News • Gravity
How living in outer space effects the eyesight
Researchers have studied the Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS). For that they compared brain scans before and after spaceflight.
Brain
Article • BCI
Quantum sensors for next-gen brain-computer interfaces
Connecting the brain with a machine has been a powerful dream of mankind. What used to be science fiction, from the Borg in Star Trek to the Matrix, has become mainstream thanks to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg who have put their entrepreneurial commitments into the area of neurotechnology. Recently, Professor Surjo R. Soekadar outlined current and upcoming applications of brain-computer…
News • Intra-nasal administration
Microrobots for treating neurological diseases
The joint research team of Prof. Hongsoo Choi (DGIST) & Prof. Sung Won Kim (Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital), developed an hNTSC-based microrobot for minimally invasive delivery into the brain tissue via the intranasal pathway.
News • In teens
Multiple concussions can disrupt brain connectivity
Adolescents and young adults with post-concussive symptoms who suffered three to five concussions showed disruption in the default mode network, an interconnected network of brain regions involved in wakeful rest and internal thoughts.
Sponsored • Fully synchronised group measuring
Bittium – NeurOne
‘Bittium NeurOne is one of the quickest and most accurate EEG measuring devices in the world designed for clinical and research use,’ the manufacturer reports. ‘Bittium NeurOne system enables fully synchronised group measuring of up to 30 people simultaneously, for example in different types of psychological studies. ‘The solution is optimised for use with transcranial magnetic…
News • Drug delivery research
Nanoparticles to help cross the blood-brain barrier
Treating diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s is a challenge because drugs have to be able to cross the blood–brain barrier. As a result, the doses administered must be high and only a small fraction reaches the brain, which can lead to significant systemic side effects.
News • Neurodegeneration
Scientists identify the cause of Alzheimer’s progression in the brain
For the first time, researchers have used human data to quantify the speed of different processes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease and found that it develops in a very different way than previously thought. Their results could have important implications for the development of potential treatments.
News • Neurology
The 'thermostat' that prevents our brain from overheating
The mechanisms by which the body measures temperature and regulates its own body heat are vital, but still poorly understood. The discovery of the first heat sensor on nerve cells in the skin, for which the U.S. molecular biologist David Julius received this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine, was therefore pioneering. However, a very similar heat sensor, the protein TRPM2, is active not only in the…
News • Brain stimulation
Infrared light helmet might aid dementia patients
Researchers at Durham University are working on a new infrared light therapy that might have the potential to help people with dementia. In the approach, people wear a specially adapted helmet which delivers infrared light deep into the brain for six-minutes per treatment. This stimulates mitochondria that generate most of the chemical energy needed to power the biochemical reaction in the…
News • Neurology research
Stroke: Women remain underrepresented in clinical trials
A new study shows that women are underrepresented in stroke clinical trials relative to the number who have strokes in the general population. The research is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Making sure there are enough women in clinical studies to accurately reflect the proportion of women who have strokes may have implications for future…
News • Advanced neuro-imaging
High-definition MRI reveals previously hidden territory of the human brain
Neuroscientists at Technische Universität Dresden discovered a novel, non-invasive imaging-based method to investigate the visual sensory thalamus, an important structure of the human brain and point of origin of visual difficulties in diseases such as dyslexia and glaucoma. The new method could provide an in-depth understanding of visual sensory processing in both health and disease in the near…
News • Dementia prevention
‘Blue spot’ in the brain helps detecting Alzheimer’s early
A miniscule area in the brain, known as the locus coeruleus (LC), or blue spot, can help to identify an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease at a very early stage. The LC is hidden deep in the brainstem and can only be detected with advanced MRI equipment. Heidi Jacobs (Maastricht University/Harvard Medical School) used MRI scans to show that the tau protein can begin to spread in the LC three…
News • Cerebrovascular injuries
Infection hinders blood vessel repair following traumatic brain injury
Researchers have found a possible explanation for why some patients recover much more poorly from brain injury if they later become infected.
News • Fastball EEG
EEG test could increase early diagnosis of Alzheimer's
A two-minute passive-test that measures people’s brain waves in response to a series of images, 'Fastball EEG', could help expand early dementia diagnosis.
News • Ground-breaking
Researchers identify likely cause of Alzheimer’s disease
The study identified that a probable cause of Alzheimer's disease was the leakage from blood into the brain of fat-carrying particles transporting toxic proteins.
News • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
New predictive biomarkers for ALS identified
Some blood lipid biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease risk are also associated with a lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggest the findings of a large epidemiology study. ALS is the commonest form of motor neuron disease - a progressive nervous system disease that destroys nerve cells responsible for voluntary movement such as walking and talking.
News • Immune system research
How the gut microbiome can help prevent brain damage in preemies
Extremely premature infants are at a high risk for brain damage. Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have now found possible targets for the early treatment of such damage outside the brain: Bacteria in the gut of premature infants may play a key role.
News • Brain cancer research
Researchers 3D-print entire active tumor
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have 3D-printed a first-of-its-kind glioblastoma tumor that mimics a living cancer malignancy, powering new methods to improve treatment and accelerate the development of new drugs for the most lethal type of brain cancer. Glioblastoma is notoriously fatal as it accounts for the majority of brain tumors and is highly aggressive. The average survival time of…
Article • Neurology
Supercomputer helps create 3D synthetic brain models
Scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) and the Cambridge-1 supercomputer to synthesise artificial 3-D MRI images of human brains and create models that show disease states across various ages and genders. The Synthetic Brain Project is focused on building deep learning models which have been developed by King’s College London (KCL) and NVIDIA data scientists and engineers as part of…
News • Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia
Rare blood clotting in brain after Covid-19 vaccination: study gives new insights
A new study of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) following Covid-19 vaccination provides a clearer guide for clinicians trying to diagnose and treat patients. The research, led by University College London (UCL) and UCL Health and published in The Lancet, is the most detailed account of the characteristics of CVT, when it is caused by the novel condition vaccine-induced immune…
News • Aβ oligomers role in dementia
Alzheimer's: finding the cause of toxic clumps
Small aggregates of proteins known as Aβ oligomers are suspected as the main cause for the development of Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is not yet clear where and under what conditions these toxic aggregates form.
News • Underrated lipids
The importance of 'beige' fat in dementia protection
Beige is considered a calming paint color, and scientists have new evidence that beige fat has a similar impact on the brain, bringing down the inflammation associated with the more common white fat and providing protection from dementia. They have found that beige fat cells, which are typically intermingled with white fat cells in the subcutaneous fat present on “pear shaped” people, mediate…
News • Antisense therapy update
Huntington's disease: setback for study of promising agent
Roche announced the decision to discontinue dosing in the Phase III GENERATION HD1 study of tominersen (previously IONIS-HTTRx and RG6042) in manifest Huntington’s disease (HD). The decision was based on the results of a pre-planned review of the data from the Phase III study conducted by an unblinded Independent Data Monitoring Committee (iDMC). The iDMC made its recommendation based on the…
News • Early diagnosis proteins
Study identifies 15 new biomarkers for pre-dementia
A study by an international research group identified 15 novel biomarkers that are linked to late-onset dementias. These biomarkers are proteins, which predict cognitive decline and subsequent increased risk of dementia already 20 years before the disease onset. The proteins are related to immune system dysfunction, blood-brain-barrier dysfunction, vascular pathologies, and central insulin…
News • Brain cancer
Malignant Gliomas: Novel therapy may improve survival
A novel therapy engineered by Northwestern Medicine investigators improved progression-free and overall survival for patients with newly diagnosed malignant gliomas, according to results from a recent phase I clinical trial.
