| OHSU takes on risky brain trial | | Posted Monday, September 25, 2006 10:59:30 AM by Blog57 Team | | A risky experiment, in which stem cells taken from fetal brain tissue will be injected into the brains of dying children, will soon start at Oregon Health & Science University. Doctors involved think this marks the first time purified neural stem cells -- brain cells that can form neurons and other nervous system cells -- will be given to people in an effort to treat a disease. They hope to treat the first child before the year ends. And they don't know what the outcome will be. The OHSU scientists plan to inject the stem cells into as many as six children, ages 2 to 12, suffering from one of two forms of Batten disease. These genetic diseases, which hit perhaps three of every 100,000 U.S. children, are caused by low levels of enzymes that break down granules of fat and protein.... | |
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| | | Relax ... And Slow The Aging Process | | Posted Monday, August 14, 2006 9:19:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | A new body of research suggests aging may be more related to reactions to stress and the absence of disease rather than to a person's chronological age. Researchers presenting at the 114th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association say healthy aging is a good bet if stress can be moderated along with adopting an active, healthy lifestyle. From a review of studies on how stress hormones affect the brain, psychologist Bruce McEwen, PhD, of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University, finds more evidence that biological and behavioral stress responses can be adaptive in the aftermath of stress, but can also cause damage when they are over- or under-produced and go on for a long time. "Acute stress seems to enhance immune function and improves memory but chronic stress has the opposite effect and can lead to disorders like depression, diabetes and cognitive impairment in aging," said McEwen.... | |
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| | | BRAIN POWER ON THE MOVE | | Posted Sunday, July 16, 2006 7:01:18 PM by Blog57 Team | | CHICAGO | With a tiny, electronic chip implanted in his brain, a paralyzed man has taken the first successful steps toward using the mind to directly control machines. Two subsequent patients — one at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago — with the brain chips implanted in the motor cortex have advanced their brain-computer interface skills even further, although all movements are still rudimentary. One, a Massachusetts quadriplegic unable to speak as a result of a stroke that destroyed her brain stem, uses her thoughts to type messages using specialized software. So nimble has their mind-over-matter movements become that the two patients who were able to speak could carry out their computer functions while talking at the same time, much as a normal person interacts with computers and people, according to the lead article in Thursday's issue of the British scientific journal Nature.... | |
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