Newsline — Tuesday, February 18, 2014 13:00
Less Than Half of Children Treated for Anxiety Achieve Long-term Relief
Most-studied Brain in Modern Neuroscience Goes Digital
Tuesday, February 18, 2014 9:00
Henry G. Molaison, an epileptic patient in the 1950s whose severe and almost total amnesia was the unexpected result of a bilateral surgical ablation of the MTL (including the hippocampus) is possibly the most well known and most-studied patient in modern neuroscience. The unfortunate outcome of his surgery became the catalyst for more than 50 years of scientific discoveries that have radically changed scientists’ basic understanding of memory function. Now, thanks to the researchers at the University of California, San Diego, scientists around the world will finally have insight into the neurological case that defined modern studies of human memory. Following the postmortem study of his brain — based on histological sectioning and digital 3D construction — scientists were able to create a 3D microscopic model of his entire brain. In order to create the model, H.M.’s brain was dissected into 2,401 thin tissue slices that were preserved cryogenically. The researchers then collected and archived a series of digital images that corresponded to each tissue section. The level of sampling and image quality provided by…
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Experimental Vaccine Targets Stem Cells in Brain Cancers
Monday, February 17, 2014 13:00
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Neurosurgery are conducting an early-phase clinical trial of an experimental vaccine that targets cancer stem cells in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive form of brain tumor. The two-year Phase-I study will evaluate the safety and dosing of the vaccine in 45 patients. The vaccine will be created individually for each participant and designed to boost the immune system’s natural ability to protect the body against foreign invaders, known as antigens. The drug targets a protein, CD133, found on cancer stem cells of some brain tumors and other forms of cancer as well. By being loaded with specific protein fragments of CD133, dendritic cells — the immune system’s most powerful cell able to recognize invaders — are “trained” to recognize the antigen and stimulate an immune response when they come in contact. The study is the latest evolution in Cedars-Sinai’s history of dendritic cell vaccine research. To read more about this study, click here.
Depression Symptoms and Emotional Support Impact PTSD Treatment
Monday, February 17, 2014 9:00
Findings reported in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology show that many individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also experience depression. Researchers at Case Western University found that during PTSD treatment, rapid improvements in depression are associated with better outcomes of the disorder. This is one of the first studies to explore how depression symptoms impact progress throughout PTSD treatment. Participants in the study were either treated with depression medication or therapy sessions. Researchers also examined how social support from family and friends impacted sudden depression changes. Negative social support was found to be associated with worsening depression for all individuals receiving medication or therapy. After participants completed surveys about their symptoms, researchers further discovered that patients experienced ups and down in their depression whether or not they were treated with only medication or only therapy. To read more about this study, click here.
Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries on the Rise in U.S.
Friday, February 14, 2014 13:00
In a recent study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that the number of serious traumatic spinal-cord injuries is on the rise in the U.S. The findings show that the injury rate is growing fastest among the older population, with symptoms ranging from numbness to full-blown paralysis. Analyzing a sample of 43,137 people treated in hospital emergency rooms between 2007 and 2009, the incidence per million of those age 65 and older increased from 79.4 in 2007, to 87.7 in 2009, with falls as the leading cause of traumatic spinal cord injury. Furthermore, researchers found that older adults suffering from a traumatic spinal cord injury are four times more likely to die in the emergency room compared to younger adults. Additionally, if they survive and are admitted into the hospital, older adults are six times more likely to die during their inpatient stay. To find out more about the results of this study, click here.
Exercise May be Best Medicine to Treat Post-concussion Syndrome
Friday, February 14, 2014 9:00
Researchers from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, are developing a new treatment program for patients who suffer from post-concussion syndrome (PCS). PCS is defined by three or more concussion symptoms that persist for at least three weeks after the injury. Although treatments in the past have been largely unsuccessful, a regulated exercise routine is among the first to offer hope for those who suffer from PCS. Researchers initially wondered if athletes who suffer from PCS could exercise at a level that wouldn’t bring out their symptoms, but would still allow them to stay conditioned during their recuperation period. After researchers developed a low-level exercise program, patients were asked to keep track of their symptoms over the course of several months. Researchers found that gradual exercise, rather than rest alone, helped to better restore the balance of the brain’s auto-regulation mechanism, controlling blood pressure and blood supply to the brain. To read more about this study, click here.
Liars Find it More Rewarding to Tell the Truth When Deceiving Others
Thursday, February 13, 2014 13:00
A University of Toronto report based on two neural imaging studies found that individuals are more satisfied by getting a reward from telling the truth rather than through deceit. The findings are based on a new neuroimaging method called near-infrared spectroscopy and are among the first to explore whether or not lying makes people feel better or worse than telling the truth. Two different types of deception were tested. In one situation, the recipient did not know the deceiver was lying. In another, the deceivers were fully aware that the recipients knew they were being lied to. Researchers found that a liar’s cortical reward system was more active when a reward was gained through truth-telling than through lying. Additionally, researchers noted that in both types of deception, telling a lie produced greater brain activity in the frontal lobe — suggesting that lying is cognitively more taxing and requires more neural resources. To read more about this study, click here.
Watching Molecules Morph into Memories
Thursday, February 13, 2014 9:00
In two studies published in the January 2014 issue of Science, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine used advanced imaging techniques to provide insight into how the brain creates memories. With never before used technology, a mouse model was developed in which neurons crucial to making memories were given fluorescent tags so they could be observed traveling in real time. Researchers tagged all molecules of messenger RNA (mRNA) that code for beta-actin, an essential structural protein that acts as a key player in memory making, and stimulated neurons from the mouse’s hippocampus (where memories are made and stored). Scientists were then able to watch the fluorescently glowing mRNA molecules form in the nuclei of neurons and travel within dendrites, the neuron’s branched projections. The findings from these studies suggest that neurons have developed an ingenious strategy for controlling how memory-making proteins do their job. To read more about this study, click here.
Hearing Loss Linked to Accelerated Brain Tissue Loss
Wednesday, February 12, 2014 13:00
A recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Aging found that aging adults with hearing loss are at higher risk for accelerated brain-tissue loss. Comparing the brain changes over the course of 10 years between adults with normal hearing and adults with impaired hearing, scientists found that out of 126 participants those whose hearing was already impaired at the start of the study had accelerated rates of brain atrophy compared to those with normal hearing. Overall, those with impaired hearing lost more than an additional cubic centimeter of brain tissue each year. Additionally, shrinkage was seen in the superior, middle and inferior temporal gyri; brain structures responsible for processing sound, speech, memory and sensory integration. Results of the study stress the importance of treating hearing loss, instead of ignoring it, to help combat any structural changes in the brain before they take place. To read more about this study, click here.
Brain Uses Serotonin to Perpetuate Chronic Pain Signals
Wednesday, February 12, 2014 9:00
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland have reported in a recent study that two molecules have been pinpointed in perpetuating chronic pain in mice. The research suggests that persistent pain doesn’t always originate in the brain, which is important information for developing less addictive drugs to treat it. In the study, scientists focused on a system of pain-sensing nerves within the faces of mice, known collectively as the trigeminal nerve — a large bundle of tens of thousands of nerve cells. Knowing from previous studies that the TRPV1 protein is need to activate pain-sensing nerve cells, the researchers looked at its activity in the trigeminal nerve cell and into the spinal cord. Aware that serotonin is involved in chronic pain, its role was investigated in relation to TRPV1. Results showed that when serotonin is released by the brain into the spinal cord, it acts on the trigeminal nerve at large, causing TRPV1 to become hyperactive, which results in additional pain signals sent to the brain. To read more about the results…
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