Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS, is a devastating, rapidly advancing disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. But researchers at NYU School of Medicine have identified a new target for slowing the deterioration of physical function for which the disease is so well known.
Rats born to mothers fed high-fat diets but who get normal levels of fat in their diets right after birth avoid obesity and its related disorders as adults, according to new Johns Hopkins research. Meanwhile, rat babies exposed to a normal-fat diet in the womb but nursed by rat mothers on high-fat diets become obese by the time they are weaned.
Eating a moderate amount of chocolate each week may be associated with a lower risk of stroke in men, according to a new study published in the August 29, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Deep brain stimulation may stop uncontrollable shaking in patients with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor by imposing its own rhythm on the brain, according to two recent studies.
People who carry a “G” instead of an “A” at a specific spot in the sequence of their genetic code have roughly a six-fold higher risk of developing certain types of brain tumors, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Mayo Clinic.
Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and a common cause of long-term disability in the United States, but doctors have very few proven treatment methods. Now a new device that mechanically removes stroke-causing clots from the brain is being hailed as a game-changer.
When aggressive, malignant tumors appear in more than one location in the brain, patient survival tends to be significantly shorter than when the disease starts as a single tumor, even though patients in both groups undergo virtually identical treatments, according to research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Research Institute.The findings are published in the Aug. 24 Journal of Neurosurgery, and are strictly embargoed until 10 a.m. EDT on that date.
A research team led by the University of Iowa has upended current thinking about areas in the human brain responsible for self-awareness. Using a rare patient with damage to areas considered vital to be self-aware, the team learned the patient was not only self-aware, but capable of introspection and self-insight. The researchers propose that self-awareness is a product of a diffuse patchwork of pathways in the brain rather than confined to specific areas.
Researchers pinpoint uniquely human patterns of gene activity in the brain that shed light on how we evolved differently than our closest relative. Identifying these genes could deepen understanding of human brain diseases.
Scientists have unraveled how our brain cells encode the pronunciation of individual vowels in speech. The discovery could lead to new technology that verbalizes the unspoken words of people paralyzed by injury or disease.
A child’s smile is something we take for granted. But muscle dysfunction can turn a simple expression of joy into a challenge. Surface electromyography provides a noninvasive method of sensing muscle activity that can be used for muscle rehabilitation—and to bring a smile to a child’s face.
Scientists are developing profiles of the contents of individual brain cells in a search for the root causes of chronic pain, memory loss and other maladies that affect millions of people. They described the latest results of a one-by-one exploration of selected cells or “neurons” from among the millions present in an animal’s brain at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
People who are obese and also have high blood pressure and other risk factors called metabolic abnormalities may experience a faster decline in their cognitive skills over time than others, according to a study published in the August 21, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Scientific advances in understanding the "addiction circuitry" of the brain may lead to effective treatment for obesity using deep brain stimulation (DBS), according to a review article in the August 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 national team of researchers led by investigators at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed a multidimensional set of brain measurements that, when taken together, can accurately assess a child’s age with 92 percent accuracy.
Researchers at the University of Iowa have pinpointed for the first time the area in the human brain where doubt arises. The finding helps explain why older people, as well as others with damage to a specific brain region, are more prone to fall victim to deception and scams. Results published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.
People who are free of dementia and have high levels of a protein that indicates the presence of inflammation have relatives who are more likely to avoid the disease as well, according to a new study published in the August 15, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In a major breakthrough, an international team of scientists has proven that addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked, while at the same time increasing pain relief.
Latrepirdine, which failed in U. S. Clinical trials of alzheimer’s disease, is showing new potential in an animal model.
Finding provides new drug development opportunity in this hard-to-treat disease.
A global hunt for the cause of a crippling inherited nerve disorder has found its target. The discovery opens the door for better diagnosis and treatment of this disease – but also for better understanding of why nerves in the brain’s movement-controlling center die, and how to find the causes of other diseases that run in families.
Just one week of speech therapy may reorganize the brain, helping to reduce stuttering, according to a study published in the August 8, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Fainting has a strong genetic predisposition, according to new research published in the August 7, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Fainting, also called vasovagal syncope, is a brief loss of consciousness when your body reacts to certain triggers, such as emotional distress or the sight of blood.
When a patient undergoes a cardiac catheterization procedure such as a balloon angioplasty, there's a slight risk of a stroke or other neurological complication.
