In an in-depth study of how COVID-19 affects a patient’s brain, National Institutes of Health researchers consistently spotted hallmarks of damage caused by thinning and leaky brain blood vessels in tissue samples from patients who died shortly after contracting the disease. In addition, they saw no signs of SARS-CoV-2 in the tissue samples, suggesting the
The evidence for the harmful effects of alcohol on brain health is compelling, but now experts have pin-pointed three key time periods in life when the effects of alcohol are likely to be at their greatest. Writing in The BMJ in December 2020, researchers in Australia and the UK say evidence suggests three periods of dynamic brain
College football players may underestimate their risk of injury and concussion, according to a new study published today in JAMA Network Open. Christine Baugh, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and member of the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities, is the corresponding author of the article, “Accuracy
A broken heart is often harder to heal than a broken leg. Now researchers say that a broken heart can contribute to lasting chronic pain. In a reflections column published Dec. 21 in the Annals of Family Medicine, pain experts Mark Sullivan and Jane Ballantyne at the University of Washington School of Medicine, say emotional pain
The CDC’s healthy brain initiative aims to improve “understanding of brain health as a central part of public health practice” through education to health care providers and patients. The Pharmacy Times Cognitive Health Focus series offers pharmacists information to help them actively participate as members of the health care team in addressing brain health. Practitioners can identify cognitive
Research conducted at LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence reports that a combination of an LSU Health-patented drug and selected DHA derivatives is more effective in protecting brain cells and increasing recovery after stroke than a single drug. The findings are published in Brain Circulation. Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor, Professor of Neurology and
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex psychiatric disorder brought on by physical and/or psychological trauma. How its symptoms, including anxiety, depression and cognitive disturbances arise remains incompletely understood and unpredictable. Treatments and outcomes could potentially be improved if doctors could better predict who would develop PTSD. Now, researchers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have
A landmark study on how cannabis affects driving ability has shown that cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis component now widely used for medical purposes, does not impair driving, while moderate amounts of the main intoxicating component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produce mild driving impairment lasting up to four hours. The study was led the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at
Serotonin is a neurochemical that plays a critical role in the way the brain controls our thoughts and feelings. The study was funded, in part, by the NIH’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative which aims to revolutionize our understanding of the brain under healthy and disease conditions. The study was led by researchers in
Previous research has led to findings that support links between a positive mental outlook and physical health benefits such as lower blood pressure, less heart disease, and healthier blood sugar levels. In a recent study of mood changes in older adults, scientists also have discovered that healthy brain function may result in maintaining a positive
Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) found that nearly half of adolescents who sought specialty care for a concussion were back to driving when asked approximately two weeks after the injury, even though few had returned to exercise and sports. The findings raise important concerns
Chronic concussion symptoms are notoriously difficult to treat. But Acabchuk—who is also a yoga instructor in Hebron, and has been teaching yoga for 17 years—is hoping that a recently published InCHIP study, the first-ever meta-analysis looking at the use of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness-based interventions for the effective treatment of chronic concussion symptoms, will offer
Helen Genova, PhD, received a $599,103 grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) for the three-year study, “Using virtual reality to improve job reentry in adults with traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial.” Dr. Genova, principal investigator, is assistant director of the Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research
The Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) has published a new research paper in conjunction with The Cooper Institute on the omega-3s EPA and DHA in fish oil and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Omega-3 fatty acids have a long history of being “heart healthy,” and are well-known for lowering blood levels of triglycerides (but typically not cholesterol).
Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980 and most of the world’s population now live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. Obesity represents a major health challenge because it substantially increases the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes. In recent years, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes
Scientists in Japan’s brain science project have used machine intelligence to improve the accuracy and reliability of a powerful brain-mapping technique, a new study reports. Their development, published on December 18th in Scientific Reports, gives researchers more confidence in using the technique to untangle the human brain’s wiring and to better understand the changes in this
Service members with combat-related concussions demonstrated an evolution, rather than a resolution, of symptoms during a 5-year period, including selective worsening of cognitive function, according to findings published in Neurology. These results refuted “the assumption that chronic stages of concussive injury are relatively stable,” according to the researchers, and suggested a need to reconsider the course
A groundbreaking study addresses concussions head on. Dr. Steven Hicks, associate professor of Pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, said a spit test may be able to diagnose a concussion and predict how long symptoms will last, keeping athletes safer on the field. The saliva test measures specific RNA’s to determine whether the signal
The international research team designed new molecules that, besides inhibiting the BACH1 protein, activate the NRF2 protein. This protein controls the way that certain genes are expressed. These specific genes help to protect cells against oxidative stress such as HMOX1, the one that encodes heme oxygenase 1, but also many others that work independently from
The membranes surrounding our brains are in a never-ending battle against deadly infections, as germs constantly try to elude watchful immune cells and sneak past a special protective barrier called the meninges. In a study involving mice and human autopsy tissue, researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Cambridge University have shown that some
