Brain

• A recent decision was made to merge the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) into a yet unnamed institution
• Other leading scientists (including the leading alcohol researchers who co-authored the paper) believe that since alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the U.S., merging the two institutes could significantly hinder the scientific understanding about alcohol problems and alcoholism

ST. PAUL, Minn. –Any possible pain relief that marijuana has for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be outweighed by the drug's apparent negative effect on thinking skills, according to research published in the March 29, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Some clinical trials have reported a mild benefit of marijuana on pain, bladder dysfunction and spasticity in MS, an auto-immune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Bariatric surgery may provide an added benefit to severely obese patients besides weight loss: it can also help alleviate the excruciating pain of migraine headaches, according to new research from The Miriam Hospital, published in the March 29, 2011 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Physical pain and intense feelings of social rejection "hurt" in the same way, a new study shows.

The study demonstrates that the same regions of the brain that become active in response to painful sensory experiences are activated during intense experiences of social rejection.

Brain growth in babies is linked to the amount of time and energy mothers 'invest', according to new research published today.

The study of 128 mammal species, including humans, shows that brain growth in babies is determined by the duration of pregnancy and how long they suckle. The Durham University research concludes that the longer the pregnancy and breastfeeding period in mammals, the bigger the baby's brain grows.

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that patients with Alzheimer's disease have lower glucose utilization in the brain than those with normal cognitive function, and that those decreased levels may be detectable approximately 20 years prior to the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This new finding could lead to the development of novel therapies to prevent the eventual onset of Alzheimer's. The study is published online in the journal Translational Neuroscience.

A study of thousands of people with bipolar disorder suggests that genetic risk factors may influence the decision to attempt suicide.

PHILADELPHIA – By combining sophisticated mathematical techniques more commonly used by spies instead of scientists with the power and versatility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a Penn neurologist has developed a new approach for studying the inner workings of the brain. A hidden pattern is encoded in the seemingly random order of things presented to a human subject, which the brain reveals when observed with fMRI. The research is published in the journal NeuroImage.

During a large-scale study of the socioeconomic costs of this neurodegenerative disease, Danish researchers, some from the University of Copenhagen, discovered that very early symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be revealed in dream or REM sleep.

Parkinson's disease is a brain disease best known for the trembling it causes. It is an incurable, chronic disease and gradually affects the muscles and mental capacity, seriously afflicting the lives if the patient and his or her immediate relatives.

Making a video about a scientific experiment rather than writing up a presentation poster leads to better learning and clearer understanding of the concepts underpinning the experiment according to science educators in Australia. Writing in the International Journal of Innovation and Learning, the researchers explain how preparation and rehearsals for video production also helped with learning.

If common anticonvulsant drugs fail to manage epileptic seizures, then perhaps the anti-inflammatory* route is the way to go. That's according to Mattia Maroso and colleagues from the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, Italy, who found that giving mice repeated doses of a specific enzyme inhibitor significantly reduced both chronic epileptic activity and acute seizures.

CHICAGO, Ill. (March 28, 2011)—Interventional radiologists have completed the first human randomized controlled trial of therapeutic renal denervation or RDN—a procedure that uses a catheter-based probe inserted into the renal artery that emits high-frequency energy to deactivate the nerves near the kidneys (or in the renal artery) that are linked to high blood pressure. The researchers say these results confirm that RDN may be an effective therapy for reducing—and consistently controlling—resistant hypertension when current medications have failed.

CHICAGO, Ill. (March 28, 2011)—Understanding that angioplasty—a medical treatment used by interventional radiologists to widen the veins in the neck and chest to improve blood flow—is safe may encourage additional studies for its use as a treatment option for individuals with multiple sclerosis, say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, Ill.

SALT LAKE CITY, March 28, 2011 – University of Utah scientists used invisible infrared light to make rat heart cells contract and toadfish inner-ear cells send signals to the brain. The discovery someday might improve cochlear implants for deafness and lead to devices to restore vision, maintain balance and treat movement disorders like Parkinson's.

ANAHEIM, March 27, 2011 — With billions of pounds of meat and bone meal going to waste in landfills after a government ban on its use in cattle feed, scientists today described development of a process for using that so-called meat and bone meal to make partially biodegradable plastic that does not require raw materials made from oil or natural gas. They reported here today at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).