Brain | Page 1330 | Science Codex

New insights into deadly glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer

CHAPEL HILL, NC – New findings by researchers at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center suggest that the most common form of malignant brain cancer in adults, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is probably not a single disease but a set of diseases, each with a distinct underlying molecular disease process.

The study, published in the January issue of the journal Cancer Cell, provides a solid framework for investigation of future targeted therapies that may improve the near uniformly fatal prognosis of this devastating cancer.

The Cancer Genome Atlas identifies distinct subtypes of deadly brain cancer

The most common form of malignant brain cancer in adults, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is not a single disease but appears to be four distinct molecular subtypes, according to a study by the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network. The researchers of this study also found that response to aggressive chemotherapy and radiation differed by subtype. Patients with one subtype treated with this strategy appeared to succumb to their disease at a rate approximately 50 percent slower than patients treated with less aggressive therapy.

Gene linked to schizophrenia may reduce cancer risk

People who inherit a specific form of a gene that puts them on a road to schizophrenia may be protected against some forms of cancer, according to a new study by scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

Disclosing sexual abuse is critical

Montreal, January 19, 2010 – Half of sexual abuse survivors wait up to five years before disclosing they were victimized, according to a collaborative study from the Université de Montréal, the Université du Québec à Montréal and the Université de Sherbrooke published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

Traumatic brain injuries: Motor deficits can persist even after what appears to be a full recovery

Quebec City, January 19, 2010–Even after regaining normal walking speed, traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims have not necessarily recovered all their locomotor functions, according to a study supervised by Université Laval's Bradford McFadyen and recently published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

School burnout

Recent research indicates that school burnout among adolescents is shared with parental work burnout. Children of parents suffering from burnout are more likely than others to experience school burnout. Funding from the Academy of Finland has supported the first ever scientific study into the associations between adolescents' and parents' burnout. School burnout is a chronic school-related stress syndrome that is manifested in fatigue, experiences of cynicism about school and a sense of inadequacy as a student.

FDA BPA decision is a step forward, but more needs to happen, says MU expert

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Today, the FDA shifted its stance on bisphenol A (BPA) and said that exposure to the chemical is of "some concern" for infants and children. Previously, the agency's stance was the chemical posed no risk to humans; this stance was consistent with the chemical industry's stance. Today, FDA officials declared that more research was needed and suggested reasonable steps to reduce exposure to BPA. Frederick vom Saal, a University of Missouri scientist, says that this stance is a step forward but more steps need to be taken.

Concussions not taken seriously enough: McMaster researcher

Despite growing public interest in concussions because of serious hockey injuries or skiing deaths, a researcher from McMaster University has found that we may not be taking the common head injury seriously enough.

In a study to be published in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics, Carol DeMatteo, an associate clinical professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science, found that children who receive the concussion label spend fewer days in hospital and return to school sooner than their counterparts with head injuries not diagnosed as concussion.

Cancer stem cells suppress immune response against brain tumor

HOUSTON - Cancer-initiating cells that launch glioblastoma multiforme, the most lethal type of brain tumor, also suppress an immune system attack on the disease, scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in a paper featured on the cover of the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Kentucky study advances new target for CNS drug development

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 15, 2010) — A breakthrough discovery by scientists at the University of Kentucky could someday lead to new treatments for a variety of diseases of the brain, spinal cord and the eye.

Researchers led by Royce Mohan, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual science in the UK College of Medicine, found that the small molecule withaferin A can simultaneously target two key proteins — vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) — implicated in a damaging biological process called reactive gliosis.

Researchers identify proteins that might contribute to memory loss and Alzheimer's disease

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Jan. 15, 2009 — A scientific group led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have identified three kinases, or proteins, that dismantle connections within brain cells, which may lead to memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease.

These findings, the results of a multi-year TGen study, are published in this month's edition of BMC Genomics in a paper titled: High-content siRNA screening of the kinome identifies kinases involved in Alzheimer's disease-related tau hyperphosphorylation.

Novel mouse model of demyelinating disorder

In the February 1st issue of G&D, Dr. Brian Popko (The University of Chicago) and colleagues describe how mutation of a gene called ZFP191 leads to disordered CNS myelination in mice -- reminiscent of what is seen in human multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

The paper will be released online ahead of print at www.genesdev.org.

Animal behavioral studies can mimic human behavior

NEW YORK (Jan. 14, 2010) -- Studying animals in behavioral experiments has been a cornerstone of psychological research, but whether the observations are relevant for human behavior has been unclear. Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have identified an alteration to the DNA of a gene that imparts similar anxiety-related behavior in both humans and mice, demonstrating that laboratory animals can be accurately used to study these human behaviors.

Potent screening tool finds new roles for some drugs in rest, waking

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A robust new technique for screening drugs' effects on zebrafish behavior is pointing Harvard University scientists toward unexpected compounds and pathways that may govern sleep and wakefulness in humans.

Among their more intriguing findings, described this week in the journal Science: Various anti-inflammatory agents in the immune system, long known to induce sleep during infection, may also shape normal sleep/wake cycles.

Disadvantaged neighborhoods set children's reading skills on negative course: UBC study

A landmark study from the University of British Columbia finds that the neighbourhoods in which children reside at kindergarten predict their reading comprehension skills seven years later.

The study, published this week in the journal Health & Place, finds children who live in neighbourhoods with higher rates of poverty show reduced scores on standardized tests seven years later – regardless of the child's place of residence in Grade 7. The study is the first of its kind to compare the relative effects of neighbourhood poverty at early childhood and early adolescence.