Newsline — Tuesday, May 21, 2013 13:00
UCLA Study: Brain Can Rewire Itself After Damage
Findings: In Depression Sufferers, Body Clocks Are Out of Sync at Cell Level
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 9:00
The body clock that regulates our moods, our appetites and sleep is said to be broken in those who are suffering from depression, even within gene activity in their brains. Findings reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrate that depression sufferers have brains with out-of-sync circadian rhythm. Findings could help scientists fine-tune depression treatments and possibly identify depression biomarkers in bl0od, skin or hair, making depression a testable condition. Click here for the full article.
Researchers Unearth Links Among Insomnia, Brain Chemistry and Restless Leg Syndrome
Monday, May 20, 2013 13:00
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found unusually high levels of glutamate – an arousal-related neurotransmitter – in individuals with restless leg syndrome. RLS, as it is known, is a condition in which sufferers have an unyielding urge to move their legs, even as they sleep. “We may have solved the mystery of why getting rid of patients’ urge to move their legs doesn’t improve their sleep,” a researcher says. “We may have been looking at the wrong thing all along, or we may find that both dopamine and glutamate pathways play a role in RLS.” Click here to read the full story.
Study: African-Americans at Higher Risk For MS than Caucasians
Monday, May 20, 2013 9:00
As reported in the journal Neurology, African-Americans may be at higher risk than Caucasians of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), contrary to popular belief. In a study, researchers found that African-Americans had a 47 percent increased risk of MS when compared with Caucasians. Hispanics and Asians had a 58 and 80 percent risk respectively. For more information, click here to read the full article.
Neurosurgeon Fixes a Potentially Fatal Brain Leak
Friday, May 17, 2013 13:00
What Aundrea Aragon thought was a sinus infection was really a sign of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak in her brain. After using neuronavigation to find the crack in her skull, doctors were able to seal the link with tissue from Aragon’s nose. Without treatment, the CSF leak could have caused a deadly brain infection. Click here to read the full article.
Pharmaceutical Treatment for PTSD on the Way? Cannabinoid Receptors Linked to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Friday, May 17, 2013 9:00
Researchers at the NYU Langone Medical Center have unearthed a link between the number of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain and post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings, reported in Molecular Psychiatry, are said to highlight the need for a pharmacological treatment specifically for PTSD. “In fact, we know very well that people with PTSD who use marijuana—a potent cannabinoid—often experience more relief from their symptoms than they do from antidepressants and other psychiatric medications. Clearly, there’s a very urgent need to develop novel evidence-based treatments for PTSD,” said one researcher on the study.
Blast Concussions in War Vets Linked to Hormone Deficiency
Thursday, May 16, 2013 13:00
New research suggests that Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans who have experienced a blast concussion may have irregular hormone levels linked to hypopituitarism. Studies have recognized that traumatic brain injuries can trigger hypotpituitarismm, which is a decrease in concentrations of the hormone produced at the base of the brain in the pituitary gland. The condition is said to mimic other common post-war ailments, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Click here to read the full story.
A Cure for Epilepsy? Researchers Use Brain Cells to Rid Mice of Epilepsy
Thursday, May 16, 2013 9:00
Drug-resistant epilepsy can be stopped in mice by transplanting a type of cell into the brain, per a recent study. The one-time transplantation of medial ganglonic eminence (MGE) cells into the hippocampus (the part of the brain associated with seizures) was able to contol seizures in epileptic mice. Researchers conducting the study, a team at the University of California, San Francisco, hope that similar treatment may work in curbing serious forms of epilepsy in humans. Click here for the complete article.
Parkinson’s Disease Protein Acts Like a Virus, Study Reveals
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 13:00
Researchers at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine have discovered that a protein linked to Parkinson’s disease has the ability to enter and hurt cells the way that viruses do. Known as alpha-synuclein, the protein breaks out of the digestive compartments of the cell once it enters the neuron. This process is similar to that of how a cold virus enters a cell during an infection. The findings could lead to new Parkinson’s treatments, a means to delay its onset or to halt its progression altogether. Click here to read the full story.
Researchers Discover Mutation Linked to Pediatric Brain Tumors
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:17
Scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have found an unusual mutation that occurs in children with a lethal low-grade brain tumor. The discovery may help classify, diagnose and guide future tumor treatment. Click here to read the full article.