BrainBlog

From the Nobel Prize website: Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The names of the year's Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine are announced during a press conference at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. The announcement is webcast live here at Nobelprize.org ! The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be announced on Monday, October 6, 11:30 a.m. CET (at the earliest).

From a company press release : September 30, 2008 Media Contact: Greg Kelley, Feinstein Kean Healthcare (+++) +++-++++ Link Medicine Completes $40 million Series C Financing to Accelerate Development of First Disease-Modifying Treatments for Neurodegenerative Disorders Co-led by Clarus Ventures and SV Life Sciences,the Financing will Advance Preclinical and Clinical Programs CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Link Medicine Corporation , a privately held biotechnology company advancing novel approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that it has obtained $40 million of Series C equity financing to help move its lead preclinical programs into human clinical testing. The round was funded by two leading biotechnology investors - Clarus Ventures and SV Life Sciences. Link Medicine, founded in March 2005, is focused on developing the first disease-modifying therapies for the treatment of several neurodegenerative diseases - including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Hunting...

Llambí L, Margolis A, Toews J, Dapueto J, Esteves E, Martínez E, Forster T, López A, & Lockyer J. Distance education for physicians: Adaptation of a Canadian experience to Uruguay. Journal of Continuing Education for Health Professionals. 2008 Spring; 28(2): 79-85. EviMed, Montevideo, Uruguay. INTRODUCTION: The production of online high-quality continuing professional development is a complex process that demands familiarity with effective program and content design. Collaboration and sharing across nations would appear to be a reasonable way to improve quality, increase access, and reduce costs. METHODS: In this case report, the process of adapting and modifying a course to improve the management of Alzheimer's disease developed for the Canadian context for use in Uruguay is described. RESULTS: Both quantitative and qualitative data on the process are shown. The original course was developed by the University of Calgary in the 1990s, and taught initially face to face and la...

Benzion Beilin; Dan Hoofien; Ravit Poran; Inbal Gral; Galina Grinevich; Berta Butin; Eduard Mayburd; & Yehuda Shavit. Comparison of two patient-controlled analgesia techniques on neuropsychological functioning in the immediate postoperative period. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Volume 30, Issue 6, August 2008, 674-682. Pain may contribute to cognitive decline, which is a common complication in the early postoperative period. We compared the effects of two common pain management techniques, intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA-IV) and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), on cognitive functioning in the immediate postoperative period. Patients hospitalized for elective surgery were randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups (30 patients per group). A battery of objective, standardized neuropsychological tests was administered preoperatively and 24 hours after surgery. Pain intensity was also evaluated. Nonoperated volunteers se...

The annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) occurs next month in midtown Manhattan. Here is the conference's webpage: Link

From the CBC : Brain banks: Crucial for research, clamouring for donors Last Updated: Monday, September 22, 2008 | 7:56 AM ET By Gloria Troyer CBC News Read the full article [snip] Brain banks. The work they do is not widely publicized — most people who consider signing donor cards think along the lines of organs such as the hearts and kidneys for transplant — but it's crucial for many researchers trying to understand the causes and characteristics of myriad diseases. "Brain donations and brain banks are absolutely essential to neurological and psychiatric research," says Dr. Margaret Fahnestock, professor of neuroscience in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton. "One of the main reasons is that there are few to no good cellular or animal models of most neuropsychiatric conditions — schizophrenia and autism, for example," she says. "This is because we currently have a poor understanding of the cellular...

Frings L, Wagner K, Maiwald T, Carius A, Schinkel A, Lehmann C, & Schulze-Bonhage A. Early detection of behavioral side effects of antiepileptic treatment using handheld computers. Epilepsy and Behavior. 2008 Aug; 13(2) :402-406. Epilepsy Center, University Hospital of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. OBJECTIVE: Treatment-emergent side effects are frequent events, particularly during the uptitration of antiepileptic drugs. So far, monitoring of such adverse events in outpatients has often been limited to intervals of weeks or months. We here report the application of a new device for temporally fine-grained assessment of objective well-being and cognitive performance using personal digital assistants (PDAs). METHODS: Twenty adult patients with epilepsy participated in this pilot study. Ten received add-on treatment with levetiracetam. Ten patients with constant medication served as a control group. Differences between groups with respect to self-rated cognitive condition, psychophysi...

Today is World Alzheimer's Day .

Public release date: 21-Sep-2008 American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Quality assurance programs improve clinical trials Boston – Quality assurance programs like the one at the Quality Assurance Review Center (QARC) in Worcester, Mass. , strengthen the quality of clinical trials, including cooperative groups conducting National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trials, thereby improving the standard of care in cancer patients, according to a study presented September 21, 2008, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 50th Annual Meeting in Boston . The Quality Assurance Program, provided by QARC at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was founded in 1980. The program's services include site credentialing to ensure that those looking to conduct clinical trials have the expertise, equipment and tools necessary to properly participate in research trials. The Quality Assurance Program also establishes benchmarks to monitor the...

A new podcast weekly: http://www.aan.com/rss/?event=feed&channel=1

Dr. Robert Katzman dies at 82; neuroscientist identified Alzheimer's disease as a 'major killer' By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Los Angeles Times September 20, 2008 Link Dr. Robert Katzman, the UC San Diego neuroscientist who pushed Alzheimer's disease into the public consciousness as a "major killer" and who co-founded the activist Alzheimer's Assn., died Tuesday at his home in La Jolla after a long illness. He was 82. Katzman played a major role in making San Diego one of the major centers for Alzheimer's research in the United States, if not the world, bringing prominent neuroscientists and major funding to a program that had been virtually nonexistent before his arrival in 1984. "His pioneering and, really, revolutionary work in Alzheimer's disease for more than three decades paved the way for clinical trials of potential treatments to delay the onset or progression of the disease being done today," said neuros...

