Brain

For adults aged 65 years or older living in the community, there is no benefit to screening for cognitive impairment if they are asymptomatic, according to a new Canadian guideline published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Mutant forms of breast cancer factor 1 (BRCA1) are associated with breast and ovarian cancers but according to new findings, in the brain the normal BRCA1 gene product may also be linked to Alzheimer's disease. The results, published in Nature Communications, suggest that low levels of BRCA1 protein in the brain may contribute to dementia. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Itching is an uncomfortable sensation that is known to be inhibited by scratching. However, since scratching is accompanied by a pleasant feeling, a constant desire to scratch can lead to excessive scratching. In particular, in patients with chronic itching, such as those with atopic dermatitis, excessive scratching leads to new skin injuries, causing a vicious cycle. Therefore, the discovery and development of novel inhibitory methods replacing scratching may be of marked value to patients suffering from itching.

Neuroscientists at EPFL identify a brain region that links anxious temperament to low social status. The researchers were able to tweak social hierarchy in animals using a regular vitamin.

Ever wonder how animals see the world? New research suggests that animals, or mammals at least, see the world the same way humans do. In a study published in the Nov. 25th issue of Biology Letters, researchers from Japan and France report that the eye view of ponies, dolphins, chimps, and humans are surprisingly similar despite having evolved in different environments.

According to a study completed at the Helsinki University Hospital Department of Neurosurgery, even patients over the age of 75 may recover from severe traumatic brain injury. This is the first study to describe the results of surgically treated elderly patients with acute subdural hematomas.

Baltimore, MD, November 30, 2015--Over the past 15 years, more than 330,000 U.S. soldiers have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is one of the leading causes of death and disability connected to the country's recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of these patients were evacuated by air from these countries to Europe and the U.S. for further treatment. In general, these patients were flown quickly to hospitals outside the battle zone, where more extensive treatment was available.

HEIDELBERG, 26 November 2015 - Researchers in Italy, Germany and the United States have identified a regulatory protein crucial for the development of Cerebral Cavernous Malformation - a severe and incurable disease mainly affecting the brain microvasculature. The results, which are published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, show that the KLF4 protein plays a central role in the development of CCM lesions.

Nowadays, much emphasis is placed on sustainability. The degree to which people are willing to donate their own money for this depends on their level of oxytocin. Scientists at the University of Bonn Hospital have discovered that the willingness to donate increases with the quantity of this bonding hormone. However, oxytocin only has an effect with regard to social sustainability projects. The hormone does not increase the ability to participate in the case of purely environmentally oriented projects. The scientists are now reporting their results in "The Journal of Neuroscience".

Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes have shown for the first time that the protein BRCA1 is required for normal learning and memory and is depleted by Alzheimer's disease.

BRCA1 is a key protein involved in DNA repair, and mutations that impair its function increase the risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The new study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that Alzheimer's disease is associated with a depletion of BRCA1 in neurons and that BRCA1 depletion can cause cognitive deficits.

CHICAGO - Some athletes who experience sports-related concussions have reduced blood flow in parts of their brains even after clinical recovery, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The results suggest a role for MRI in determining when to allow concussed athletes to return to competition.

CHICAGO - Using a mobile MRI truck, researchers followed runners for 4,500 kilometers through Europe to study the physical limits and adaptation of athletes over a 64-day period, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

CHICAGO - Researchers in China have found that children who have been left without direct parental care for extended periods of time show larger gray matter volumes in the brain, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Throughout the world, due to political upheaval, economic necessity or other reasons, parents sometimes are compelled to travel away from home for months or years at a time, leaving their children behind.

November 27, 2015 - When birds and humans sing it sounds completely different, but now new research reported in the journal Nature Communications shows that the very same physical mechanisms are at play when a bird sings and a human speaks.

Birds and humans look different, sound different and evolved completely different organs for voice production. But now new research published in Nature Communications reveals that humans and birds use the exact same physical mechanism to make their vocal cords move and thus produce sound.

A team of researchers led by UNSW Australia scientists has discovered how connections between brain cells are destroyed in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease - work that opens up a new avenue for research on possible treatments for the degenerative brain condition.

"One of the first signs of Alzheimer's disease is the loss of synapses - the structures that connect neurons in the brain," says study leader, Dr Vladimir Sytnyk, of the UNSW School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences.