Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Neurology / Neuroscience News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/neurology/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171697.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171697.php A community in Papua New Guinea that suffered a major epidemic of a CJD-like fatal brain disease called kuru has developed strong genetic resistance to the disease, according to new research by Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists. Kuru is a fatal prion disease, similar to CJD in humans and BSE in animals, and is geographically unique to an area in Papua New Guinea. CJD / vCJD / Mad Cow Disease Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171661.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171661.php A workshop on "Neuroeconomics and Endocrinological Economics," being held Nov. 20 and 21 at UC Davis, will be the first to bring together experts in neuroscience, economics and hormone physiology in one event, according to organizers. Neuroeconomics has emerged as a new field in recent years, as both economists and neuroscientists have used brain scanning technology such as functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how people make decisions. Neurology / Neuroscience Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171577.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171577.php For years, it has been widely assumed that older adults may experience memory loss and other cognitive problems following surgery. But a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis questions those assumptions. In fact, the researchers were not able to detect any long-term cognitive declines attributable to surgery in a group of 575 patients they studied. Alzheimer's / Dementia Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171585.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171585.php An analysis of patients with a syndrome similar to the genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1, indicates that diagnosis may be difficult because of shared clinical findings, such as certain pigmentary characteristics, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA. Genetics Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171547.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171547.php IOS Press announces the November 2009 publication of a special issue of NeuroRehabilitation: An International Journal devoted to residential design for persons with neurodisability. Neurology / Neuroscience Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171553.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171553.php In an advance with overtones of Star Trek phasers and other sci-fi ray guns, scientists in Canada are reporting development of an internal on-off "switch" that paralyzes animals when exposed to a beam of ultraviolet light. The animals stay paralyzed even when the light is turned off. When exposed to ordinary light, the animals become unparalyzed and wake up. Their study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). Neurology / Neuroscience Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171560.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171560.php Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) neurologists Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, and Daniel Tarsy, MD, have been awarded grants totaling more than $1.5 million from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) to conduct investigations aimed at improving the quality of life for patients with Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's Disease Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171575.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171575.php Researchers have shown how an experimental drug might restore the function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries by preventing short circuits caused when tiny "potassium channels" in the fibers are exposed. The chemical compound also might be developed as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. Neurology / Neuroscience Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171559.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171559.php Spineology Inc., developer and manufacturer of minimally invasive spinal surgery devices, announced today that it has received FDA clearance for its minimally invasive surgery (MIS) Capture™ Facet Screw System. The Capture System was developed by Spineology in mid-2009 under the direction of Dr. Chet Sutterlin, product development consultant. Neurology / Neuroscience Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171538.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171538.php New data from a 6-month open label randomised controlled trial show INVEGA® (paliperidone ER) is associated with significantly less metabolic effects compared to oral olanzapine in people with schizophrenia, while demonstrating comparable efficacy.1 The results were presented at the 15th Biennial Winter Workshop in Psychoses in Barcelona, Spain. Schizophrenia Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171540.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171540.php Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a cane as a guide. The reason they can do this, researchers suggest, is that in at least some circumstances, blindness can heighten other senses, helping individuals adapt. Eye Health / Blindness Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171524.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171524.php Prions are causing fatal and infectious diseases of the nervous system, such as the mad cow disease (BSE), scrapie in sheep or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München have now succeeded in elucidating another disease mechanism of prion diseases: The prion-infected cell changes its gene expression and produces increased quantities of cholesterol. Prions need this for their propagation. Neurology / Neuroscience Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171528.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171528.php Australian scientists have significantly advanced our understanding of dopamine release from nerve cells, findings that should speed the development of more effective drugs for treating Parkinson's Disease. People with Parkinson's Disease suffer from muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement and, in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement. These primary symptoms are caused by the loss of dopamine producing nerve cells in the brain. Parkinson's Disease Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171537.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171537.php At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171457.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171457.php During its research into the application of neuroscience in business, a New Jersey based think tank, The Center for Modeling Optimal Outcomes®, LLC (The Center) made an inadvertent and amazing discovery. The Center examined the neuroscientific dynamics of logic and emotion in decision making while researching neuroscience in business. They found unique corollary relationships between various brain chemicals (neurohormones, neurotransmitters, etc.). Autism Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171459.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171459.php There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have MS. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171461.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171461.php A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome. Neurology / Neuroscience Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171408.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171408.php Every two years, 2,000 senior Group Health patients check in with the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study. The joint project between Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington (UW) focuses on finding ways to delay or prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and declines in memory and thinking. It aims to deepen understanding of how the body - especially the brain - ages. Alzheimer's / Dementia Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171410.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171410.php Studying drugs in pediatric populations is challenging because drugs often affect children differently than they do adults. The scarcity of pediatric studies limits the ability of doctors and scientists to predict drug dosing, safety and efficacy in children. To address this gap, the National Institutes of Health has announced 18 grants to help determine outcome measures and increase the likelihood of success of future trials of treatments for children. Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171384.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171384.php Parents have long suspected that the brains of their teenagers function differently than those of adults. With the advent of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, we have begun to appreciate how the brain continues to develop structurally through adolescence and on into adulthood. High emotionality is a characteristic of adolescents and researchers are trying to understand how 'emotional areas' of the brain differ between adults and adolescents. Neurology / Neuroscience Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171395.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171395.php Until recently, scientists believed that, following a stroke, a patient had about six months to regain any lost function. After that, patients would be forced to compensate for the lost function by focusing on their remaining abilities. Stroke Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171446.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171446.php The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday that it has approved Qutenza (capsaicin) 8% patch for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), an often excruciating pain that can persist for weeks, months and even years in 10 to 15 per cent of people who get shingles. The medicated skin patch, which is made by Lohmann Therapie-Systems AD of Andernach, Germany and distributed in the US by NeurogesX Inc. Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171368.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171368.php Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. "Animals with bigger brains are not necessarily more intelligent," according to Lars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary's Research Centre for Psychology and University of Cambridge colleague, Jeremy Niven. Neurology / Neuroscience Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171371.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171371.php Neurosurgeons from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the world's first intra-arterial cerebral infusion of Avastin (bevacizumab) directly into a patient's malignant brain tumor. This novel intra-arterial (IA) technique may expose the cancer to higher doses of the drug therapy, while possibly sparing the patient common side effects of receiving the drug intravenously (IV) or throughout their body. Neurology / Neuroscience Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171357.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171357.php At the moment a newborn switches from amniotic fluid to breathing air, another profound shift occurs: nerve cells in the brain convert from hyperexcitability to a calm frame against which outside signals can be detected. "Fetal neurons need hyperexcitability for proper development, because they are moving to the right places (in the brain) and forming the right connections," said Wolfgang Liedtke, M.D., Ph.D. Epilepsy