Tag: Brain
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Joe Wang developed, closed-loop, levadopa delivery/monitoring system for Parkinson’s disease
Early Parkinson’s Disease patients benefit significantly from levodopa, to replace dopamine to restore normal motor function. As PD progresses, the brain loses more dopamine-producing cells, which causes motor complications and unpredictable responses to levodopa. Doses must be increased over time, and given at shorter intervals. Regimens are different for each person and may vary from…
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Carbon nanotube sensor precisely measures dopamine
Ruhr University professor Sebastian Kruss, with Max Planck researchers Sofia Elizarova and James Daniel, has developed a sensor that can visualize the release of dopamine from nerve cells with unprecedented resolution. The team used modified carbon nanotubes that glow brighter in the presence of the messenger substance dopamine. Eizarova said that the sensor “provides new…
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Univ. of Reading study links Alzheimer’s disease to blood brain barrier damage
The “Lipid Invasion Model” argues that lipids entering the brain due to blood brain barrier damage is the determining cause of the Alzheimer’s Disease. The presence of excess lipids in the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients is an element of Alois Alzheimer’s 1906 research, but little has been published about this connection since. The hypothesis,…
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Prenatal MRI study suggests autism differences may begin in the womb
A small Boston Children’s Hospital study led by Assistant Professor Emi Takahashi and postdoc Alpen Ortug showed increased volume of the insular lobe as a potential strong prenatal MRI biomarker that could predict the emergence of ASD later in life. It revealed significant differences in brain structures at 25 weeks’ gestation between children who were…
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Stanford study: High dose magnetic stimulation eases severe depression
Nolan Williams, Alan Schatzberg, and Stanford colleagues have published a small, double blind study showing that high dose, noninvasive, magnetic brain stimulation alleviated depression symptoms in 80% of participants. Stanford accelerated intelligent neuromodulation therapy (SAINT) is an intensive, individualized form of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Effects were seen within days and lasted months. Side effects included…
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Passive EEG assessment detects cognitive decline early
George Sothart and University of Bath colleagues have developed a new, EEG + game memory assessment technique which could enable the earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the underlying cause of around 60% of dementia cases.. The need for early diagnosis tools to help doctors to prescribe lifestyle interventions to slow the rate of cognitive decline…
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Apple partners with UCLA, Biogen for iPhone mental/cognitive health monitoring
The Apple/UCLA project “Seabreeze” and Apple/Biogen project “Pi” represent a further move into iPhone health monitoring. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is attempting to develop an algorithm to identify depression and cognitive decline from sleep patterns, mobility, and how one uses the phone — for example, how often they look at its clock.…
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Algorithm isolates specific brain signals, provides feedback
The US Army and USC Prof Maryam Shanechi have developed an algorithm that can determine which specific behaviors—like walking and breathing—belong to specific brain signals. Segmenting brain signals has been notoriously difficult, as all signals associated with tasks mix together. Shanechi and her team used the algorithm to separate behaviorally relevant brain signals from behaviorally…
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Polymer improves medical implants, could enable brain-computer interface
David Martin and University of Delaware colleagues have developed a bio-synthetic coating for electronic components that could avoid the scarring (and signal disruption) caused by traditional microelectric materials. The PEDOT polymer improved the performance of medical implants by reducing their opposition to an electric current. Pedot film was used with an antibody to stimulate blood…
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Sensor platform detects dopamine in sweat; could be used for future treatment
Penn State’s Aida Ebrahimi and Maurico Terrones, RPI’s Humberto Terrones, and colleagues, have developed a highly sensitive, non-invasive wearable Dopamine sensor platform. The goal is the use of the technology to develop wearable sensors able to track and eventually treat conditions caused by too much (ie schizophrenia) or too little (ie Parkinson’s, depression) dopamine. The…
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Brain cholesterol map could lead to neurodegeneration therapies, help guide surgery
William Griffiths and Swansea University colleagues have developed a method to map cholesterol in the brain, and understand potential molecule conversion. This is the first technology that can map cholesterol metabolism in defined locations at microscopic levels, and visualize how it changes in pathological niches in the brain. While only studied on mice, the hope…
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Tattoo electrodes for long-term EEG, MEG measurements
Graz University professor Francesco Greco has built on his earlier work to create advanced inkjet printed conductive polymer electrodes on tattoo paper. The composition and thickness of the transfer paper and conductive polymer have been optimized to achieve a better electrode/skin connection and improve EEG signal quality. The cheap, user-friendly, dry electrodes have shown similar…