Copyright 2012, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/press_releases/index.htm en Press Release Saturday Sunday http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_brain_chronic_pain_09172013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_brain_chronic_pain_09172013.htm The structure of the brain may predict whether a person will suffer chronic low back pain, according to researchers who used brain scans. The results, published in the journal Pain, support the growing idea that the brain plays a critical role in chronic pain, a concept that may lead to changes in the way doctors treat patients. The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Tue, 17 Sep 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_nands_council_09122013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_nands_council_09122013.htm Four distinguished individuals have been selected to join the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council, the principal advisory body to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Thu, 12 Sep 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_cerebral_palsy_09092013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_cerebral_palsy_09092013.htm Karin B. Nelson, M.D., scientist emeritus at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, and her colleagues from the University of Sydney, the University of Western Australia and Sydney Adventist Hospital in Australia examined the degree to which four specific risk factors contributed to cerebral palsy and young infant death. Mon, 09 Sep 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_zebrafish_09032013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_zebrafish_09032013.htm According to new research on epilepsy, zebrafish have certainly earned their stripes. Results of a study in Nature Communications suggest that zebrafish carrying a specific mutation may help researchers discover treatments for Dravet syndrome (DS), a severe form of pediatric epilepsy that results in drug-resistant seizures and developmental delays. Tue, 03 Sep 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_childhood_epilepsy_genes_08112013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_childhood_epilepsy_genes_08112013.htm A genetic study of childhood epilepsies has linked two new genes to severe forms of disease and provides a novel strategy for identifying therapy targets. This study used a cutting-edge genetic technique, called exome sequencing, to search for new mutations that are not inherited. The results suggest this may be a highly effective way to find and confirm many disease-causing gene mutations. Sun, 11 Aug 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_fly_brain_08082013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_fly_brain_08082013.htm Scientists used fruit flies to show for the first time that a new class of genetically engineered proteins can be used to watch electrical activity in individual brain cells in live brains. The results, published in Cell, suggest these proteins may be a promising new tool for mapping brain cell activity in multiple animals and for studying how neurological disorders disrupt normal nerve cell signaling. Understanding brain cell activity is a high priority of the President’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_neurotherapeutics_projects_07312013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_neurotherapeutics_projects_07312013.htm The National Institutes of Health has launched three innovative projects that will focus on development of therapeutics for Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). These projects are funded through the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network which provides access to a variety of drug development resources. Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_silk_implants_epilepsy_07252013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_silk_implants_epilepsy_07252013.htm Silk has walked straight off the runway and into the lab. According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, silk implants placed in the brain of laboratory animals and designed to release a specific chemical, adenosine, may help stop the progression of epilepsy. The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), which are part of the National Institutes of Health. Thu, 25 Jul 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_motile_mitochondria_07252013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_motile_mitochondria_07252013.htm Brain cells talk to each other in a variety of tones. Sometimes they speak loudly but other times struggle to be heard. For many years scientists have asked why and how brain cells change tones so frequently. Today National Institutes of Health researchers showed that brief bursts of chemical energy coming from rapidly moving power plants, called mitochondria, may tune brain cell communication. Thu, 25 Jul 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_Finkbeiner_proteostasis_072113.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_Finkbeiner_proteostasis_072113.htm Recycling is not only good for the environment, it’s good for the brain. A study using rat cells indicates that quickly clearing out defective proteins in the brain may prevent loss of brain cells. Sun, 21 Jul 2013 15:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_stroke_exercise_07182013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_stroke_exercise_07182013.htm Here’s yet another reason to get off the couch: new research findings suggest that regularly breaking a sweat may lower the risk of having a stroke. A stroke can occur when a blood vessel in the brain gets blocked. As a result, nearby brain cells will die after not getting enough oxygen and other nutrients. A number of risk factors for stroke have been identified, including smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and being inactive. Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_brain_diseases_07032013.htm http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_brain_diseases_07032013.htm It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch, and the same may be true of certain proteins in the brain. Studies have suggested that just one rogue protein (in this case, a protein that is misfolded or shaped the wrong way) can act as a seed, leading to the misfolding of nearby proteins. According to an NIH-funded study, various forms of these seeds — originating from the same protein — may lead to different patterns of misfolding that result in neurological disorders with unique sets of symptoms. Wed, 03 Jul 2013 00:00:00 EDT