Rasilez? (aliskiren), the first new type of high blood pressure medicine in more than a decade, is generally well-tolerated and can potentially reduce the severity of heart failure based on new data showing significant reductions in BNP, a substance secreted by the heart and whose levels are viewed as an indicator of disease severity.
An investigational, phase II study published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine demonstrates that for the first time in humans a drug that acts on certain proteins in the brain called mGlu2/3 has antipsychotic activity. The study was sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Somatuline Depot (lanreotide acetate injection) for the treatment of acromegaly, a rare and potentially life threatening disease in adults caused by abnormal secretion of growth hormone (GH), commonly from a benign tumor located in the pituitary gland located in the brain.
Previous brain-imaging studies have suggested cognitive deficits in alcoholic patients. New findings indicate that alcoholic patients show emotional processing deficits as well. These deficits primarily affect processing for negative emotional expressions.
Cirrhosis of the liver is one of the most common and serious medical complications linked to alcoholism.Heavy alcohol use can also cause brain damage.Cirrhotic alcoholics appear to have even more impaired brain function than noncirrhotic alcoholics.
The past decade has witnessed an explosion of information regarding the role of the central nervous system in the development of obesity and the influence of peripheral, hormonal signals that regulate CNS function to regulate food intake and metabolism. A symposium held recently in Washington, DC, organized by The Journal of Physiology, focused on recent work in talks by leaders in the field.
A groundbreaking public health study has found a connection between damp, moldy homes and depression. The study, led by Brown University epidemiologist Edmond Shenassa, is the largest investigation of an association between mold and mood and is the first such investigation conducted outside the United Kingdom.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a method for culturing mammalian neurons in chambers not much larger than the neurons themselves. The new approach extends the lifespan of the neurons at very low densities, an essential step toward developing a method for studying the growth and behavior of individual brain cells.
A drug that shuts down a critical cell-signaling pathway in the most common and aggressive type of adult brain cancer successfully kills cancer stem cells thought to fuel tumor growth and help cancers evade drug and radiation therapy, a Johns Hopkins study shows.
Researchers in Cincinnati and Louisville report that immunosuppressive risks associated with facial transplantation may be lower than thought, possibly making the procedure a safer option for people who have suffered severe facial injuries.