Patients whose mean arterial blood pressure drops during bypass surgery may be at risk for early difficulties in thinking, learning and memory, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the August 2007 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The Methodist Hospital, the University of Houston, and Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University are combining their expertise in biomedical imaging to advance discoveries in this growing field of biomedical science and its clinical applications.
Researchers at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City used functional MRI to determine that songbirds have a pronounced right-brain response to the sound of songs, establishing a foundational study for future research on songbird models of speech disorders such as stuttering, as reported today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Look at the clock. In the next three minutes, 10 people in America will suffer a coronary event or stroke, and only six of them will survive. According to a recent report by the American Heart Association (AHA), coronary heart disease (CHD) affects more than 15 million Americans; over five million more are affected by stroke.
Alzheimer’s disease researchers may be able to reduce the time and expense associated with clinical trials, according to early results from the Alzheimer?s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a public-private research partnership organized by the National Institutes of Health. Preliminary results from ADNI show how it might yield improved methods and uniform standards for imaging and biomarker analysis, so these techniques can be employed in the fight against Alzheimer?s disease.
Brain specialists associated with the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and University Hospital say the ability to incorporate — in real time — two high-tech imaging tools into the operating room can improve the functional abilities of patients who undergo brain surgery.
Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer’s Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Myelin is the “insulation” that wraps around nerve axons in the brain.
Zen meditation, a Buddhist practice centered on attentional and postural self-regulation, has been speculated to bring about beneficial long-term effects for the individual, ranging from stress reduction to improvement of cognitive function.
By 2030 more than 40 million senior drivers over the age of 65 will be traveling the streets and highways of our nation.
Can a fitness program for your brain improve thinking and concentration the way lifting weights can increase muscle strength?