Dr. Bsisu

The study of the brain is rapidly progressing towards information collected over much of the brain. To help make sense of large scale dynamics in mouse brain, a “Virtual Mouse Brain” was created which enables the construction and simulation of individual mouse brains using diffusion MRI experiments. This simulation environment allows for the inclusion of various modalities (e.g. EEG, fMRI) and detailed connectomes from other data bases, such as that of the Allen Institute. The addition of this resource will facilitate the understanding of large scale dynamics in whole brain networks. http://www.eneuro.org/content/4/3/ENEURO.0111-17.2017

The change in plasma arginine vasopressin concentration (P[AVP]) in response to osmotic stimulation (POsm) can be used as a biomarker for NMDA receptor signalling in schizophrenia and depression, distinguishing between these mental illnesses? In response to hyperosmotic challenge, depressed subjects showed increased  P [AVP]  response in comparison with healthy control and schizophrenic subjects.  Read the research paper: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/EP086212/full

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), New York State Psychiatric Institute, and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that an odor identification test may prove useful in predicting cognitive decline and detecting early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. http://newsroom.cumc.columbia.edu/blog/2016/07/26/smell-test-may-predict-early-stages-alzheimers-disease/

The proof is in the packaging. Making all cigarette packets look the same reduces the positive feelings smokers associate with specific brands and encourages quitting, Australian research shows. The findings come ahead of the UK and Ireland introducing plain tobacco packaging in May. Australia was the first nation to introduce such legislation in December 2012. Since then, all cigarettes have been sold in plain olive packets with standard fonts and graphic health warnings. https:// www.newscientist.com/ article/ 2122340-plain-packets-help- smokers-quit-by-killing-br and-identities/

New research sheds light on what’s going on inside our heads as we decide whether to take a risk or play it safe. Scientists have located a region of the brain involved in decisions made under conditions of uncertainty, and identified some of the cells involved in the decision-making process. The work could lead to treatments for psychological and psychiatric disorders that involve misjudging risk, such as problem gambling and anxiety disorders. https:// medicine.wustl.edu/news/ study-identifies-neural-cir cuits-involved-in-making-r isky-decisions/

UCLA researchers use stem cells to grow 3-D lung-in-a-dish! Using the new lung organoids, researchers will be able to study the biological underpinnings of lung diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and also test possible treatments for the diseases. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/ releases/ ucla-researchers-use-stem-c ells-to-grow-3-d-lung-in-a -dish

Resveratrol, given to Alzheimer’s patients, appears to restore the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, reducing the ability of harmful immune molecules secreted by immune cells to infiltrate from the body into brain tissues.  The reduction in neuronal inflammation slowed the cognitive decline of patients, compared to a matching group of placebo-treated patients with the disorder. https://gumc.georgetown.edu/news/Resveratrol-Appears-to-Restore-Blood-Brain-Barrier-Integrity-in-Alzheimers-Disease

UH researchers have identified a unique epigenetic footprint in specific types of immune cells from blood that can identify individuals with HIV that have a range of impairments in cognitive function. Read their article: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ news/article.php?aId=8131

Case Western Reserve-Led International Team Identifies Fungus in Humans for First Time as Key Factor in Crohn’s Disease! A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine-led team of international researchers has for the first time identified a fungus as a key factor in the development of Crohn’s disease. The researchers also linked a new bacterium to the previous bacteria associated with Crohn’s. http://www.newswise.com/ articles/ case-western-reserve-led-in ternational-team-identifie s-fungus-in-humans-for-fir st-time-as-key-factor-in-c rohn-s-disease

New ALS discovery: scientists reverse protein clumping involved in neurodegenerative conditions By countering the tendency of the protein SOD1 to clump in motor neurons, researchers at the UNC School of Medicine find a way to protect neurons from toxic effects in lab experiments. http:// news.unchealthcare.org/ news/2016/september/ scientists-stabilize-faulty -als-protein-find-new-lead s-for-drug-discovery

A 25-year old man has made incredible progress after doctors "jump-started" his brain out of a coma using ultrasound. The team asserts that further study is needed to determine how effective this ultrasound technique really is, but they have high hopes. https://futurism.com/ world-first-ultrasound-used -to-jump-start-patients-br ain-out-of-a-coma/

