Brain

The central nervous system is inaccessible for many types of therapeutics because of the blood brain barrier, a highly selective membrane that protects the brain from bacterial infection and other substances. An alternative approach is to bypass the blood brain barrier and directly inject drugs into the intrathecal space of the spinal canal, allowing the therapeutic compound to reach the cerebrospinal fluid. Efforts to date with this approach have been limited due to patient variability and uncertainty about how drug distribution is affected by cerebral spinal fluid movement.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - A recent study of a handful of patients supports mounting evidence that targeted suppression of inflammation packaged with standard therapy can improve the cognitive ability of patients with schizophrenia, physician-scientists report.

After just two intravenous doses in eight weeks of tocilizumab, an immune-suppressing drug regularly prescribed for rheumatoid and juvenile arthritis, study participants had significantly improved cognitive ability, said Dr. Brian J. Miller, a psychiatrist at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

A Chapman University psychologist and his interdisciplinary research team have just published a study examining the sexual satisfaction -- or dissatisfaction -- of heterosexual couples in long-term relationships, and what contributes to keeping sexual passion alive. In one of the largest studies to date that scientifically examines what contributes to a satisfying long-term sex life, the findings indicate foreplay, setting the mood, mixing it up, and expressing love are all factors that satisfied couples said they do regularly.

About one in five lesbian and four in five bisexual teen girls who are sexually active had a recent male sex partner, according to a new U.S. study of close to 3,000 adolescent girls that appears in the March issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- People who exercise have better mental fitness, and a new imaging study from UC Davis Health System shows why. Intense exercise increases levels of two common neurotransmitters -- glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA -- that are responsible for chemical messaging within the brain.

KANSAS CITY, MO -- Researchers from the laboratory of Paul Trainor, Ph.D., at the Stowers Institute of Medical Research have developed an effective and reliable technique for studying high-arched palate using a mouse model. The methodology could expand research into the genetic aspects of this craniofacial abnormality.

The brain is an enormous network of communication, containing over 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, with branches that connect at more than 100 trillion points. They are constantly sending signals through a vast neuron forest that forms memories, thoughts and feelings; these patterns of activity form the essence of each person. Alzheimer's disease (AD) disrupts both the way electrical charges travel within cells and the activity of neurotransmitters.

MINNEAPOLIS - People who keep mentally and physically healthy in middle age may help stave off the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, but the activity does not affect the underlying disease changes in the brain for most people, according to a study published in the February 24 online edition of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Keeping the mind active may delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease; however, the activity does not change the underlying disease in the brain for most people, according to a study published today in the online edition of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Data presented by the biotech company Athersys indicate that stroke patients treated by an adult stem cell therapy called MultiStem® did significantly better than others who received a placebo one year after treatment. The results are from a Phase 2 study involving clinical sites in the United States and the United Kingdom, including University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The study examined the safety and effectiveness of the new therapy developed for the treatment of ischemic stroke. The data were presented Feb. 17 at the 2016 International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.

A new study by Simon Fraser University researchers has found that differences in an individual's working memory capacity correlate with the brain's ability to actively ignore distraction.

Published this week in the journal PNAS, a research team led by psychology professor John McDonald and doctoral student John Gaspar used EEG technology to determine that while 'high-capacity' individuals (those who perform well on memory tasks) are able to suppress distractors, 'low-capacity' individuals are unable to suppress them in time to prevent them from grabbing their attention.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY'S HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS--Forget intelligence or wisdom. A muscular physique might just be a more important attribute when it comes to judging a person's leadership potential.

Take Arnold Schwarzenegger whose past popularity was a result of his physical prowess as a "Mr. Universe" bodybuilder. In the 2003's historic recall election, the physically imposing Schwarzenegger easily defeated California Governor Gray Davis who is arguably weaker looking than "The Terminator."

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The human brain has a remarkable defense system that filters bacteria and chemicals. For brain tumor patients, the barrier works almost too well by blocking most chemotherapy drugs.

Now, a team led by a University of Florida Health researcher has found that a laser system already used to kill brain tumors has another benefit: It opens a temporary "window" in the blood-brain barrier that enables crucial chemotherapy drugs to pass into the brain for up to six weeks. The findings are published today (Feb. 24) in the journal PLOS ONE.

Using a laser probe, neurosurgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have opened the brain's protective cover, enabling them to deliver chemotherapy drugs to patients with a form of deadly brain cancer.

In a pilot study, 14 patients with glioblastoma - the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer - underwent minimally invasive laser surgery to treat a recurrence of their tumors. Heat from the laser is known to kill brain tumor cells but, unexpectedly, the researchers found that the technology can penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

Slow-wave sleep - the deeper sleep during which the brain turns each day's events into permanent memories - is fragmented in adulthood in people exposed to high levels of alcohol in the womb.

This is according to a study conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI), and recently published online in the journal Neuroscience.