Researchers pinpoint brain cells that drive appetite in obesity
A team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has discovered a group of brain cells that boosts appetite when there is a prolonged surplus of energy in the body, such as excess fat accumulation in obesity. The researchers discovered that these cells not only produced the appetite-stimulating molecule NPY, but they in fact made […]
After 17 Months As A Nurse, I Had To Walk Away. You Need To Know The Real Reason Why.
via Getty Images As a child, I practiced brain surgery on my Cabbage Patch doll, Sally. Because I wasn’t allowed to use knives, I used a red pen as a scalpel, drawing my incisions on her head. I already knew then that I would one day be a nurse, as I would inform the ones […]
Mother Speaks Out After College Senior Dies Of Brain Tumor Found On Spring Break
Following a University of Georgia student’s death from a brain tumor found during a spring break vacation, her mother is speaking out about the 21-year-old’s final moments. In an emotional interview published Thursday, Laura McKeithen told People that daughter Liza Burke “lived life” to the fullest despite the tumor, which doctors identified in March after […]
Can Functional MRI Read Your Mind?
An individually trained semantic decoder translated brain patterns on functional MRI (fMRI) into continuous streams of text, a small study showed. The customized decoder used fMRI responses to generate text describing an individual’s imagined stories, the contents of podcasts they listened to, and silent videos they watched, reported Alexander Huth, PhD, of the University of […]
Researchers leverage cell self-destruction to treat brain tumors
Glioblastoma is the most common type of brain tumor in adults. The disease is 100% fatal and there are no cures, making it the most aggressive type of cancer. Such a poor prognosis has motivated researchers and neurosurgeons to understand the biology of tumors with the goal of creating better therapies. Dominique Higgins, MD, PhD, […]
Men and women have different obesity drivers, pointing to the need for tailored interventions: Sex-specific brain signatures driving obesity
A new study from UCLA researchers finds sex-specific brain signals that appear to confirm that different drivers lead men and women to develop obesity. The study, appearing in the peer-reviewed journal Brain Communications, combined data from several modes of MRI with patients’ clinical features and personal histories to identify sex-specific mechanisms in the brain underlying […]
Brain Structure, Widespread Connectivity Changes Seen With Long COVID
Gray matter atrophy and severe disruption of brain functional connectivity were seen in long COVID patients with anxiety and depression about 3 months after acute mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Compared with people who were asymptomatic after SARS-CoV-2 infection, long COVID patients with both anxiety and depression showed limbic atrophy and a widespread pattern of hyperconnectivity, reported […]
Fructose could drive Alzheimer’s disease: An evolutionary foraging instinct that relied on the sugar fructose, may now be fueling the formation of Alzheimer’s disease
An ancient human foraging instinct, fueled by fructose production in the brain, may hold clues to the development and possible treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The study, published recently in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, offers a new way of looking at a […]
Childhood Adversity Tied to Race-Related Differences in Brain Development
Gray matter volume in key brain regions was lower in Black children compared with white children, likely due to disparities in childhood adversity, according to data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Among children ages 9 to 10 years, white kids showed greater gray matter volumes compared with Black kids in the amygdala, […]
Opinion | ‘It Appears All the Cylinders Are Firing Within His Brain’: What We Heard This Week
“It appears that all the cylinders are firing within his brain.” — Timothy Pritts, MD, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where NFL safety Damar Hamlin was treated after he collapsed on the field during a Monday Night Football game. “All of a sudden, this guy in a pink dress came up next […]