Scientists may have overcome a major roadblock in the development of Alzheimer’s therapies by creating a new technology to observe ― in the back of the eye ― progression of the disease before the onset of symptoms. http://www.newswise.com/ articles/ alzheimer-s-detected-before -symptoms-via-new-eye-technology

Results of a cellular therapy clinical trial for traumatic brain injury (TBI) using a patient’s own stem cells showed that the therapy appears to dampen the body’s neuroinflammatory response to trauma and preserve brain tissue, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). https://www.uth.edu/media/ story.htm?id=29435ed9-8286- 4cf7-9358-64aff0b52892

People with extremely sunny attitudes find it difficult to empathize with people who are recounting a negative experience, according to a study recently published at PLOS ONE. Ironically, positive people also reported being better at empathizing than did people who labelled themselves as slightly less than bubbly.  http://bigthink.com/ ideafeed/ extremely-positive-people-o verestimate-their-ability- to-empathize?utm_campaign= Echobox&utm_medium=Social& utm_source=Twitter#link_ti me=1489939738

A new study has found evidence that the common and debilitating reproductive condition, polycystic ovary syndrome, could start in the brain, not the ovaries, as researchers have long assumed. If verified, the research could change the way we think about the painful and severely misunderstood condition, which affects at least one in 10 women worldwide. http:// www.sciencealert.com/ polycystic-ovary-syndrome-m ight-start-in-the-brain-no t-the-ovaries

Any device implanted in the body or in contact with flowing blood faces two critical challenges that can threaten the life of the patient the device is meant to help: blood clotting and bacterial infection. A team of Harvard scientists and engineers may have a solution. They developed a new surface coating for medical devices using materials already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The coating repelled blood from more than 20 medically relevant substrates the team tested – made of plastic to glass and metal – and also suppressed biofilm formation in a study reported in Nature Biotechnology. The team implanted medical-grade tubing and catheters coated with the material in large blood vessels in pigs, and it prevented blood from clotting for at least eight hours without the use of blood thinners such as heparin.  The link of the article: https://wyss.harvard.edu/bioinspired-coating-for-medical-devices-repels-blood-and-bacteria/

Genes in living cells are constantly being turned on and off. New research shows that the failure of genes in the brain to be turned off appropriately can lead to faulty brain wiring that affects learning and memory, according to a study in mice at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/ability-turn-off-genes-brain-crucial-learning-memory/

New research from The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai identifies a protein that may be an unexplored target to develop new cancer therapies! The protein, known as kinase suppressor of Ras, or KSR, is a pseudoenzyme that plays a critical role in the transmission of signals in the cell determining whether cells grow, divide, or die. The findings, published in the September issue of the journal Nature, show that targeting KSR could have important therapeutic implications, potentially improving outcomes in many aggressing cancers such as lung and pancreatic cancer. The article  https://www.mountsinai.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/mount-sinai-researchers-identify-new-therapeutic-target-for-cancer

The CRISPR process will be used inside the human body for the first time on July 15th to combat HPV, which impacts millions of people worldwide! https://futurism.com/3-this-crispr-trial-will-be-the-first-to-try-editing-cells-inside-the-body/ CRISPR genome editing – the acronym stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat – was developed in 2012, aiming for a cheaper and easier way to target almost any gene sequence!

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the indication for regorafenib ( Stivarga , Bayer) to now include treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have previously been treated with the drug sorafenib ( Nexavar , Bayer). Expansion of regorafenib's indication marks the first FDA-approved treatment for a liver cancer in almost a decade! Medscape article: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/879216?src=soc_fb_170427_mscpedt_news_onc_livercancer

Facial recognition software helps diagnose rare genetic disease. Soon, physicians may be able to diagnose by snapping a photo. Find out how with NHGRI: https://www.genome.gov/27568319/facial-recognition-software-helps-diagnose-rare-genetic-disease/ "Early diagnoses means early treatment along with the potential for reducing pain and suffering experienced by these children and their families," said  Maximilian Muenke, M.D. , atlas co-creator and chief of NHGRI's  Medical Genetics Branch .

A newly published systematic review and meta-analysis examines the association between microvascular dysfunction and late-life depression!  # Psychiatry   # Depression The article from JAMA Network: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2629521?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social_jn&utm_term=902414869&utm_content=content_engagement%7carticle_engagement&utm_campaign=article_alert&linkId=38204922