Dystonia, a group of diseases that cause a patient’s muscles to involuntary contract with movement, has had a relatively limited and ineffective number of treatments in the past. New research shows that a recently developed surgical treatment, deep brain stimulation (an off switch for the brain), has provided dramatic benefits in some patients.
Psychologists estimate that hundreds, even thousands, of people directly affected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, are still crippled by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Neurologist George Bartzokis argues that the brain’s miles of myelin are a key evolutionary change that may make us vulnerable to highly prevalent neuropsychiatric disorders. He argues that viewing the brain as myelin-dependent may be key to developing new and novel treatments against disease.
Being exposed to high levels of nutrition before birth can influence the development of networks within the brain that regulate appetite to permanently set a pattern of appetite for life, according to researchers from the University of South Australia.
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) today announced the results of the recent competition for support of its three large-scale sequencing centers, strengthening efforts to use the power of DNA sequencing to unlock the genomic secrets of human diseases. Also today, NHGRI and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that all three sequencing centers will devote a significant part of their efforts to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Pilot Project, which is testing the feasibility of a large-scale, systematic approach to identify important genomic changes involved in cancer.
What makes the human brain unique? Of the many explanations that can be offered, one that doesn’t come readily to mind is ? myelin.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine discovered that when a molecule responsible for dialing down the immune system malfunctions in the brain cells of mice, the rodents develop symptoms of the degenerative brain disease.
The mechanisms that govern visual perception are only partly understood by scientists, and in fact much of what we know about how the human visual system works stems from investigations into our susceptibility to visual illusions. While scientists have used knowledge of illusions to further our understanding of the mind, magicians have learned to master the art of deception for entertainment purposes.
Children who are successfully treated for brain tumors or leukemia are more likely to have strokes later in life, according to new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center.
A century ago this month, German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer formally described characteristics of the neurodegenerative disease which ultimately came to bear his name. While international efforts to learn about Alzheimer’s disease and develop treatments have progressed significantly in recent years, a cure remains an elusive goal.