A press release from the University of Pennsylvania: Penn Announces $50 Million Penn Integrates Knowledge Neurosciences Initiative September 18, 2008 PHILADELPHIA –- The University of Pennsylvania will make a major investment in neuroscience, the interdisciplinary study of brain/behavior relationships and nervous-system diseases, with a $50 million contribution from Penn’s Health System to endow five new Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) professorships. A portion of this contribution will supply start-up funds for each PIK professorship in neuroscience and will support interdisciplinary neuroscience initiatives involving the School of Medicine and other schools of the University. The announcement was made by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ronald Daniels. “This landmark contribution by the Health System represents an extraordinary commitment toward strengthening Penn’s academic programs.” Gutmann said. “With our commitment to integrating knowledge and our formidable teaching and ...

For Immediate Release Contact: Jenni Brewer August 26, 2008 ... PIONEERING NEUROSCIENCES INSTITUTE SETS DATE FOR DEDICATION OF NEW FACILITY AND FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON MEMORY AND MEMORY DISORDERS ON OCTOBER 16 WORLD-RENOWNED SCIENTISTS WILL CONVENE TO SHARE CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, MEMORY AND AGING Morgantown, W.Va. - On October 16th, 2008, the new $30 million Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) located on the campus on West Virginia University and founded in honor of U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller's mother, will play host to prominent international scientists who are advancing research on Alzheimer's disease and other memory disorders. The first-ever International Forum on Memory and Memory Disorders will highlight the work of nine celebrated scientists whose research have led to breakthrough advances for the aging brain, Alzheimer's disease, and patients suffering from memory loss and memory disorders. The next day, on O...

From the website, MedGadget: : A Wheelchair with Ears and Brain http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2008/09/a_wheelchair_with_ears_and_brain.html

Jensen MP, Mardekian J, Lakshminarayanan M, & Boye ME. Validity of 24-h recall ratings of pain severity: Biasing effects of "Peak" and "End" pain. Pain. 2008 Jul 15; 137(2): 422-427. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Box 356490, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195-6490, USA. Despite the frequent use of pain recall ratings in clinical research, there remains doubt about the ability of individuals to accurately recall their pain. In particular, previous research indicates the possibility that the most pain experienced during a recall period and the most recent pain experienced (known as peak and end effects, respectively) might bias recall ratings. The current study used data from a published clinical trial to determine the relative validity of a 24-h recall rating of average post-operative pain and the nature and extent of any biasing influence of peak and end effects on nine separate 24-h recall ratings. The results supported a...

Landis BN & Burkhard PR. Phantosmias and Parkinson disease. Archives of Neurology . 2008 Sep; 65(9): 1237-1239. BACKGROUND: Impaired olfaction is a common, nonmotor manifestation of Parkinson disease (PD). However, to our knowledge, qualitative olfactory disturbances, such as odor distortions, have not been extensively reported in this condition. OBJECTIVE: To describe 2 patients who reported positive olfactory symptoms preceding typical PD, which were consistent with olfactory hallucinations (phantosmias) in the absence of major smell deficit. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: University hospital. Patients We describe 2 patients, both seen in 2007, who reported pleasant olfactory hallucinations for several years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Iodine I 123-labeled ioflupane single-photon emission computed tomography and olfactometric testing results. RESULTS: The (123)I-labeled ioflupane single-photon emission computed tomography showed reduced radiotracer uptake in both striatum more marked...

The Alzheimer's Association ICAD 2008 conference begins today and continues through the 31st of July. The conference takes place in Chicago at McCormick Place. Details available at the conference website: ICAD website .

Nutter-Upham KE, Saykin AJ, Rabin LA, Roth RM, Wishart HA, Pare N, Flashman LA. Verbal fluency performance in amnestic MCI and older adults with cognitive complaints. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology . 2008 May; 23(3): 229-241. Neuropsychology Program, Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School/DHMC, Lebanon, NH, USA. Verbal fluency tests are employed regularly during neuropsychological assessments of older adults, and deficits are a common finding in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Little extant research, however, has investigated verbal fluency ability and subtypes in preclinical stages of neurodegenerative disease. We examined verbal fluency performance in 107 older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n=37), cognitive complaints (CC, n=37) despite intact neuropsychological functioning, and demographically matched healthy controls (HC, n=33). Participants completed fluency tasks with letter, semantic category, and semantic switching constrain...

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Memory and Aging Center has recently revised their website and has launched a YouTube channel dedicated to educating patients, caregivers, and health professionals about neurodegenerative diseases and the dementias. The Center has also launched a Facebook webpage. The website can be examined at UCSF website . The YouTube channel - the first one I've heard of dedicated to these topics - can be found at YouTube channel link . As noted by a UCSF contact: "Through the YouTube channel, we also hope to support the caregiver and the caregiver’s loved ones to help them cope with these illnesses. "The channel features UCSF’s renowned clinical-researchers discussing disease characteristics – which are often subtle and not well known, even among members of the medical community. Personal stories of patients and family members are also featured, together with practical advice and coping strategies from healthcare professi...

On the New York Times website: Earlier diagnosis giving Alzheimer's a new voice By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 2, 2008 Filed at 4:26 p.m. ET "WASHINGTON (AP) -- Don Hayen has a handy way of deflecting the instant pity that comes when he reveals his Alzheimer's disease: "But I haven't lost my keys all day," he quickly jokes. Hayen is part of a growing new movement in Alzheimer's: Patients diagnosed early enough to still be articulate and demand better care and better research. They are giving a voice to a disease whose victims until now have remained largely silent, and powerless. It's a shift with big ramifications." [ ... Read the full article ... ]