Cindy McCain explains the need for more funding for research to cure migraine headaches. As a nation, we spend very little on research into the causes and treatments of migraines. It is estimated that the NIH spends less than $13 million a year for migraine research. Neurology professor Todd Schwedt of WUSTL's Headache Center says that based on the burden migraine exacts from society, funding should be closer to $260 million.

References:

1. Sept. 9, 2009 — Commentary: More Funding To End Migraine in the Forbes.com

WUSTL neurologist and study author James Galvin says more than 74 percent of Parkinson's patients have trouble sleeping, and up to 80 percent of patients age 65 and older who have Parkinson's disease for seven years will develop dementia.

References:

1. Aug. 3, 2009 — Sleep linked to Parkinson's dementia in the United Press International

and 1 others.

WUSTL neuroscientist David Holtzman and colleagues have devised a test that shows whether an experimental medication has a chance of working in Alzheimer's patients.

References:

1. June 30, 2009 — David Holtzman: Attacking Alzheimer's With a New Test for Amyloid Beta in the U.S. News & World Report online

WUSTL scientists have pinpointed compounds in the spinal fluid which may give an early warning of how fast patients with mild dementia will decline.

References:

1. May 11, 2009 — Chemical clue to dementia decline in the BBC News

Alzheimer's patients sift the important from less important less efficiently early on, according to a study conducted by WUSTL researchers.

References:

1. May 5, 2009 — Early Alzheimer's, think less efficiently in the United Press International

and 2 others.

Gender definitely makes a difference when it comes to stroke, new research shows. WUSTL neurology professor Mark Goldberg comments.

References:

1. Feb. 20, 2009 — Women Less Apt to Get Clot-Buster, Study Finds in the U.S. News & World Report online

and 3 others.

You're sitting at a dull meeting and your attention drifts. You're waiting in a check-out line, thinking of nothing in particular. You're lying in bed, having just turned off the television. At such times, your conscious mind is on "idle," but your brain is not. In such situations, the brain's "default system" takes over, a pattern of spontaneous activity that is fast becoming one of the hottest areas in neuroscience research, one that may cast light on mental illness. WUSTL neuroscientist Marcus Raichle, pioneered work on the default network, comments on a new MIT/Harvard study.

References:

1. Jan. 20, 2009 — Study may cast light on mental illnesses in the Boston Globe

Scientists are baffled by one of humankind's most annoying problems — itching — an almost universal misery for which there is, as yet, no adequate explanation or treatment. The recent discovery of an ''itchy gene,'' however, may offer hope for better treatments, says WUSTL neuroscientist Zhou-Feng Chen.

References:

1. Nov. 18, 2008 — Itching puzzles experts in the The Miami Herald

and 18 others.

People who carry two copies of a particular gene have roughly eight to 10 times the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease than people who do not. WUSTL neuroscientist David Holtzman and graduate student Mary Beth Finn, were among the group of scientists that conducted research for this study.

References:

1. Nov. 14, 2008 — Alzheimer's Gene Slows Brain's Ability To Export Toxic Protein in the ScienceDaily.com

A study using an advanced brain scanning technology supports the growing body of evidence that education levels and some form of intellectual activity decrease the impact of Alzheimer's disease. WUSTL neurology professor and study author Catherine Roe comments.

References:

1. Nov. 11, 2008 — 'Cognitive Reserve' May Help Fight Alzheimer's in the The Washington Post

and 6 others.

In Nature Neuroscience, scientists at WUSTL medical school and at the U. of Chieti, Italy report that a simple decision-making task does not involve the frontal lobes, where many of the higher aspects of human cognition are thought to originate. Instead, the regions that decide are the same brain regions that receive stimuli relevant to the decision and control the body's response to it.

References:

1. Nov. 10, 2008 — Simple Brain Mechanisms Explain Arbitrary Human Visual Decisions in the ScienceDaily.com

and 12 others.

The first gene linked to clubfoot has been identified by WUSTL researchers who analyzed the DNA of 35 extended family members of a male infant with clubfoot.

References:

1. Oct. 27, 2008 — Gene Plays Key Role in Clubfoot in the U.S. News & World Report

and 8 others.

Researchers at WUSTL and the University of Milan found that levels of a protein linked with Alzheimer's disease rise as people recover from brain injuries - a surprising finding that may help explain why injuries boost the risk of developing the disease. WUSTL neurology professor David Brody comments.

References:

1. Aug. 28, 2008 — Tracking Alzheimer's-linked protein in live brains in the Associated Press

and 79 others.

The method by which "bad" proteins bump off neurons is also a matter of dispute. Scientists are drawing ever closer to solutions for these mysteries, and what they discover may one day help head off these diseases or even repair some damage after rogue proteins have vandalized the brain or spinal cord.

References:

1. Aug. 16, 2008 — Neuron Killers in the Science News

The outer layer of the brain, the reasoning, planning and self-aware region known as the cerebral cortex, has a central clearinghouse of activity below the crown of the head that is widely connected to more-specialized regions in a large network similar to a subway map, scientists reported.
"This is just about the coolest paper I've seen in a long time, and forward-looking in terms of where the science is going," said WUSTL neurology and radiology professor Marcus Raichle, who was not involved in the research.

References:

1. July 1, 2008 — Scientists Identify the Brain's Activity Hub in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

Contrary to prior studies, a new trial shows that daily use of two popular pain-relieving drugs, Celebrex and naproxen, does not prevent cognitive decline in people with a family history of Alzheimer's disease. WUSTL neurology professor John Morris, who is director of WUSTL's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and a member of the medical and scientific advisory council for the Alzheimer's Association, comments.

References:

1. May 12, 2008 — Celebrex, Naproxen Won't Prevent Mental Decline in the U.S. News & World Report

and 9 others.

German researchers are reporting a new approach to the possible prevention of the molecular "debris" that's associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease.
WUSTL neurology professor James Galvin called the German research "a novel idea."

References:

1. April 24, 2008 — Study Details New Molecular Approach to Preventing Alzheimer's in the The Washington Post

and 7 others.

WUSTL researchers have found that a key ingredient for the formation of Alzheimer's plaques is produced by a brain cell activity. WUSTL neurology professor and the study's first author John Cirrito comments.

References:

1. April 9, 2008 — Researchers zero in on Alzheimer's plaque origin in the Agence France Presse

and 13 others.

Doctors often hesitate to tell patients they likely suffer from Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia, fearing the news will overwhelm them.
Not only did the diagnosis not increase anxiety or depression among patients and their caregivers, but most were relieved to have symptoms explained and a way to find help.
But a WUSTL medical study suggests physicians need not worry. Researchers amd WUSTL psychology professor Brian Carpenter and neurology proessor John Morris comment.
The study, which appears in the March issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, gauged depression and anxiety two days before and two days after an evaluation and diagnosis.

References:

1. March 12, 2008 — Dementia Diagnosis May Relieve Patients in the Associated Press

and 110 others.

The notion that stress can help bring on a stroke may have merit, British researchers say.
WUSTL neurology professor Mark Goldberg comments.

References:

1. March 3, 2008 — Stress Can Help Trigger Stroke in the The Washington Post

and 8 others.