Brain

Regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluations show that only about half of patients with multiple sclerosis achieve and sustain a response to treatment with interferon beta over three years, according to a study posted online today that will appear in the January 2009 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 10 – In the largest study of its kind, Pittsburgh Compound B, an imaging agent that could facilitate the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, has been used to identify amyloid deposition in the brains of clinically older adults.

A new study in the November issue of the journal Appetite finds that obese women display significantly weaker impulse control than normal-weight women, but between obese and normal-weight men, the impulsivity levels are nearly the same. The study was conducted by researchers in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Psychology.

St. Louis, Nov. 10, 2007 —A test that reveals brain changes believed to be at the heart of Alzheimer's disease has bolstered the theory that education can delay the onset of the dementia and cognitive decline that are characteristic of the disorder.

A NASA space shuttle mission carrying a University of Colorado at Boulder payload of web-spinning spiders and wannabe butterflies will be closely monitored by hundreds of K-12 students from Colorado's Front Range after Endeavour launches from Florida for the International Space Station Nov. 14.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- If a good night's sleep helps the brain and body perform better, it's a good guess that sleep problems can cause more than just fatigue. Numerous studies have shown a connection between sleep disorders and medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and metabolic disorders, including the risk of obesity and diabetes mellitus. In the November issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic researchers outline several interesting associations between sleep disorders and eye disease.

For mini-strokes, or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), both overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis can be perilous. Overdiagnosis neglects the real underlying illness. Underdiagnosis leaves a patient at risk of a full-fledged stroke. Both expose patients to erroneous therapies with potential side effects.

And yet, TIAs are difficult to assess because, by definition, the neurological dysfunction that results is so brief. By the time the patient arrives at a doctor's office or an emergency room, the symptoms are often gone.

Montreal, November 10, 2008 – Babies who receive incubator care after birth are two to three times less likely to suffer depression as adults according to a new study published in the journal Pyschiatry Research. The surprising discovery was made by scientists from the Université de Montréal and Sainte Justine Hospital Research Center in collaboration with researchers from McGill University, the Douglas Hospital Research Centre and the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in the U.K.

ITHACA, N.Y. — The American Medical Association journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has published a new study by researchers at Cornell University indicating evidence of an environmental trigger for autism among genetically vulnerable children. It is the first peer-reviewed study to positively associate the prevalence of autism to a factor related to the levels of precipitation in the areas in which children live.

INDIANAPOLIS – One quarter of all family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients succumb to the stress of providing care to a loved one and become hospital patients themselves, according to an Indiana University study published in the November 2008 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Los Angeles, Calif. Nov. 10, 2008—Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a novel mechanism in the regulation and differentiation of neural stem cells.

Researchers found that the protein receptor Ryk has a key role in the differentiation of neural stem cells, and demonstrated a signaling mechanism that regulates neuronal differentiation as stem cells begin to grow into neurons. The study will be published in the Nov. 11 issue of the journal Developmental Cell, and is now available online.

SALT LAKE CITY—The mysterious process that orchestrates cells to move in unison to form human and animal embryos, heal wounds, and even spread cancer depends on interaction between two well-known genetic signaling pathways, two University of Utah medical school researchers have discovered.

Not much has changed in the last 2,000 years when it comes to suturing together cuts and wounds. Even with microsurgery techniques, infection and permanent scarring remain major concerns.

To minimize these dangers, doctors tried using a carbon dioxide laser to seal wounds, but without the ability to control the heat of the laser, the technique created even greater risks. Until now.

Scientists from Maastricht University have developed a method to look into the brain of a person and read out who has spoken to him or her and what was said. With the help of neuroimaging and data mining techniques the researchers mapped the brain activity associated with the recognition of speech sounds and voices. In their Science article "Who" is Saying "What"? Brain-Based Decoding of Human Voice and Speech the four authors demonstrate that speech sounds and voices can be identified by means of a unique 'neural fingerprint' in the listener's brain.

WASHINGTON—Children of immigrants who enter school with low math and reading skills have a better chance of catching up with their peers if they attend a school with high-performing students, well-supported teachers and services to families of English as a second language (ESL) children, according to a new study.