Brain

Inflammatory demyelinating pseudotumor usually occurs in the brain and rarely occurs in the spinal cord. On imaging, inflammatory demyelinating pseudotumor appears very similar to intramedullary tumors such as gliomas. It is often misdiagnosed as intramedullary tumor and surgically resected.

HOUSTON – (Nov. 4, 2013) – A stem cell therapy previously shown to reduce inflammation in the critical time window after traumatic brain injury also promotes lasting cognitive improvement, according to preclinical research led by Charles Cox, M.D., at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School.

The research was published in today's issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

West Orange, NJ. November 1, 2013. A new study by Kessler Foundation scientists sheds light on the mechanisms underlying cognitive fatigue in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Cognitive fatigue is fatigue resulting from mental work rather than from physical labor. Genova H et al: Examination of cognitive fatigue in multiple sclerosis using functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging" was published on Nov. 1 in PlosOne. This is the first study to use neuroimaging to investigate aspects of cognitive fatigue.

CHICAGO --- New Northwestern Medicine® research offers one of the first in-depth studies of how physiological changes during pregnancy reduce the effects of a commonly used drug to treat bipolar disorder, making women more vulnerable to recurring episodes. The new findings will help psychiatrists and physicians prevent bipolar manic and depressive symptoms during pregnancy, which are risky for the health of the mother and her unborn child.

TORONTO, ON – A new study from the University of Toronto Scarborough shows that people who are aware of and their own thoughts and emotions are less affected by positive feedback from others.

The study, authored by UTSC PhD candidate Rimma Teper, finds that individuals high in trait mindfulness show less neural response to positive feedback than their less mindful peers.

"These findings suggest that mindful individuals may be less affected by immediate rewards and fits well with the idea that mindful individuals are typically less impulsive" says Teper.

West Orange, NJ. November 1, 2013. A research study headed by Victoria Leavitt, Ph.D. and James Sumowski, Ph.D., of Kessler Foundation, provides the first evidence for beneficial effects of aerobic exercise.

Philadelphia, November 1, 2013 – An international team of scientists investigated whether congenitally blind subjects experience pain differently than sighted individuals. Their results, published in the current issue of PAIN®, reveal compelling evidence that congenitally blind individuals are hypersensitive to pain caused by thermal stimuli.

Since World War II, women have entered the American workforce in greater numbers than ever before. For married couples, this presents a wrinkle, since it can be hard for both partners to find a desirable job in the same locale.

BOSTON (October 31, 2013, 12 noon ET) — Excessive fear can develop after a traumatic experience, leading to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. During exposure therapy, an effective and common treatment for anxiety disorders, the patient confronts a fear or memory of a traumatic event in a safe environment, which leads to a gradual loss of fear. A new study in mice, published online today in Neuron, reports that exposure therapy remodels an inhibitory junction in the amygdala, a brain region important for fear in mice and humans.

Philadelphia, PA, October 31, 2013 – Neonatologists seem to perform miracles in the fight to support the survival of babies born prematurely.

The death of retinal ganglion cells is a hallmark of many optic neurodegenerative diseases such as glaucoma and retinopathy. Oxidative stress is one of the major reasons to cause the cell death. A latest study, published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 25, 2013), has shown that grape seed extract can protect retinal ganglion cells against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. In this study, Prof. Kwok-Fai So, an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Prof.

Amyloid β-peptide, a major component of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease, has been impli-cated in neuronal cell death and cognitive impairment. Recently, studies have shown that the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia is closely linked with Alzheimer's disease. According to a study, administration of amyloid β-peptide could further aggravate impairments to learning and memory and neuronal cell death in the hippocampus of rats subjected to cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Although increasing evidence indicates that low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), an emerging technology for neural regulation, has antiepileptic effects, the mechanism remains unclear. Prof.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found an association between lower socioeconomic status during childhood and adolescence and the length of telomeres, protective cap-like protein complexes at the end of chromosomes, that ultimately affects the susceptibility to colds in middle-aged adults.

50 years after valproate was first discovered, research published today in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, reports how the drug works to block seizure progression.

Valproate (variously labelled worldwide as Epilim, Depacon, Depakene, Depakote, Orlept, Episenta, Orfiril, and Convulex) is one of the world's most highly prescribed treatments for epilepsy. It was first discovered to be an effective treatment for epilepsy, by accident, in 1963 by a group of French scientists.