brain health

Seizures following parasitic infection associated with brain swelling

harminka — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:35:50 -0600

A new study by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) scientist Theodore E. Nash, M.D., and colleagues provides strong evidence associating seizures with areas of brain tissue swelling in people infected by a parasitic tapeworm.

Response to immune protein determines pathology of multiple sclerosis

harminka — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:24:48 -0500

New research may help reveal why different parts of the brain can come under attack in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). According to a new study in mice with an MS-like disease, the brain's response to a protein produced by invading T cells dictates whether it's the spinal cord or cerebellum that comes under fire.

Prenatal drinking, environmental enrichment

harminka — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:03:30 -0500

Prenatal alcohol exposure may be particularly destructive for neurotrophins, a family of peptides that influence the growth, development and functional plasticity of the fetal brain.

How neural activity spurs blood flow in the brain

harminka — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:38:08 -0500

New research from Harvard University neuroscientists has pinpointed exactly how neural activity boosts blood flow to the brain. The finding has important implications for our understanding of common brain imaging techniques such as fMRI, which uses blood flow in the brain as a proxy for neural activity.

Researchers develop neural implant that learns with brain

harminka — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:26:48 -0500

Devices known as brain-machine interfaces could someday be used routinely to help paralyzed patients and amputees control prosthetic limbs with just their thoughts.

Developing unique brain maps to assist surgery and research

harminka — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:13:31 -0500

Researchers from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne are developing new technology to create individualised brain maps that will revolutionise diagnosis of disease and enhance the accuracy of brain surgery.

New insights into irreparable nerve injuries

harminka — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:42:45 -0500

Every year, one million Europeans are confronted with potentially irreparable brain or spinal cord injuries resulting from traffic accidents. Because the nerves in a damaged spinal cord cannot, or cannot fully, be repaired, the patient remains (partially) paralyzed. Now, VIB scientists connected to the K.U.Leuven have become the first to successfully develop a simple model that enables the study of injured brain tissue.

New 3-D ultrasound could improve stroke diagnosis, care

harminka — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:22:25 -0500

Using 3-D ultrasound technology they designed, Duke University bioengineers can compensate for the thickness and unevenness of the skull to see in real-time the arteries within the brain that most often clog up and cause strokes.

Researchers discover gene for branchio-oculo-facial syndrome

harminka — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:37:24 -0500

In a collaborative effort, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that deletions or mutations within the TFAP2A gene (Activating Enhancer-Binding Protein) result in the distinctive clefting disorder Branchio-Oculo-Facial syndrome (BOFS).

Brain study may lead to improved epilepsy treatments

harminka — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:31:04 -0500

Using a rodent model of epilepsy, researchers found one of the body’s own neurotransmitters released during seizures, glutamate, turns on a signaling pathway in the brain that increases production of a protein that could reduce medication entry into the brain.

How dangerous is boxing for brain?

harminka — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:37:57 -0500

Boxing is possibly less dangerous for the brain than previously feared – at least for amateurs. However, conclusive statements on the level of danger are not yet possible.

Visual technology enables brain to learn in new ways

harminka — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:58:07 -0500

New technology at Tufts University's Center for Scientific Visualization is enabling researchers to translate the most abstract, complex scientific concepts into clearer, more precise 3-dimensional images than conventional visualization systems can create.