A new type of non-addictive opioid accelerates recovery time from pain compared to morphine without increasing pain sensitivity, according to a new study. A new type of opioid developed by researchers at Tulane University and the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System doesn’t have this side effect and accelerates recovery time from pain compared to…

A team of New Jersey stroke researchers has linked recovery of reading and language competence with cerebral blood flow in the left reading network. Their findings may contribute to new approaches to identifying and treating reading deficits after stroke. Despite the fundamental role of reading ability in everyday living, little research has been conducted on…

Exercise fights off stress by increasing levels of the brain protein galanin. Going on a run during a stressful time does wonders for mental and emotional health. But the stress-relief benefits of exercise go beyond the anecdotal: exercise increases the brain’s resilience to stress. This happens through elevated levels of the neuromodulator galanin, a protein…

The accumulation of one particular protein in the brain is at the basis of three very different age-related conditions. Until recently, nobody understood how this was possible. Research now reveals that the shape of the protein determines the clinical picture. The presence of ?-synuclein protein deposits in the brain is characteristic for three different diseases:…

Inherited mutations in a gene that keeps nerve cells intact was shown, for the first time, to be a driver of a neuropathy known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. This finding presents a clearer picture of the disease’s genetic underpinnings that could inform the development of gene therapies to correct it. The findings, thanks to siblings treated…

A key cause for the pelvic pain experienced by women with endometriosis has been uncovered, potentially opening new opportunities for pain relief for the condition. The Greaves lab, now part of Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, along with collaborators at the University of Edinburgh, have discovered how cells in our immune system…

Researchers examine graph-theoretical properties of brain networks in traumatic brain injury and controls and their association with balance impairment and structural damage. The article, «Graph-theoretical analysis of EEG functional connectivity during balance perturbation in traumatic brain injury: A pilot study,» was published online on July 26, 2021 by Human Brain Mapping.The authors are Vikram Shenoy…

In a group of internationally adopted children with cleft lip and/or palate, speech at age five is impaired compared to a corresponding group of children born in Sweden, a study shows. The adopted children also need more extensive surgery, which may be due to their surgical interventions taking place later in life. «The study shows…

The gene of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with several processes related to memory and brain plasticity. Now, a new article reveals that it is easier to alter the cognitive activity through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in people with the genetic variant Val/Val for the BDNF gene. The article, published in the journal…

Opioid overdose is a leading cause of injury-related death for adults ages 25 to 54 in the U.S. Recent data suggest that commonly used opioids for pain management may interfere with medications used to manage and treat cardiovascular disease and stroke. More than 67,000 people died due to drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2018,…