Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine used MRI brain scans and machine learning techniques at birth to predict cognitive development at age 2 years with 95 percent accuracy.
With a weak alternating electrical current sent through electrodes attached to the scalp, UNC School of Medicine researchers successfully targeted a naturally occurring electrical pattern in a specific part of the brain and markedly improved depression symptoms in about 70 percent of participants in a clinical study.
Research in the past several years has shown that children can outgrow a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), once considered a lifelong condition. In a new study, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have found that the vast majority of such children still have difficulties that require therapeutic and educational support.
A minimally invasive procedure to determine whether patients with drug-resistant epilepsy are candidates for brain surgery is safer, more efficient, and leads to better outcomes than the traditional method, according to new research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
Researchers at the San Diego branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at University of California San Diego, with colleagues around the country, report that inhibiting activity of a specific protein in glioblastomas (GBM) boosts their sensitivity to radiation, thus improving treatment prospects for one of the most common and aggressive forms of brain cancer. The findings are published…
Ultra-high-field magnetic resonance tomography with field strength of seven-Tesla is slowly but surely entering clinical routine. ‘Thanks to very high spatial and spectral resolution, ultra-high-field MR permits detailed views of the human anatomy and can show precisely the metabolic processes such as those in the brain,’ emphasised Professor Siegfried Trattnig, head of the Excellence Centre…
White matter on the brain is a difficult subject. Even the terminology is varied, making differential diagnosis complex. An understanding of prevalence and of the tools available to facilitate the diagnosis of individual diseases is important, Dr Gunther Fesl, radiologist at Praxis Radiologie Augsburg, explains. ‘Differential diagnosis of white matter on the brain is difficult. Even the…
Cancer researchers at the University of Bonn have reported significant progress in the treatment of glioblastoma. About one third of all patients suffer from a particular variant of this most common and aggressive brain tumor. Survival of these patients treated with the new combination therapy increased on average by nearly half compared to patients who received the standard therapy.
‘Night owls’ – those who go to bed and get up later – have fundamental differences in their brain function compared to ‘morning larks’ , which mean they could be disadvantaged by the constraints of a normal working day. Research led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with researchers at the University of Surrey and the University of Campinas, in Brazil, found that…
Until now, neurologists were largely convinced that having a higher level of education would build some kind of protective barrier against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. But a new study finds that education does not play a role in when the disease starts or how fast it progresses. The study was published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy…
Neuroscientists at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered a focal pathway in the brain that when electrically stimulated causes immediate laughter, followed by a sense of calm and happiness, even during awake brain surgery. The effects of stimulation were observed in an epilepsy patient undergoing diagnostic monitoring for seizure diagnosis. These effects were then harnessed to help…
Poor sleep has long been linked with Alzheimer’s disease, but researchers have understood little about how sleep disruptions drive the disease. Now, studying mice and people, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of the key Alzheimer’s protein tau. And, in follow-up studies in the mice, the research team has…
Alzheimer's disease is often marked by a creeping progression: Years before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease manifest, the brain starts changing and neurons are slowly degraded. Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH) and the University Hospital Tübingen now show that a protein found in the blood can be used…
Brain imaging in patients with cognitive complaints need to be viewed differently when using MRI to diagnose and treat patients with dementia, says Dr. Christopher Hess, who will discuss the role of MRI in the adjunctive diagnosis of dementia in his talk at the Garmisch Symposium. In addition, general radiologists need to recognize the important findings related to dementia when making a…
In his talk at the Garmisch Symposium, entitled “MRI in 5 minutes – Dream or Reality?” Dr. Daniel Sodickson of the New York University School of Medicine will give attendees a preview of the MR scanners of the future, which he likens to self-driving cars. Sodickson — a professor and vice chair for research in the department of radiology at NYU, a principal investigator at the Center…
Using a common type of brain scan, researchers programmed a machine learning algorithm to diagnose early-stage Alzheimer's disease about six years before a clinical diagnosis is made – potentially giving doctors a chance to intervene with treatment.
A new neurostimulator developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, can listen to and stimulate electric current in the brain at the same time, potentially delivering fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson's. The device, named the WAND, works like a "pacemaker for the brain," monitoring the brain's electrical activity and…
The prospect of an actively personalized approach to the treatment of glioblastoma has moved a step closer with the recent publication in Nature of favorable data from the phase 1 study GAPVAC-101, testing a novel therapeutic concept tailored to specific characteristics of patients’ individual tumors and immune systems. For the first time, the feasibility of such a highly personalized form of…
As mammals age, their sense of smell deteriorates. In a study published in the journal ‘Cell Reports’, an interdisciplinary research team at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University Medical Centre Mainz investigated why this is the case. For their study, the researchers tracked the development of stem cells in the brains of mice using what are known as confetti reporters. They then…
Patients who undergo heart surgery do not experience major memory changes—either better or worse—when compared with those who have a much less invasive, catheter-based procedure, according to a study published online in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. “It was comforting to see that the differences in cognitive decline between the two heart procedures are small, even though one involves…
When infants are playing with objects, their early attempts to pay attention to things are accompanied by bursts of high-frequency activity in their brain. But what happens when parents play together with them? New research, published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, by Dr Sam Wass of the University of East London in collaboration with Dr Victoria Leong (Cambridge University and Nanyang…
Obstetricians and midwives often warn new mothers about postpartum depression. They might mention what symptoms women should look out for—such as crying spells or extreme irritability—and where they can turn for help. But people who have strokes may not learn that they, too, are at risk for depression. Post-stroke depression stems from the cardiovascular changes in the brain that lead to a…
Siemens Healthineers and Insightec announce the CE clearance of Exablate Neuro compatible with Magnetom Skyra, Prisma and Prisma Fit scanners from Siemens Healthineers. Exablate Neuro uses focused ultrasound for treatments deep within the brain with no surgical incisions. MR imaging provides a complete anatomical survey of the treatment area, patient-specific planning and real-time outcome…
Traumatic experiences can become deeply entrenched in a person's memory. How can fears following a traumatic event be reduced in the long term and prevented from becoming a permanent stress-related disorder? Researchers at the Mainz University Medical Center have recently shed new light on these questions. The key to their approach lies in firmly anchoring new, positive experiences in the…
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have identified in live human brains new radioactive “tracer” molecules that bind to and “light up” tau tangles, a protein associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias. Two studies will be published back-to-back in the December issue of Journal of Nuclear Medicine—one as featured…