Newsline — Tuesday, October 8, 2013 12:57
Ted Talk: Neurologist Discusses What Hallucination Reveals About the Mind
Vitamin D-based Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Shows Promise in Mouse Model Study
Tuesday, October 8, 2013 9:00
In a mouse model study biochemists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a promising vitamin D-based treatment that may stop and even reverse the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). The disease typically takes hold of its patients around age 30, relegating them to the use of a mobility aid by middle age and leaving them bed-bound by age 60. The treatment, noted in a recent edition of Journal of Neuroimmunology, includes a protocol of calcitriol, the active hormone found in vitamin D and vitamin D supplements. “All of the animals just got better and better, and the longer we watched them, the more neurological function they regained,” says biochemistry professor Colleen Hayes, who led the study. Click here to read the full story.
Researchers Study How the Brain Reacts When We Receive an Award
Monday, October 7, 2013 13:00
An article published in the Journal of Neurophysiology highlights what happens in the human brain when a person receives an award or when an expected award is denied. Researchers believe that a glimpse into the brain’s processes at these moments can provide insight on the general learning process. Click here to read the full article.
Scientists Identify Neurological Basis for Overeating
Monday, October 7, 2013 9:00
Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine have identified which of the brain’s cellular connections trigger overeating. In the 1950s, scientists stimulated the brain’s lateral hypothalamus region, knowing that they were stimulating a number of brain cells. The most recent study at UNC focuses on the gaba neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), which linked the amygdala (the area of the brain associated with emotion) to the lateral hypothalamus, an area that drives eating, aggression and sexual behavior. In a mouse model study, scientists found that after shining light on BNST synapses, the mice ate voraciously even after being fed. “The study underscores that obesity and other eating disorders have a neurological basis,” said senior study author Garret Stuber, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and department of cell biology and physiology. Click here to read the full story.
Researchers Discover a Means to Curb Brain Atrophy in TBI Patients
Friday, October 4, 2013 13:00
Scientists at Toronto Rehab have found that brain atrophy linked to moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) might be curbed by increased physical, social and cognitive stimulation. In a paper published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, researchers suggest that moderate-severe TBI might be a progressive neurological disorder, shirking conventional wisdom on the condition. Researchers now are focusing on ways to treat and rehabilitate the healthy areas of the brain to prevent shrinkage. “What we believe is going on is that after a serious brain injury, damaged tissue disconnects the healthy areas of the brain. Those healthy areas are under stimulated and, over time, deteriorate,” says the study’s lead investigator. “Many people with moderate-severe TBI are commonly unable to continue the same level of engagement in their work, school or social lives than they were before the injury. This decrease in environmental stimulation puts them at a greater risk of increased atrophy in the chronic stages of their brain injury.” Click here to read the full story.
Epilepsy Patient Restores Her Life After Cutting-Edge, Minimally-Invasive Procedure
Friday, October 4, 2013 9:00
Melanie Vandyke spent almost 15 years incapacitated by epileptic seizures that prevented her from driving, pursuing a career and living independently. But since undergoing an innovative, minimally-invasive procedure called MRI-guided laser ablation, Vandyke is looking forward to reclaiming her life. The operation destroyed a lesion on her right medial temporal lobe using light emanating from a thin probe inserted into her brain through a small hole in her skull. Neurosurgeon Adrian Laxton, MD, watched real-time MRI images during the procedure. The results of the surgery, which is only performed at 25 medical centers in the U.S., are favorable; most patients have been seizure-free since the operation. “Based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s at least as effective as open surgery, is far superior in terms of risk and adverse effects and is minimally invasive,” says Dr. Laxton. Since operation, 37- year-old Vandyke has been looking forward to getting her driver’s license. “You have to be seizure-free for six months to get a license,” she said. “I’m halfway there and counting the days.” Click here to read the full…
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In Mouse Model Study, Researchers Erase All Traces of Brain Tumor
Thursday, October 3, 2013 13:00
In a mouse model study, a team at Johns Hopkins have stopped the growth and removed any detectable traces of brain tumor cells taken from human adult patients. Scientists used a repurposed FDA-approved drug, never expecting the promising results they encountered. “This therapy has worked amazingly well in these mice,” says study leader. “We have spoken with neurosurgeons here, and as soon as possible, we want to start discussing the parameters of a clinical trial to see if this will work in our patients as a follow-up to surgery.” Click here to read the full article.
Research Debunks Brain Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Thursday, October 3, 2013 9:29
New findings published in the online issue of Neurology have found that contrary to previous studies, omega-3 fatty acids may not lead to improved thinking skills. Omega-3s, found in nuts and fatty fish such as salmon, have been said to improve heart health and prevent or delay cognitive decline. In a six-year study of women between the ages of 65 and 80, researchers found no difference in memory test performance between women who had low and high levels of omega-3s in their blood. Click here to read the full story.
Stanford Study: Beta-Amyloid Protein Fragment May Be an Impetus for Alzheimer’s
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 15:00
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have demonstrated how the beta-amyloid protein fragment destroys synapses and clumps into plaque that kills cells, leading to Alzheimer’s disease. “Our discovery suggests that Alzheimer’s disease starts to manifest long before plaque formation becomes evident,” says the senior author of the study. The study was conducted on mice and in human brain tissue, and may help to assess the failures of many large-scale attempts to slow the disease’s progression. The findings may also lead to ways to treat Alzheimer’s at its early stages. Click here to read the full article.
Ted Talk: Neuroscientist Discusses the Workings of the Adolescent Brain
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:00
From Ted.com: Why do teenagers seem so much more impulsive, so much less self-aware than grown-ups? Cognitive neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore compares the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to that of adults, to show us how typically “teenage” behavior is caused by the growing and developing brain. Click here if you are unable to view the video above.