Neurological Diseases

Finding a family for a pair of orphan receptors in the brain

Researchers at Emory University have identified a protein that stimulates a pair of "orphan receptors" found in the brain, solving a long-standing biological puzzle and possibly leading to future treatments for neurological ...

Medical research created May 21, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Deep brain stimulation: A fix when the drugs don't work

Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families.

Neuroscience created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

White matter imaging provides insight into human and chimpanzee aging

(Medical Xpress)—The instability of "white matter" in humans may contribute to greater cognitive decline during the aging of humans compared with chimpanzees, scientists from Yerkes National Primate Research ...

Neuroscience created May 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

FIU researchers develop new pathway to brain for medicine

Stumped for years by a natural filter in the body that allows few substances, including life-saving drugs, to enter the brain through the bloodstream, physicians who treat neurological diseases may soon have a new pathway ...

Medical research created May 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Turning human stem cells into brain cells sheds light on neural development

Medical researchers have manipulated human stem cells into producing types of brain cells known to play important roles in neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. The new model cell system ...

Medical research created May 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

World-first study predicts epilepsy seizures in humans

A small device implanted in the brain has accurately predicted epilepsy seizures in humans in a world-first study led by Professor Mark Cook, Chair of Medicine at the University of Melbourne and Director of Neurology at St ...

Neuroscience created May 02, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Brain region may hold key to aging

While the search continues for the Fountain of Youth, researchers may have found the body's "fountain of aging": the brain region known as the hypothalamus. For the first time, scientists at Albert Einstein ...

Neuroscience created May 01, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (21) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Making a window for drug delivery in the blood-brain barrier

(Medical Xpress)—The blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents most large or hydrophilic (polar) molecules from getting into the brain. For many neurological diseases, like Parkinson's, the presence of the BBB ...

Medical research created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Team finds melatonin delays ALS symptom onset and death in mice

Melatonin injections delayed symptom onset and reduced mortality in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study by researchers at ...

Neuroscience created Apr 25, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Vitamin E identified as potential weapon against obesity

A potential new way to fight obesity-related illness has been uncovered, thanks to serendipitous research led by investigators at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Overweight and Obesity created Apr 23, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Large animal models of Huntington's disease offer new and promising research options

Scientific progress in Huntington's disease (HD) relies upon the availability of appropriate animal models that enable insights into the disease's genetics and/or pathophysiology. Large animal models, such as domesticated ...

Neuroscience created Apr 22, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study finds US facing neurologist shortage

Americans with brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis (MS) who need to see a neurologist may face longer wait times or have more difficulty finding a neurologist, according to ...

Neuroscience created Apr 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Brain development is guided by 'junk' DNA that isn't really junk

(Medical Xpress)—Specific DNA once dismissed as junk plays an important role in brain development and might be involved in several devastating neurological diseases, UC San Francisco scientists have found.

Genetics created Apr 15, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

'Unknown' neurological disorder often incorrectly diagnosed

The very serious hereditary disease HDLS was discovered in 1984 in Sweden. Many HDLS patients are still incorrectly diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, MS or Parkinson's disease, but researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, ...

Neuroscience created Apr 10, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New brain cancer treatment may be more effective, less toxic

(Medical Xpress)—A Phase 2 clinical trial testing a new protocol for treating a relatively rare form of brain cancer, primary CNS lymphoma, may change the standard of care for this disease, according to ...

Cancer created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast


A neurological disorder is a disorder of the body's nervous system. Structural, biochemical or electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves can result in a range of symptoms. Examples of symptoms include paralysis, muscle weakness, poor coordination, loss of sensation, seizures, confusion, pain and altered levels of consciousness.There are many recognized neurological disorders, some relatively common, but many rare. They may be assessed by neurological examination, and studied and treated within the specialities of neurology and clinical neuropsychology.

Interventions for neurological disorders include preventative measures, lifestyle changes, physiotherapy or other therapy, neurorehabilitation, pain management, medication, or operations performed by neurosurgeons. The World Health Organization estimated in 2006 that neurological disorders and their sequelae (direct consequences) affect as many as one billion people worldwide, and identified health inequalities and social stigma/discrimination as major factors contributing to the associated disability and suffering.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Latest Spotlight News

Controlling mood through the motions of mitochondria

(Medical Xpress)—Regulating the distribution of power in neurons is done by a system that makes the national electric grid look simple by comparison. Each neuron has several thousand mitochondria confined ...

Motion quotient: IQ predicted by ability to filter motion (w/ video)

A brief visual task can predict IQ, according to a new study. This surprisingly simple exercise measures the brain's unconscious ability to filter out visual movement. The study shows that individuals whose ...

Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer's study

Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science.

Scientists discover molecule triggers sensation of itch

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as ...

Researchers find common childhood asthma unconnected to allergens or inflammation

Little is known about why asthma develops, how it constricts the airway or why response to treatments varies between patients. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center ...

Diabetes' genetic underpinnings can vary based on ethnic background, studies say

Ethnic background plays a surprisingly large role in how diabetes develops on a cellular level, according to two new studies led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Scientists discover cinnamon compounds' potential ability to prevent Alzheimer's

Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of –– or warding off ...

Study reveals new mechanism for estrogen suppression of liver lipid synthesis

By discovering the new mechanism by which estrogen suppresses lipid synthesis in the liver, UC Irvine endocrinologists have revealed a potential new approach toward treating certain liver diseases.

When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs

Even while being dragged to its destruction inside a cell, a cancer-promoting growth factor receptor fires away, sending signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs (miRNAs) before it's dissolved, researchers ...

Ferrets, pigs susceptible to H7N9 avian influenza virus

Chinese and U.S. scientists have used virus isolated from a person who died from H7N9 avian influenza infection to determine whether the virus could infect and be transmitted between ferrets. Ferrets are often used as a mammalian ...