Patients in a coma are described as being in a state of unconsciousness from which they cannot be woken and are unresponsive. Typical causes of coma include stroke, seizures, severe head injury, infection of the brain such as encephalitis, or alcohol poisoning. Those with diabetes pose an additional risk of falling into a coma if […]
Brain Differences in Cannabis Users
Cannabis, or marijuana, is the most commonly used recreational drug that has several psychoactive properties. In addition to recreational uses to achieve a ‘high’, cannabis also has many proven and presumed medicinal properties, as well as being used for religious and spiritual purposes. Image Credit: Dmytro Tyshchenko/Shutterstock.com Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug, […]
Discovery of a new form of a brain protein has clinical implications
A new study by University at Buffalo researchers has revealed that the absence of a single interaction within a brain receptor reduces its activity. The discovery advances the understanding of how certain brain diseases arise, and could lead to developing precision medicines for treating them. The study was published Dec. 31 in Proceedings of the […]
Scientists paint multi-color atlas of the brain
The human brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons, or nerve cells, woven together by an estimated 100 trillion connections, or synapses. Each cell has a role that helps us to move muscles, process our environment, form memories, and much more. Given the huge number of neurons and connections, there is still much we don’t know […]
Stem cell therapy corrects skull, brain function in mouse model of childhood disorder
Using stem cells to regenerate parts of the skull, scientists corrected skull shape and reversed learning and memory deficits in young mice with craniosynostosis, a condition estimated to affect 1 in every 2,500 infants born in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The only current therapy is complex surgery […]
Regulating copper in the brain stops memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques in the patient’s brain. These plaques sequester copper, and contain approximately five times as much as a healthy brain. Two CNRS scientists from the Coordination Chemistry Laboratory recently developed, with their colleagues from the Guangdong University of Technology and Shenzhen University (China), a molecule that […]
A modified game of ‘chicken’ reveals what happens in the brain during decision-making
Better understanding what happens in the brain when people cooperate and make social decisions has the potential to help boost such behaviors. It’s been a research focus for the University of Pennsylvania’s Platt Labs for some time. “The social brain network contains a number of different areas critical to managing interactions and connecting with others,” […]
Diabetes, High Blood Pressure Raise Odds of COVID Harming Brain
MONDAY, Nov. 30, 2020 — COVID-19 patients with high blood pressure or diabetes may be more likely to develop critical neurological complications, including bleeding in the brain and stroke, according to an ongoing study. University of Pennsylvania researchers studied COVID-19 patients who had a head CT scan or MRI within their health system between January […]
Gene could slow down tumor repair in breast cancer brain metastasis
Treating tumors presents a tricky conundrum: a higher dose of radiation is more effective for treatment, but the higher the dose, the more danger it poses to healthy cells. Researchers at Yale have made significant inroads into solving this problem in a paper titled, “LRRC31 inhibits DNA repair and sensitizes breast cancer brain metastasis to […]
DNA repair supports brain cognitive development
It’s a fact of life that things break down. And when they do, whether it’s your car, the roof, or a blocked artery, there are people who we can call to help with the repairs. A lesser known fact of life is that DNA also regularly breaks down and needs to be repaired. Researchers led […]