Search Tag: Brain
2022 21 Jan
One clinical factor complicating the work of ICU physicians and nurses is the difficulty of diagnosing nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE)—an invisible condition that must be managed aggressively to prevent lasting damage to the brain. Because the prevalence of NCSE among neurological patients can reach up to 60%, and because it becomes increasingly...Read more
2021 22 Mar
Researchers from the Brighton and Sussex University Hospital Trust (BSUH) presented results from a study on “ Time from Surgery to Post-operative Radiotherapy ” at the Annual Radiotherapy and Oncology Meeting of the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) from 17 to 19 March 2021. Survival rates are significantly worse for patients with head and...Read more
2019 02 Oct
Summary: Groundbreaking study at the University at Buffalo uses brain stimulation to assess how large-scale patterns of brain activity could vary between cognitive systems and across people. Our research at the University at Buffalo explores brain activity and its association with cognitive systems. Each cognitive system consists of a network...Read more
2019 03 Jul
The decision to withdraw life support from patients with severe brain injuries is one that cannot be taken lightly. In a study conducted in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), critical care physicians were asked about the decision-making process when it comes to withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. The qualitative interview study was...Read more
2019 24 Jan
An evolving partnership A major evolution is underway involving critical care and imaging. The intensive care patient population is changing. Increasingly intensive care units (ICUs) are treating older patients, with more comorbidities, and variable prognosis, at a time when family expectations are different and often with higher expectations...Read more
2018 14 Nov
The world’s largest supercomputer designed to work like a human brain has been switched on for the first time. After it was fitted with its landmark one-millionth processor core, the ‘Spiking Neural Network Architecture’ (SpiNNaker) was turned on at The University of Manchester’s School of Computer Science. SpiNNaker can process...Read more
2017 16 Mar
Evidence shows that sonography of the brain can be used to visualise most of the intracranial structures, allowing estimation of the risk posed by life-threatening conditions, such as raised ICP, intracranial haematoma, hydrocephalus and midline shift. Brain ultrasound is increasingly used in the critical care setting. This technology is...Read more
2016 19 Dec
New research published in The Lancet suggests that adding MRI after the mid-pregnancy scan could provide more certainty in diagnosing fetal brain abnormalities. The study involved 570 women whose mid-pregnancy ultrasound scan revealed a potential brain abnormality in the fetus. Within two weeks of their first scan they were given an extra scan using...Read more
2016 05 Dec
Scientists from MIT have devised a new probe that enables them to image molecules in the brain without using any chemical or radioactive agents. The new probe consists of proteins and once it hits a particular target, the probe induces blood flow changes that can be seen by MRI or other imaging techniques. Their work is reported in the journal Nature...Read more
2016 17 Oct
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an approach to image functional activity in the brains of individual fetuses, allowing a better look at how functional networks within the brain develop. The research team corrected images for motion, thus allowing a four-dimensional reconstruction of brain activity in moving subjects. The new...Read more
2016 21 Mar
MRI experts at the University of Nottingham have won a £1 million grant to conduct research using the body’s natural sodium (salt) content that could lead to greater detail in kidney scans. The research, that will provide a more detailed picture of tissue health and disease, is to be pioneered by the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) team at...Read more
2016 01 Mar
Physicists at the Universities of Bonn and Oldenburg have developed a model whose behaviour on the brain – although based on strict rules – can apparently change spontaneously. There are also changes of this type in nature, for example, in the development of migraine attacks or epileptic seizures. The mechanism, described for the first time...Read more
2016 08 Jan
Discontinuity of topographic maps in the brain — not signal reduction — reflects sensory impairment, according to new research from Hebrew University. The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) , shed light on a longstanding mystery of a fundamental property of the brain. It has long been known...Read more
2015 03 Dec
Researchers in the Netherlands studying thousands of healthy adults have found a connection between very early stages of brain and heart disease, according to a study presented on Wednesday, 2 December, at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. The finding provides more insight into the heart-brain connection, which is important...Read more
2015 30 Nov
An imaging study has identified cartilage regeneration in long-distance runners. Ultra-distance running places tremendous stress on the body and this research provides detailed information on how the various organ systems change and adapt in response to that stress, according to researchers, who used a mobile MRI truck to follow marathon runners for...Read more
2015 26 Nov
Happiness is a subjective experience; for instance, some people feel happiness more intensely than others when they receive compliments. To better understand the neural mechanism behind how happiness emerges, researchers in Japan conducted a study using MRI brain scans. Overall happiness, according to the study, is a combination of happy emotions and...Read more
2015 17 Nov
New implantable wireless devices can be used to trigger — and, in theory, block — pain signals in the body and spinal cord before those signals reach the brain, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology . Researchers say the implants may one day be used in different parts of the body to fight pain that doesn't respond to...Read more
2015 18 Sep
A new technique for creating transparent tissue has enabled Japanese researchers to visualise brain anatomy in 3D, giving them new insights into Alzheimer's disease plaques. "While Superman's x-ray vision is only the stuff of comics, our method, called Sca/eS, is a real and practical way to see through brain and body tissue," says lead scientist Atsushi...Read more
2015 15 Sep
A new study in the journal Radiology suggests that imaging patients soon after traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs could help to detect cerebral microhaemorrhages more accurately. Researchers used susceptibility-weighted imaging — an MRI technique that provides improved visibility of blood and is highly sensitive to haemorrhage — to evaluate U.S....Read more
2015 07 Sep
A study published in the neurology journal Brain suggests that children born prematurely are more likely to have low mathematical achievement at school age, which may be caused by reduced working memory and number skills. The study aimed to examine the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after birth to identify infants at risk of later academic...Read more
2015 17 Aug
In a series of studies, Massachusetts General Hospital's researchers have observed the differences in the way common anaesthetics affect the brains of older patients and children — findings that could lead to ways of improving monitoring technology and the safety of general anaesthesia for such patients. Emery Brown, MD, PhD, and Patrick Purdon, PhD,...Read more
2015 06 Aug
University of Cambridge researchers have developed a "brain training" iPad game that can help improve the memory and daily functioning of patients with schizophrenia. The game is aimed at improving an individual's episodic memory, one of the facets of cognitive functioning to be affected in schizophrenia patients. "We need a way of treating the cognitive...Read more
2015 03 Aug
A new imaging tool has allowed Boston scientists to look inside the brain of an adult mouse at a scale previously unachievable, generating images at a nanoscale resolution. The researchers' goal is to make the resource available to the scientific community in the form of a national brain observatory. Their work is reported in the journal Cell . The...Read more
2015 20 Jul
This year's World Brain Day (22 July) campaign aims to improve awareness and care of epilepsy, a common neurological disorder that affects more than 50 million people worldwide. The most important causes of epilepsy include perinatal brain injury, infections, traumatic brain injury, and stroke — and all these conditions are preventable. In January...Read more