using the method to treat depression.

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Heavy snoring and sleep apnea may be linked to memory and thinking decline at an earlier age, according to a new study published in the April 15, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The research also suggests that treating the disorders with a breathing machine may delay the decline.

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Neuroscientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered how the powerful brain hormone oxytocin acts on individual brain cells to prompt specific social behaviors – findings that could lead to a better understanding of how oxytocin and other hormones could be used to treat behavioral problems resulting from disease or trauma to the brain.

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In a study appearing in The Journal of Neuroscience, UC Irvine neurobiologists report that dietary deficiencies in the type of fatty acids found in fish and other foods can limit brain growth during fetal development and early in life. The findings suggest that women maintain a balanced diet rich in these fatty acids for themselves during pregnancy and for their babies after birth.

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Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found how a widely known but little-studied enzyme protects brain cells in models of Parkinson’s disease.

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A new study suggests that an investigational drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) may repair myelin, the fatty material that protects nerves and is damaged in MS, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015.

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have transformed skin cells from patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), into brain cells affected by the progressive, fatal disease and deposited those human-made cells into the first public ALS cell library, enabling scientists to better study the disease.

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A medicinal liquid form of marijuana may show promise as a treatment for children with severe epilepsy that is not responding to other treatments, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015.

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"Hubs" in the brain -- highly connected regions that like hubs of the airport system -- act as critical destinations where information is received and integrated.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: Astronomy, Cardiology, Nephrology, Neurology, Neutrinos, oil spills, Toxicology, Cancer, and Nutrition

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A combination of mental practice and physical therapy is an effective treatment for people recovering from a stroke, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

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Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers say it may be possible to predict future language development outcomes in toddlers with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), even before they’ve been formally diagnosed with the condition.

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Salk scientists discover a learning circuit in worms that gives clues to human behavior.

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Two types of touch information — the feel of an object and the position of an animal’s limb — have long been thought to flow into the brain via different channels and be integrated in sophisticated processing regions. Now, with help from a specially devised mechanical exoskeleton that positioned monkeys’ hands in different postures, researchers have challenged that view.

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People who participate in arts and craft activities and who socialize in middle and old age may delay the development in very old age of the thinking and memory problems that often lead to dementia, according to a new study published in the April 8, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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A neuro-oncology research team at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center recently identified the transcription factor Id4 as a suppressor of tumor cell invasion in glioblastoma.

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A system for classifying strokes, called TOAST, is effective and easy to use. It is employed in stroke studies around the world, neurologists report in the journal Stroke.

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Salk scientists discover a single protein that energizes muscles and the brain

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Steven Keating's curiosity led to the detection of a baseball-sized brain tumor and sparked an interest into the potential of open health data to help himself and others.

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DNA mutations can cause cancer but in some cases, more mutations may mean a better prognosis for patients. A Yale-led comprehensive genomic analysis of more than 700 brain tumors has revealed one such subtype of the most malignant brain tumor, called glioblastoma, or GBM. This subtype possesses thousands of tumor-specific DNA errors or mutations instead of dozens observed in most glioblastoma cases. It is also associated with longer survival.

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A new UCLA study takes another step toward the early understanding of a degenerative brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which affects athletes in contact sports who are exposed to repetitive brain injuries. Using a new imaging tool, researchers found a strikingly similar pattern of abnormal protein deposits in the brains of retired NFL players who suffered from concussions.

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Indiana University researchers have found that broken communication in a specific part of the brain plays a role in the involuntary physical movements that affect individuals with Huntington's disease.

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A new study of newborns with prenatal drug exposure finds cocaine-specific disruptions in a part of the brain circuitry thought to play an important role in arousal regulation.

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When managing, assigning each task to a specialist is often the most efficient strategy. Most researchers regard the brain as working similarly, with each region specialized to a given task. But Johns Hopkins neuroscientists have found, in rats, that the brain's primary visual cortex not only portrays the visual world but can also drive the timing of actions.