When a stroke patient is discharged from the hospital, they often must cope with a new disability or lack of function, so medication changes can be particularly confusing. But a pilot study that is looking at a new discharge strategy and being led by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, indicates that phone calls and conversations with a “stroke coach” seem to keep a patient on the road to recovery.
Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have figured out how stem cells found in a part of the brain responsible for learning, memory and mood regulation decide to remain dormant or create new brain cells. Apparently, the stem cells “listen in” on the chemical communication among nearby neurons to get an idea about what is stressing the system and when they need to act.
UCLA researchers found that older adults who regularly used a brain fitness program played on a computer demonstrated significantly improved memory and language skills.
The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is advancing age. By age 85, the likelihood of developing the dreaded neurological disorder is roughly 50 percent. But researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say AD hits hardest among the “younger elderly” – people in their 60s and 70s – who show faster rates of brain tissue loss and cognitive decline than AD patients 80 years and older.
People suffering from the “essential tremor” disorder can now be more easily diagnosed.
While drinking caffeine each day does not appear to help improve sleepiness among people with Parkinson’s disease, it may have a benefit in controlling movement, according to new research published in the August 1, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology .
New research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that as much as 10 percent of individual differences in intelligence can be explained by the strength of neural pathways connecting the left lateral prefrontal cortex to the rest of the brain.
Neuroscientists are finding that, as we get older, our aging brains are proving surprisingly malleable, and in ways not previously anticipated. But there are limitations.
Researchers at UCLA have identified a novel molecule in the brain that, after stroke, blocks the formation of new connections between neurons. As a result, it limits the brain’s recovery. In a mouse model, the researchers showed that blocking this molecule—called ephrin-A5--induces axonal sprouting, that is, the growth of new connections between the brain’s neurons, or cells, and as a result promotes functional recovery.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have discovered that some cases of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer, are caused by the fusion of two adjacent genes. The study also found that drugs that target the protein produced by this genetic aberration can dramatically slow the growth of glioblastomas in mice. The findings were published today in the online edition of the journal Science.
Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a "scaffolding" protein that holds together multiple elements in a complex system responsible for regulating pain, mental illnesses and other complex neurological problems.
In a study published online in Science, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have determined the complete wiring diagram for the part of the nervous system controlling mating in the male roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, an animal model intensively studied by scientists worldwide.
The anesthetic agent ketamine has a fast-acting antidepressant effect, but that doesn't improve the response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for severe depression, according to a study in the August issue of The Journal of ECT, official journal of the International Society for ECT and Neurostimulation. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Jianhua Xing, a Virginia Tech assistant professor of biology, and his colleagues recommend further study of how rope-like polymers called microtubules function. They computational comparations of two models of microtubules, a component of cell cytoskeletons.
Raising levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the frontal cortex of the brain significantly decreased impulsivity in healthy adults, in a study conducted by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.
A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer’s. The paper, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, identifies the complex mechanisms that result in a rapid and robust post-injury elevation of the enzyme in the brain.
Research shows an increase in deaths from motor vehicle accidents in areas where fewer neurosurgeons are available.
Creating a device out of human cells that simulates brain chemistry is the goal of a $6.4 million grant which is part of major new federal initiative to develop a series of “organs on a chip” designed to improve the drug development process.
Watching videos on YouTube may be a new way to show the treatment for a common cause of vertigo, which often goes untreated by physicians, according to a study published in the July 24, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Required online rules meetings for Michigan high school coaches this fall will include a concussion education module from U-M’s Michigan NeuroSport and Pediatric Trauma Program.
Ever wonder how the human brain, which is constantly bombarded with millions of pieces of visual information, can filter out what’s unimportant and focus on what’s most useful? The process is known as selective attention and scientists have long debated how it works. But now, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have discovered an important clue. Evidence from an animal study, published in the July 22 online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that the prefrontal cortex is involved in a previously unknown way.
Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis who were decoding the activity of populations of neurons in the motor cortex discovered that they could tell how a monkey was planning to approach a reaching task, in effect, reading their minds.
Higher levels of a certain fat in the blood called ceramides may increase a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the July 18, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A new guideline released by the American Academy of Neurology recommends several treatments for people with Huntington’s disease who experience chorea—jerky, random, uncontrollable movements that can make everyday activities challenging. The guideline is published in the July 18, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers have provided direct experimental evidence linking diabetes to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The study also identified an experimental model that could become an important new tool for AD research.
Using a two-photon microscope capable of peering deep within living tissue, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found new evidence that alpha-synuclein protein build-up inside neurons causes them to not only become “leaky,” but also to misfire due to calcium fluxes.
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