There is no known single cause for autism, but it is generally accepted that it is caused by abnormalities in brain structure or function. Brain scans show differences in the shape and structure of the brain in autistic versus non-autistic children.
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have found that high doses of vitamin C might counteract some of the negative effects of smoking on unborn babies.
Physical activity appears to inhibit Alzheimer’s-like brain changes in mice, slowing the development of a key feature of the disease, according to a new study. The research demonstrated that long-term physical activity enhanced the learning ability of mice and decreased the level of plaque-forming beta-amyloid protein fragments – a hallmark characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) – in their brains.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new product to protect against leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after brain surgery.
Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic breast cancer – cancer that has spread from the breast to other parts of the body – show that those patients who received bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with standard chemotherapy had a longer time period before their cancer progressed than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab.
A treatment called deep brain stimulation has proven effective in controlling Parkinson’s disease symptoms, but doctors have long debated which areas of the brain should be stimulated to produce the best results.
In a study of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), those who took the drug donepezil were at reduced risk of progressing to a diagnosis of Alzheimer?s disease (AD) during the first year of the trial, but by the end of the 3-year study there was no benefit from the drug. Vitamin E was also tested in the study and was found to have no effect at any time point in the study when compared with placebo.
A high concentration of silica in drinking water seems to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, a study in France suggests.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of a new indication for Temodar (temozolomide). The drug, used concurrently with radiotherapy and as maintenance therapy after radiotherapy, can extend the lives of adult patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common form of malignant brain cancer.
Gerontology is the study of old age, stressing the social and behavioral looks of aging. Although aging is a lifelong process and changes in its effects on individual people, old age has been generally stated as beginning at the age of 65.