http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from IOS Press Each year more than 1.7 million people in the United States sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The incidence of TBI in older adults poses special diagnostic, management and treatment challenges, say experts in a special collection of papers on TBI in the elderly in NeuroRehabilitation: An Interdisciplinary Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-traumatic-brain-injury-poses-complex.html Neuroscience Mon, 06 May 2013 12:00:18 EST news287060408 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 farm animals, offer some distinct advantages over rodent models, including a larger brain that is amenable to imaging and intracerebral therapy, longer lifespan, and a more human-like neuro-architecture. Three articles in the latest issue of the Journal of Huntington's Disease discuss the potential benefits of using large animal models in HD research and the implications for the development of gene therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-large-animal-huntington-disease-options.html Neuroscience Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:12:16 EST news285855128 Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is being increasingly explored as a therapeutic tool for movement disorders associated with deficient inhibition throughout the central nervous system. This includes treatment of focal hand dystonia (FHD), characterized by involuntary movement of the fingers either curling into the palm or extending outward. A new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience reports short-term changes in behavioral, physiologic, and clinical measures that support further research into the therapeutic potential of rTMS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-short-term-benefits-repetitive-transcranial-magnetic.html Neuroscience Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:28:25 EST news284732815 Each year more than three million Americans are living with traumatic brain injury (TBI), a condition that is associated with physical, cognitive, and emotional problems that often affect their sexuality, and subsequently their marital stability, identity, and self-esteem. Taking an in-depth look at the impact of TBI on sexuality, an investigative team critically reviews fourteen studies representing a collective study sample of nearly 1,500 patients, partners, spouses, control individuals, and rehabilitation professionals to examine brain injury and sexuality. It is published in NeuroRehabilitation: An International Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-sexuality-traumatic-brain-injury.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:26:00 EST news284379948 In a study designed to differentiate why some stroke patients recover from aphasia and others do not, investigators have found that a compensatory reorganization of language function to right hemispheric brain regions bodes poorly for language recovery. Patients who recovered from aphasia showed a return to normal left-hemispheric language activation patterns. These results, which may open up new rehabilitation strategies, are available in the current issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-shift-language-function-hemisphere-impedes.html Neuroscience Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:46:39 EST news284298392 In a mouse model of early Parkinson's disease (PD), animals displayed movement deficits, loss of tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH)-positive fibers in the striatum, and astro-gliosis and micro-gliosis in the substantia nigra (SN), without the loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons. These findings, which may cast light on the molecular processes involved in the initial stages of PD, are available in the current issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-early-parkinson-disease-pathology.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:45:44 EST news284031930 Administration of the active compound tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside (TSG) derived from the Chinese herbal medicine Polygonum multiflorum Thunb, reversed both overexpression of α-synuclein, a small protein found in the brain, and its accumulation using a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. These results, which may shed light on the neuropathology of AD and open up new avenues of treatment, are available in the current issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-herbal-compound-potential-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:17:39 EST news280199842 Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological condition. At present, it is usually diagnosed only when motor features are present. Hence, there is a need to develop objective and measurable biomarkers to improve PD diagnostics during its earlier stage, prior to its motor onset. In this pilot study, researchers identified and tested the first blood-based circulating microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers for PD. Their results are published in the latest issue of Journal of Parkinson's Disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-blood-based-biomarkers-earlier-diagnosis-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:28:26 EST news277979300 Approximately half a million individuals suffer strokes in the US each year, and about one in five develops some form of post-stroke aphasia, the partial or total loss of the ability to communicate. By comparing different types of aphasia, investigators have been able to gain new insights into the normal cognitive processes underlying language, as well as the potential response to interventions. Their findings are published alongside papers on hemispatial neglect and related disorders in the January, 2013 issue of. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-insights-brain-behavior-relationships.html Neuroscience Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:56:51 EST news277491346 Scientists have wrestled to understand why Huntington's disease, which is caused by a single gene mutation, can produce such variable symptoms. An authoritative review by a group of leading experts summarizes the progress relating cell loss in the striatum and cerebral cortex to symptom profile in Huntington's disease, suggesting a possible direction for developing targeted therapies. The article is published in the latest issue of the Journal of Huntington's Disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-cell-loss-brain-variations-individual.html Neuroscience Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:39:43 EST news276777325 As many as 50 percent of all human protein-coding genes are regulated by microRNA (miRNA) molecules. While some miRNAs impact onset and progression of cancer, others can actually suppress the development of malignant tumors and are useful in cancer therapy. They can also serve as potential biomarkers for early cancer detection. In a new issue of Cancer Biomarkers, investigators report on non-coding miRNAs as appealing biomarkers for malignancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-micrornas-opportunities-cancer-therapy-diagnosis.html Cancer Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:54:23 EST news275162056 Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders typically characterized by difficulties in social interactions and delayed or abnormal language development. Although ASD reportedly affects 1 in 88 people in the United States, to date there have been no distinctive biomarkers to diagnose the disease. In a special themed issue of Disease Markers, investigators report on the current understanding of ASD genetics and the possibilities of translating genetic research toward biomarker development in ASD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-biomarker-early-autism-spectrum-disorder.html Autism spectrum disorders Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:43:51 EST news273494616 Over the last 15 years, researchers have found a significant association between vascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes type 2, hyperlipidemia, and heart disease and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. In a special issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, leading experts provide a comprehensive overview of the pathological, biochemical, and physiological processes that contribute to Alzheimer's disease risk and ways that may delay or reverse these age-related abnormalities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-vascular-disease-key-prevalence-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:45:12 EST news271356276 Little is known about oculomotor function in amblyopia, or "lazy eye," despite the special role of eye movements in vision. A group of scientists has discovered that abnormal visual processing and circuitry in the brain have an impact on fixational saccades (FSs), involuntary eye movements that occur during fixation and are important for the maintenance of vision. The results, which raise the question of whether the alterations in FS are the cause or the effect of amblyopia and have implications for amblyopia treatment, are available online in advance of publication in the November issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-abnormal-involuntary-eye-movements-amblyopia.html Neuroscience Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:07:23 EST news269622436 Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with emotions, movement, and the brain's pleasure and reward system. In the current issue of Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, investigators provide a broad overview of the direct and indirect role of dopamine in modulating the immune system and discuss how recent research has opened up new possibilities for treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis or even the autoimmune disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-role-dopamine-immune.html Immunology Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:30:26 EST news269177418