PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 19-May-2014 Contact: Eleanor Cowie eleanor.cowie@ed.ac.uk 44-131-650-6382 University of Edinburgh Premature babies' risk of brain injury is influenced by their genes, a new study suggests. Researchers have identified a link between injury to the developing brain and common variation in genes associated with schizophrenia and the metabolism of fat. The study builds on previous research, which has shown that being born prematurely before 37 weeks is a leading cause of learning and behavioural difficulties in childhood. Around half of infants weighing less than 1500g at birth go on to experience difficulties in learning and attention at school age. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London and King's College London studied genetic samples and MRI scans of more than 80 premature infants at the time of discharge from hospital. The tests and scans revealed that variation in the genetic code of genes known as ARVCF and FADS2 influenced the risk of brain injury on MRI in the babies. Researchers say that future studies could look at how changes in these genes may bring about this risk of or resilience to brain injury. Read the original post: Genes play key role in brain injury risk for premature babies … Continue reading →

When Cori Lathans company, AnthroTronix, was tasked by DARPA with building technology to help diagnose traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder in war zones, she didn't immediately envision technology's promising use in the civilian market. AnthroTronixs app, DANA (Defense Automated Neurocognitive Assessment), is "designed to give quick insights, almost like a thermometer for brain function. It takes five minutes to run through, and feels kind of like an Android-based brain game. We then added on more and more capability for the contiunuum of care, like complete diagnostics, psychological tests, and memory tests, to make it part of a full fleet of tests a physician could deploy. Leveraging the answers respondents give, their response time, and even balance and movement information picked up by the smartphones sensors, DANA--which runs on Android phones and tablets--gives feedback a medical professional can then use to help potentially diagnose brain injuries or PTSD. DANA is currently being tested in multiple Defense Department-funded clinical trials. One study done in conjunction with the VA in Hawaii is using it to test for signs of PTSD in returning veterans. Another study at Johns Hopkins University focuses on treatment of severe depression and is trying to see if … Continue reading →