Spinal injuries can be like downed power lines – even if everything on either side of the injury is perfectly functional, the break can effectively shut down the whole system. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have designed a device that could link everything back together again. A silicone guide, covered in 3D-printed neuronal stem cells,...
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Study: Brain proteins, patterns reveal clues to understanding epilepsy
UNLV, Tufts University, and international research team offers new clues about which key proteins in the brain play a role in controlling epilepsy, anxiety, and other disorders. UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS New therapies could be on the horizon for people living with epilepsy or anxiety, thanks to a breakthrough discovery by UNLV, Tufts University School of...
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Flip a switch and shut down seizures? New research suggests how to turn off out-of-control signaling in the brain
The brain is a precision instrument. Its function depends on finely calibrated electrical activity triggering the release of chemical messages between neurons. In an epileptic brain, the neurons fire wildly. Credit: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com But sometimes the brain’s careful balance is knocked out of control, as in epilepsy. Electroencephalography, or EEG, visualizes a brain’s electrical activity and...
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Detailed atlas of the nervous system
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have created a systematic and detailed map of the cell types of the mouse nervous system. The map, which can provide new clues about the origin of neurological diseases, is presented in the journal Cell. The researchers will now use the same methods to map out the human brain on a detailed level. The nervous...
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An aspirin a day may keep HIV away, study finds
An affordable, globally available drug – low-dose Aspirin – shows promise as a new approach to preventing HIV transmission, a University of Manitoba study has found. Credit: Daniel Foster, Flickr HIV infection rates remain unacceptably high, especially among young African women. The study team, which included researchers from the universities of Manitoba, Waterloo and Nairobi and the...
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CBD oil study shows significant improvement in patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy
Findings from the landmark study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on cannabidiol, or CBD oil, provide the published evidence of significant improvements in seizure frequency and other measures of efficacy in patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy. Published in the journal Epilepsy and Behavior, the results indicate use of CBD oil reduced adverse events and seizure...
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Function of gene mutations linked to neurological diseases identified
Several gene mutations have been linked to Parkinson’s disease, but exactly how and where some of them cause their damage has been unclear. A new Yale study, published in the Journal of Cell Biology, shows that one of the genes whose mutations are responsible for a familial form of Parkinson’s encodes a protein that controls the transfer...
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Kidney cancer’s developmental source revealed
In the first experiment of its kind, scientists have revealed the precise identity of cancer cells of the most common childhood and adult kidney cancers. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge, University of Newcastle and their collaborators showed that the cancer cells are versions of specific healthy cells from developing or adult kidneys....
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Probiotic use is a link between brain fogginess, severe bloating
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA AT AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY AUGUSTA, Ga. (Aug. 6, 2018) – Probiotic use can result in a significant accumulation of bacteria in the small intestine that can result in disorienting brain fogginess as well as rapid, significant belly bloating, investigators report. IMAGE: THIS IS DR. SATISH S.C. RAO, DIRECTOR OF NEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY/MOTILITY AND THE DIGESTIVE...
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Why stretching is (still) important for weight loss and exercise
There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the value – or lack thereof – of muscle stretching to accelerate recovery after exercise. “Stretching clears out your lactic acid,” and other similar claims abound. Is any of this true? Many athletes stretch before and after exercise, but they may not be gaining benefits from doing so....