Brain

PROVIDENCE, RI – A study from Rhode Island Hospital shows that patients report side effects from medication for the treatment of depression 20 times more than psychiatrists have recorded in the charts. The researchers recommend the use of a self-administered patient questionnaire in clinical practice to improve the recognition of side effects for patients in treatment. The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Volume 71, No. 4, now available online ahead of print.

Three years ago, geneticists reported the startling discovery that nearly half of all people in the U.S. with European ancestry carry a variant of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene, which causes them to gain weight — from three to seven pounds, on average — but worse, puts them at risk for obesity.

Now, UCLA researchers have found that the same gene allele, which is also carried by roughly one-quarter of U.S. Hispanics, 15 percent of African Americans and 15 percent of Asian Americans, may have another deleterious effect.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A new biosensor developed at Purdue University can measure whether neurons are performing correctly when communicating with each other, giving researchers a tool to test the effectiveness of new epilepsy or seizure treatments.

Simple tools developed by researchers in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Human Studies will help parents and teachers identify potential dangers on playgrounds and in gymnasiums and give them the means to lobby for safer conditions.

The largest, most comprehensive clinical trial of couple therapy ever conducted has found that therapy can help even very distressed married couples if both partners want to improve their marriage. The study also involved the longest and most comprehensive follow-up assessment of couple therapy ever conducted.

Tampa, Fla. (April 19, 2010) – A unique cell type that supports and surrounds (ensheathes) neurons within the nose (olfactory system) known as olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), possess the ability to regenerate, are relatively easy to obtain, and have become prime candidates for transplantation to repair a number of lesions in the central nervous system (CNS).

Scientists have developed a brain implant that essentially melts into place, snugly fitting to the brain's surface. The technology could pave the way for better devices to monitor and control seizures, and to transmit signals from the brain past damaged parts of the spinal cord.

A new technique assisting in early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease has been developed by Prof. Shimon Sapir of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Haifa. This technique involves analysis of voice and articulation. The research was carried out alongside U.S. scientists and with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and results have been published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Using a combination of "Jeopardy," "Saturday Night Live" and a famous Discovery Channel show called MythBusters, patient advocates and researchers at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center presented "Mythbusters: Cancer Research in Jeopardy" to their community in an effort to increase awareness of cancer research, particularly clinical trials.

Did you ever wonder how you are able to perform complex tasks - even under stress? And how do emotions and memories mould your ability to live your everyday lives? The answer is just beginning to be understood and lies in hidden circuits in the brain.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Patients show modest yet meaningful gains in limb movement and an improved outlook on life years after suffering a stroke, a major clinical study has found. The paper, published online this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, provides the best evidence yet that stroke sufferers in a controlled study can regain limb movement long after an injury, through intensive therapy with specially trained personnel and newly created robotic aids.

A major Australian study has provided new insights into the loss of structure in regions of the brain and its potential association with Alzheimer's Disease.The findings recently reported in Neurology suggest a build-up of deposits of the protein amyloid-beta in a region of the brain known as the temporal inferior cortex. The region is connected to the hippocampus, which is involved in memory.

Alzheimer's is characterised by two factors: a build-up of amyloid-beta plaques in the brain, and a loss of neurons.

TORONTO – April 16, 2010 – Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today announced results from a one-year, longitudinal health outcomes study (n=324) in which patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who received 12 infusions of TYSABRI (natalizumab) reported improvements in quality of life (QoL) measures, as well as reduced fatigue and overall improved cognitive function, as measured by validated tools.

This release is available in http://chinese..org/zh/emb_releases/2010-04/tcob-fet040810.php">Chinese.

Washington, DC – To their surprise, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have discovered that morphine (a derivate of the opium poppy that is similar to heroin) protects rat neurons against HIV toxicity - a finding they say might help in the design of new neuroprotective therapies for patients with the infection.