BrainBlog

If you are a student of clinical neuropsychology at either an undergraduate or graduate level and live in the New York region but do not know very much about Arthur Benton and his contributions to this field of our's, you owe it to yourself to consider attending this talk in late November! The New York Neuropsychology Group Presents The Arthur L. Benton Annual Lecture Pioneers of Neuropsychology: An Insider's Guide to Arthur Benton Kerry Hamsher, Ph.D., ABPP-CN Tuesday, November 27, 2007 7 - 8 PM Refreshments to Follow FREE for NYNG Members $10 for Non NYNG Members FREE FOR ALL STUDENTS! Stony Brook Manhattan 110 East 28th Street (Between Park Ave South & Lexington Ave) New York, NY This year, the Annual New York Neuropsychology Group's Distinguished Speaker series is renamed in honor of the late Dr. Arthur L. Benton, a giant in the field of neuropsychology. Dr. Benton was the first speaker in this annual lecture series when it was initiated in 1986. We are pleased that...

From the Newsweek website: Make Your Bed, Save Your Brain The author of a new study says conscientious people may have less risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. By Karen Springen | Newsweek Web Exclusive Oct 1, 2007 | Updated: 12:46 p.m. ET Oct 2, 2007 An interview with neuropsychologist Robert Wilson about a recent study he and colleagues completed: [snip] A new study, appearing this month in the Archives of General Psychiatry, suggests that being conscientious—hardworking, goal-oriented, dependable—may lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's. Researchers studied 997 older Catholic priests, nuns and monks (average age: 75) who did not have dementia when the study began in 1994. The subjects rated themselves on a "conscientiousness scale," responding to such questions as "I am a productive person who always gets the job done." Over the 12 years of the study, 176 participants developed Alzheimer's, and they tended to be individuals who were less con...

From today's Houston Chronicle : Harris County hopes blacks will seek help for Alzheimer's Studies suggest more suffer brain disease than whites, but it is often unreported By LESLIE CASIMIR Oct. 15, 2007, 12:22AM Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle [snip] Officials from the Harris County Area Agency on Aging hope to highlight this issue and stop the cycle of denial and silence. Last week, health officials released The Book of Alzheimer's for African-American Churches , which explains Alzheimer's and the crisis enveloping the community. About 20,000 copies will be distributed in the Houston area, county officials said. The book is filled with local voices that explain the basic facts of the disease. It also offers practical advice on how loved ones should help the afflicted and seek outside support. County officials say they hope that worshippers will trust and embrace the information. "African-Americans appear less likely to request help and use community resources t...

Howard RJ, Juszczak E, Ballard CG, Bentham P, Brown RG, Bullock R, Burns AS, Holmes C, Jacoby R, Johnson T, Knapp M, Lindesay J, O'Brien JT, Wilcock G, Katona C, Jones RW, DeCesare J, Rodger M; CALM-AD Trial Group. Donepezil for the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer's disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007 Oct 4; 357(14): 1382-1392. Medical Research Council Neurogeneration Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom. BACKGROUND: Agitation is a common and distressing symptom in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Cholinesterase inhibitors improve cognitive outcomes in such patients, but the benefits of these drugs for behavioral disturbances are unclear. METHODS: We randomly assigned 272 patients with Alzheimer's disease who had clinically significant agitation and no response to a brief psychosocial treatment program to receive 10 mg of donepezil per day (128 patients) or placebo (131 patients) for 12 weeks. The...

Townend E, Brady M, McLaughlan K. A Systematic Evaluation of the Adaptation of Depression Diagnostic Methods for Stroke Survivors Who Have Aphasia. Stroke. 2007 Oct 11; [Epub ahead of print] From the NMAHP Research Unit, Buchannan House, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK; and the NHS Grampian, Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Spynie Hospital, Morayshire, UK. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: One in 3 stroke survivors has aphasia (impaired language comprehension and expressive abilities). Conventionally, depression diagnosis uses language-based methods. We aimed to systematically review methods that have been used to diagnose depression and adaptations to these methods intended for people with aphasia. METHODS: We systematically reviewed stroke studies (to January 2006) that included a depression diagnosis and individuals with aphasia. We extracted data related to depression diagnostic methods used for individuals with/without aphasia. We sought clarification from authors when require...

Silent Minds What scanning techniques are revealing about vegetative patients. by Jerome Groopman 15 October 2007 The New Yorker [ ... Read the piece ... ]

From the Nobel Assemble press release: The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 jointly to Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells" Summary This year's Nobel Laureates have made a series of ground-breaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals. Their discoveries led to the creation of an immensely powerful technology referred to as gene targeting in mice. It is now being applied to virtually all areas of biomedicine – from basic research to the development of new therapies. Gene targeting is often used to inactivate single genes. Such gene "knockout" experiments have elucidated the roles of numerous genes in embryonic development, adult physiology, aging and disease. To date, more than ten thousand mouse gen...

The 61st annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society (AES) will take place in Philadelphia, from the 30th of November through the 5th of December. Details about the meeting can be found on the meeting webpage of the AES website.