Mental Health, Brain | featured news

A report in Nature Neuroscience suggests that natural physical changes interfere with quality slumber, blunting the ability to remember new information for the long term.

It has the makings of a science fiction movie: Zap someone's brain with mild jolts of electricity to try to stave off the creeping memory loss of Alzheimer's disease....

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy begins when repeated blows to the brain are not allowed to heal. In its later stages, CTE can lead to rage, aggression, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts.

Scientists have identified a new gene variant that seems to strongly raise the risk for Alzheimer's disease, giving a fresh target for research into treatments for the mind-robbing disorder.

The researchers didn't find the same IQ dip for people who became frequent users of pot after 18. Although experts said the new findings are not definitive, they do fit in with earlier signs that the drug is especially harmful to the developing brain.

Even though women live longer than men, their brains seem to age faster. The reason? Possibly a more stressful life. As people age, some genes become more active while others become less so. In the brain, these changes can be observed through the transcriptome, a set of RNA molecules that indicate the activity of genes within a population of cells.

The new class of drug, which can be taken orally, is designed to protect the brain by combating the damaging effects of inflammation. Results from early stage clinical trials have yet to be announced, but studies on animals suggest the therapy could be effective against a wide range of conditions which also include motor neurone disease and complications from traumatic brain injury.

Though current trials and several others about to begin probably will be too late to benefit Frost, research is showing the importance of early diagnosis. Once the process that destroys brain cells has begun, the disease is irreversible. But if researchers can find a way to catch it early and slow it down, they think they can prevent much of the worst damage.

Because epilepsy causes repeated, sudden seizures, people with the condition would benefit greatly from a therapy that can detect seizures just as they are starting or, eventually, predict them before they begin and prevent them from happening. A new generation of implantable devices is looking to pick up where medications—and even the VNS—often leave off, at least for people whose seizures routinely begin in one part of the brain (the seizure focus).

Look for a fundamental shift in how scientists hunt ways to ward off the devastation of Alzheimer's disease - by testing possible therapies in people who don't yet show many symptoms, before too much of the brain is destroyed....