Newsline — Monday, August 27, 2012 9:42
Researchers Distinguish How Human Brains Evolved Beyond Chimp Brains
Metabolic Abnormalities Such as Obesity, High Blood Pressure Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline
Friday, August 24, 2012 13:00
People who are obese and have high blood pressure or other risk factors, called metabolic abnormalities, may experience a faster decline in cognitive skills over time than others – that’s according to a study published in the Aug. 21, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Metabolic abnormality is defined as having two or more of the following risk factors: high blood pressure or taking medication for it, low HDL or “good” cholesterol, high blood sugar or taking diabetes medication, and high triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood) or taking medication to lower cholesterol. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Scientists Perform Neuron-by-neuron Research in Search of Chronic Pain, Memory Loss Causes
Friday, August 24, 2012 8:00
Working with units of material so small that it would take 50,000 of them to make up one drop, scientists are developing the profiles of the contents of individual brain cells as they search for the root causes of chronic pain, memory loss and other maladies that affect millions of people. Researchers described the latest results of this one-by-one exploration of cells or “neurons” from among the millions that exist in an animal brain at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, during which Jonathan Sweedler, PhD, explained that knowledge of the chemistry occurring in individual brain cells would provide the insights into the causes of certain diseases and could point toward new ways of diagnosis and treatment. Until recently, scientists have not had the technology to perform neuron-by-neuron research such as this. For more information, click here to read the full release.
‘Boss’ Star Kelsey Grammer Takes Part in Public Service Initiative for Lewy Body Dementia Association
Thursday, August 23, 2012 13:00
Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor Kelsey Grammer, star of the critically acclaimed STARZ Original series “Boss,” recently completed two public service announcements for the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA). In “Boss,” Grammer portrays fictional Chicago Mayor Tom Kane, who last season was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia (LBD) — the second most common form of progressive dementia. More than 1.3 million Americans have been diagnosed with the disease, which affects almost everything about a person, including thinking, movement and behavior. LBD also affects sleep and automated systems such as blood pressure and digestion. In addition, sufferers can have severe medication sensitivities, especially to certain tranquillizers. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Early MRI Scans Following Back Injury Won’t Improve Odds of Recovery
Thursday, August 23, 2012 8:00
Undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan won’t increase your chances of a good recovery following a back injury, suggests a study that appears in the Aug. 15 issue of Spine. In fact, early MRI scanning as part of early assessment of back injuries may even prolong disability, according to the research. For the study, Janessa M. Graves, MPH, PhD, and colleagues of University of Washington, Seattle, analyzed Washington State workers compensation data for 1,226 employees with acute lower back injury. About 78 percent of the injured workers were classified as having mild to major sprains, while 22 percent had injury involving the spinal nerve roots (radiculopathy). For more information, click here to read the full release.
Resistance to Dementia May Be Hereditary, Linked to Levels of C-reactive Protein
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 12:00
People who are dementia-free and have high levels of a protein that indicate the presence of inflammation have relatives who are more likely to avoid the disease, too, reports a new study that appears in the Aug. 15, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “In very elderly people with good cognition, higher levels of C-reactive protein, which is related to inflammation, are associated with better memory,” says study author Jeremy M. Silverman, PhD, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “Our results found that the higher the level of this protein in the study participant, the lower the risk for dementia in their parents and siblings.” For more information, click here to read the full release.
Research Team Creates Set of Multi-Dimensional Brain Measurements That Can Accurately Assess Child’s Age
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 8:00
A national team of researchers — led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine investigators — has developed a multidimensional set of brain measurements that, when taken together, can accurately assess a child’s age with 92 percent accuracy. “We have uncovered a ‘developmental clock’ within the brain — a biological signature of maturation that captures age differences quite well regardless of other kinds of differences that exist across individuals,” says first author Timothy T. Brown, PhD, a developmental cognitive neuroscientist in the Department of Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Survey Shows Improved Patient Decision-Making About Herniated Disc Surgery
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 13:00
The results of a new survey show improvements in the quality of patient decision-making about whether or not to undergo surgery for a herniated disc, according to a study that appears in the August 15 issue of the journal Spine. Karen Sepucha, PhD, and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, developed and evaluated a tool for use in evaluating the quality of patient decisions regarding treatment for herniated discs in the lower (lumbar) spine. The survey may help to promote shared decision-making, thus helping to ensure that “the right patient is matched with the right treatment.” For more information, click here to read the full release.
UC San Diego, Yale To Build Neuroscience Gateway Using Collaborative NSF Grant
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 9:51
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the University of California, San Diego and Yale University a collaborative grant by the) to develop a Neuroscience Gateway (NSG) that gives neuroscientists broadened access to essential high-performance computing (HPC) and storage resources. Under the UC San Diego grant, the university’s San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and its Neuroscience Information Framework project will build a software infrastructure that can be used to make neuroscience-specific compute and software tools conveniently available to students and investigators. The project, called “Advanced Biological Informatics Development: Building A Community Resource for Neuroscientists,” will provide neuroscience users with compute time through a streamlined process via a simple Web portal-based environment for uploading models, retrieving and storing data, and specifying the parameters for running high-performance computing (HPC)-based neuronal simulations – this includes querying the status and completion of various jobs. The NSG portal, now under development, will be available at www.nsgportal.org. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Previously Rejected Drug May Reduce Neurodegenerative Proteins in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
Monday, August 20, 2012 13:00
According to research published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the second of two studies on the drug latrepirdine offer new possibilities for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, sleep disorders and other neurodegenerative conditions. An international team led by scientists at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine has discovered that latrepiridine, known commercially as Dimebon, reduced the level of at least two neurodegeneration-related proteins in mice. Latrepirdine originally was sold as an antihistamine in Russia, following its approved use there in 1983. In the ‘90s, the compound appeared effective in treating some of the earliest animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. In a high-profile Phase II clinical trial in the same country, overseen by a panel of top U.S. clinical trial experts — including Mount Sinai’s Mary Sano, PhD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center — latrepirdine showed significant and sustained improvement in cognitive behavior in Alzheimer’s patients, with minimal side effects. But when the drug was tested in a Phase III trial in the U.S., it did…
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