http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment delayed is more than a year after the original spinal cord injury. http://phys.org/news175951809.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:30:39 EST news175951809 Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. In pre-clinical studies, it also shows promise against Parkinson's, Huntington's and diabetes. http://phys.org/news175786041.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:28:18 EST news175786041 Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report that an enzyme known as Mst3b, previously identified in their lab, is essential for regenerating damaged axons (nerve fibers) in a live animal model, in both the peripheral and central nervous systems. Their findings, published online by Nature Neuroscience on October 25, suggest Mst3b - or agents that stimulate it - as a possible means of treating stroke, spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injury. Normally, neurons in the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) cannot regenerate injured nerve fibers, limiting people's ability to recover from brain or spinal cord injuries. http://phys.org/news175702600.html Medicine & Health Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:17:24 EST news175702600 Adult survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk for suicidal thoughts, even decades after their cancer treatments ended, according to a study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists. http://phys.org/news175527865.html Medicine & Health Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:44:49 EST news175527865 (PhysOrg.com) -- People suffering from fibromyalgia have reduced activity in the parts of the brain that inhibit the experience of pain. Drugs that affect the CNS can be effective against the disease, and are thought to be even more so if administered early in its course. This according to a new thesis from Karolinska Institutet. http://phys.org/news175418385.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:50:01 EST news175418385 Scars can serve as double-edged swords in spinal cord injuries—saving a victim's life, but sealing his or her fate as a paraplegic or quadriplegic. The scar forms a wall around the wound, preventing the injury from spreading, but limiting opportunities for neural regeneration. Cells in the scar release molecules that keep severed nerve fibers from passing the damaged tissue, so they cannot connect with their original targets to restore motor and sensory function. http://phys.org/news174837603.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:30:01 EST news174837603 The most common gene for a syndrome associated with abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death triggers epileptic seizures and could explain sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears today in the journal Science Translational Medicine. http://phys.org/news174749325.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:50:02 EST news174749325 (PhysOrg.com) -- While gripping, lifting or manipulating an object such as drinking from a cup or placing a book on a shelf is usually easy for most, it can be challenging for those with neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's, or for people who had a stroke. For them, the tight gripping can cause fatigue, making everyday tasks difficult. http://phys.org/news174746473.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:00:01 EST news174746473 Specific cells within the immune system could help explain why younger people are more susceptible to variant CJD, scientists believe. http://phys.org/news174735267.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:34:53 EST news174735267 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers say a new development in cord blood transplants for inherited metabolic disorders may be curative for some babies who are treated while still in the womb. http://phys.org/news174670072.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:50:02 EST news174670072 Premature aging of the immune system appears to play a role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to research scientists from the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and Sheba Medical Center in Israel. http://phys.org/news174245323.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:40:02 EST news174245323 The repair of damaged nerve cells is a major problem in medicine today. A new study by researchers at the Montreal NeurologicaI Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) and McGill University, is a significant advance towards a solution for neuronal repair. http://phys.org/news174132597.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:10:46 EST news174132597 Research at the University of Liverpool has supported the vaccination of more than 50 million people against a zoonotic brain infection that affects thousands of children across Asia every year. http://phys.org/news174041391.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:50:16 EST news174041391 ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Brain implants that can more clearly record signals from surrounding neurons in rats have been created at the University of Michigan. The findings could eventually lead to more effective treatment of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and paralysis. http://phys.org/news173465029.html Nanotechnology Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:44:47 EST news173465029 Dave Wilson was dissatisfied with blurry, low-sensitivity optical images of diseased tissues. So, four years ago he set out to create a better imager. http://phys.org/news173365747.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:30:04 EST news173365747 After spinal cord injury, certain immune cells collect in the spinal fluid and release high levels of antibodies. What, if anything, those antibodies do there is unknown. http://phys.org/news172779803.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:50:01 EST news172779803 (PhysOrg.com) -- An investigative drug deprived non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells of their ability to survive too long and multiply too fast, according to an early study published recently in the journal Experimental Hematology. http://phys.org/news172754983.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:30:12 EST news172754983 (PhysOrg.com) -- Successfully treating chronic pain with opioids such as morphine -- minus the side effects -- may soon become a reality, bringing relief to millions of people who suffer from debilitating pain, according to Distinguished Professor Linda Watkins of the University of Colorado at Boulder. http://phys.org/news172153868.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:00:02 EST news172153868 An enzyme known to cause insulin resistance in muscle is also located in the brain and has a similar function there, a research team that includes a University of Cincinnati scientist has found. http://phys.org/news172153316.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:40:09 EST news172153316 A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for patients with MS and for predicting MS patients' outcomes. This study will be presented at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2009. http://phys.org/news171876719.html Medicine & Health Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:10:03 EST news171876719 The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) was commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) to investigate whether patients with depression benefit from taking drugs belonging to the selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) drug class. Up till now, 2 of these drugs have been approved as antidepressants in Germany: venlafaxine and duloxetine. The Institute published its final report on 18 August. According to this report, the benefit of both drugs has been proven compared to a sham drug (placebo): patients respond better to the therapy and suffer less from the symptoms of depression. Moreover, there are indications that both drugs protect against relapse in addition to alleviating symptoms. http://phys.org/news170419956.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:03 EST news170419956 (PhysOrg.com) -- A specific protein on the surface of a common bacterial pathogen allows the bacteria to leave the bloodstream and enter the brain, initiating the deadly infection known as meningitis. The new finding, which may guide development of improved vaccines to protect those most vulnerable, including young infants and the elderly, is now available online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://phys.org/news169826150.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:56:25 EST news169826150 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Glasgow are hoping to use tiny fabricated tubes to help damaged nerves heal themselves. http://phys.org/news169645238.html Chemistry Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:42:10 EST news169645238 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) completely reverses the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the same way in humans, say researchers at the Jewish General Hospital Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and McGill University in Montreal. http://phys.org/news169211700.html Medicine & Health Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:00:01 EST news169211700 Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University have discovered a genetic mutation underlying late-onset Leigh syndrome, a rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by the degeneration of the central nervous system. The study published in Nature Genetics, provides vital insights into the cell biology of this neurological disorder and will lead to the development of diagnostic and predictive tests allowing for family and genetic counseling. http://phys.org/news169209224.html Medicine & Health Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:34:09 EST news169209224 The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology say that more investigations are urgently needed to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides. http://phys.org/news168675389.html Biology Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:17:45 EST news168675389 Divers who held their breath for several minutes had elevated levels of a protein that can signal brain damage, according to a new study from the Journal of Applied Physiology. However, the appearance of the protein, S100B, was transient and leaves open the question of whether lengthy apnea (breath-holding) can damage the brain over the long term. http://phys.org/news168598483.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:55:06 EST news168598483 The incidence of a rare and deadly tumor called primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is two times higher in black Americans, ages 20 to 49, than in white Americans, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the June issue of Journal of Neuro-Oncology. In patients older than 49, the results were reversed. White Americans were twice as likely as black Americans to be diagnosed with PCNSL. http://phys.org/news168190695.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:10:01 EST news168190695 While repair of the central nervous system has long been considered impossible, French researchers from Inserm, the CNRS and the UPMC have just developed a strategy that could promote neuronal regeneration after injury. The in vitro studies have just been published in the journal PLoS ONE. http://phys.org/news167655773.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:03:34 EST news167655773 The latest work to 'turn off the taps' in the brain and stop a chemical being released in excess amounts - which can lead to Parkinson's Disease - will be presented at The British Pharmacological Society's Summer Meeting in Edinburgh today (Wednesday, 8 July 2009). http://phys.org/news166251940.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:20:02 EST news166251940