Summary: Study of gar fish reveals the modern eye-brain connection may have evolved much earlier than previously believed. Source: Michigan State University The network of nerves connecting our eyes to our brains is sophisticated and researchers have now shown that it evolved much earlier than previously thought, thanks to an unexpected source: the gar fish. […]
Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with alemtuzumab (Lemtrada; Sanofi Genzyme) who had previously been treated with fingolimod (Gilenya; Novartis) demonstrated suboptimal disease control and increased risk of secondary autoimmunity compared with other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).1 The retrospective, real-world setting study included 170 patients who were treatment naïve or previously failed to respond to natalizumab, […]
1. Takami H, Perry A, Graffeo CS, et al. Comparison on epidemiology, tumor location, histology, and prognosis of intracranial germ cell tumors between Mayo Clinic and Japanese consortium cohorts. J Neurosurg 2020;134(February):1–11 CNS germ cell tumors (GCTs) are rare neoplasms predominantly arising in adolescent and young-adult male patients. Standardized treatment protocols using chemoradiation have demonstrated […]
Summary: Computer tomography reveals modern human brain structures only originated between 1.5 to 1.7 million years ago in African Homo populations. Source: University of Zurich Modern humans are fundamentally different from our closest living relatives, the great apes: We live on the ground, walk on two legs and have much larger brains. The first populations […]
“[Prognostication is] probably one of the biggest challenges we face, especially in the short-term. Obviously, we don’t have a crystal ball, we can’t predict how patients are going to look in 3, 6, or 12 months from now, and we often probably don’t get it right.” This year, for the first time, the Neurocritical Care […]
CNS 2021Guest Post by Anne Billot In the 19th and 20th century, cases of individuals with brain injury, such as Phineas Gage or Henry Molaison, have advanced our understanding of the relationship between the anatomy of the brain and its function. Back then, methods were limited to investigate whole-brain structure and function. Now, cognitive neuroscientists […]
Summary: A newly developed reparative hydrogel, which researchers are dubbing “brain glue”, protects against loss of brain tissue following a TBI and can aid in functional neural repair. Source: University of Georgia At a cost of $38 billion a year, an estimated 5.3 million people are living with a permanent disability related to traumatic brain […]
Data from a recent study has suggested that intravenously administered recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) reaches its target despite total embolic occlusion and that local cerebral rtPA concentrations are similar to systemic concentrations in patients with ischemic stroke (IS).1 Researchers found that empirical local rtPA estimates closely matched a pharmacokinetic model of 1-phase exponential decay: […]
Summary: Cysteine leukotriene receptor 2 appears to be a key player in chronic itch, a new study reports. Source: Brigham and Women’s Hospital Eczema, or atopic dermatitis (AD), is sometimes called “the itch that rashes.” Often, the itch begins before the rash appears, and, in many cases, the itchiness of the skin condition never really […]