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brain research

Research articles and news stories tagged with brain research

·September 7, 2012·2 min read

Strategy Developed to Improve Delivery of Medicines to the Brain

The experimental treatment method allows small therapeutic agents to safely cross the blood-brain barrier in laboratory rats by turning off P-glycoprotein, one of the main gatekeepers preventing medicinal drugs from reaching their intended targets in the brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 6, 2012·2 min read

Noisy Surroundings Take Toll on Short-term Memory

Scientists found that adverse listening situations are difficult for the brain, partly because they draw on the same, limited resources supporting our short-term memory. The new findings are particularly relevant to understanding the cognitive consequences of hearing damage, a condition that affects an increasing number of people.

Featured Neurology

·September 5, 2012·2 min read

NFL Players May Be at Higher Risk of Death from Alzheimer’s and ALS

Professional football players in this study were three times more likely to die as a result of diseases that damage brain cells compared to the general population. A player’s risk of death from Alzheimer’s disease or ALS was almost four times higher than the general population.

Brain Cancer Featured Genetics Neurology

·September 4, 2012·3 min read

New Gene Variants Found to Raise Risk of Neuroblastoma and Influence Tumor Progression

Researchers have discovered two gene variants that raise the risk of the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma. This is the first study to link known cancer-related genes HACE1 and LIN28B to neuroblastoma. The study broadens understanding of how gene changes may make a child susceptible to this early childhood cancer, as well as causing a tumor to progress.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 31, 2012·5 min read

Researchers Identify Potential New Approach for Improving Quality of Life for ALS Patients

By increasing the signaling activity of a protein called muscle skeletal receptor tyrosine-protein kinase (MuSK), researchers were able to keep nerve cells attached to muscle longer into the progression of the disease in a mouse model of ALS.

Featured Neurology Psychology

·August 30, 2012·4 min read

Potential Treatment for Cognitive Effects of Stress-Related Disorders, Including PTSD

Researchers identified a potential medical treatment for cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, conducted in a PTSD mouse model, shows that an experimental drug called S107, one of a new class of small-molecule compounds called Rycals, prevented learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders.

Featured Neurology

·August 30, 2012·3 min read

New Diagnostic Biomarkers Offer Ray of Hope for Alzheimer’s Disease

Investigators report on the development of imaging-based biomarkers that will have an impact on diagnosis before the Alzheimer's disease process is set in motion.

The image shows a brain made out of chocolate.

Featured Neurology

·August 29, 2012·2 min read

Chocolate: A Sweet Method for Stroke Prevention in Men?

Eating a moderate amount of chocolate each week may be associated with a lower risk of stroke in men, according to a new study published in Neurology.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2012·2 min read

Math Ability Requires Crosstalk in the Brain

A new study finds strength of communication between the left and right brain hemispheres predicts performance on basic arithmetic problems. Findings shed light on the neural basis of human math abilities and suggest a possible route to aiding those who suffer from dyscalculia - an inability to understand and manipulate numbers.

Brain Cancer Featured Genetics Neurology

·August 29, 2012·5 min read

Could a Cancer Drug Potentially Prevent Learning Disabilities in Some Kids?

U-M scientists stop abnormal brain cell growth in mice with neurofibromatosis using experimental tumor drug, make new discoveries in neural stem cells.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·August 24, 2012·2 min read

Astrocytes Control the Generation of New Neurons from Neural Stem Cells

Neuroscience researchers show how astrocytes control the generation of new neurons in the brain. “In the brain, astrocytes control how many new neurons are formed from neural stem cells and survive to integrate into the existing neuronal networks. Astrocytes do this by secreting specific molecules but also by much less understood direct cell-cell interactions with stem cells”, says Prof. Milos Pekny.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology

·August 24, 2012·3 min read

Survival Statistics Show Hard Fight When Malignant Brain Tumors Appear at Multiple Sites

When aggressive, malignant tumors appear in more than one location in the brain, patient survival tends to be significantly shorter than when the disease starts as a single tumor, even though patients in both groups undergo virtually identical treatments, according to research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Research Institute.