A UC Irvine professor, along with a team of researchers, discovered that a marijuana-like substance naturally released in the brain can treat symptoms of one type of autism, the university recently announced. Cannabinoids released in the brains of mice that had fragile x syndrome, one of the most common causes of genetically defined autism, treated their autistic behavior within hours of dosage, said Daniele Piomelli, a UCI professor of anatomy and neurobiology and one of the study's authors. In conducting their research, scientists used compounds to correct signaling of the cannabinoid 2-AG in the brain, Piomelli said. Initially, researchers thought effects of the treatment would be seen over the long term, but hours later they saw something that Piomelli described as "really quite striking." Within six hours, mice with fragile x syndrome acted differently. Mice with the genetic difference are hyperactive, don't fear the light or open space, and don't scurry to hide when exposed as their predator-fearing cousins do, said Piomelli, who noted that humans with autism obviously don't suffer from these behavioral differences. But like people with autism, the mice with fragile x syndrome have a difficult time adjusting or don't respond appropriately. Treatment corrected the physiology and … Continue reading →

SALT LAKE CITY Up to 250 Utah children will be eligible to receive treatment for their clinically diagnosed autism spectrum disorders through a new Utah Department of Health Medicaid program. Services will be available to a limited number of children through a home and community-based waiver that was approved by the federal government earlier last month. Applications for the program are available at http://www.health.utah.gov/autismwaiver. The program will provide intensive individual support for children with autism spectrum disorders, as well as respite care and financial management services for their families Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, sponsored legislation during the 2012 Legislature to create the program. The state anticipates spending $4.5 million over the two-year life of the pilot project, with the federal government contributing an additional $10.5 million. "Autism is a significant challenge in our state, and it's not going away," Menlove said. "This program is a small but wonderful step in the right direction. We recognize there are still thousands of families who need these services for their children. Hopefully, what we learn from this program will help us develop a more permanent solution for them." To enroll in the program, applications must be received by Wednesday, Oct. 31. Parents can … Continue reading →

Newswise Toronto October 3, 2012 Scientists at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, located at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network have developed the first lab study in the world to accurately predict the outcomes of a human clinical for their drug that protects the brain against the damaging effects of stroke. The study, A translational paradigm for the preclinical evaluation of the stroke neuroprotectant Tat-NR2B9c in gyrencephalic non-human primates, published online today in Science Translational Medicine was conducted concurrently with a human clinical trial called ENACT. The purpose of the animal study was to test whether the Toronto team could predict benefits of the stroke drug Tat-NR2B9c in a larger, multi-center trial conducted in humans. This study builds on work previous published in the journal Nature earlier this year, which showed the ability of this drug to reduce brain damage caused by stroke. Several previous attempts at developing stroke drugs have suggested that certain drugs were effective in reducing stroke damage in small animals such as rats. However, none have shown efficacy in patients suffering from stroke, leaving an unexplained gap between results of studies in animals and those in humans. The landmark research conducted by the Toronto team provides … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2012) Strokes often cause loss or impairment of vital brain functions -- such as speech, movement, vision or attention. Restoration of these functions is often possible, but difficult. One of the factors impeding brain plasticity is inflammation. A study on rats, carried out at the Nencki Institute in Warsaw, suggests that effectiveness of neurorehabilitation after a stroke can be improved by anti-inflammatory drugs. Post-stroke inflammation slows down recovery and impairs brain plasticity, reveal the results from the lab of Professor Magorzata Kossut at the Nencki Institute in Warsaw. The popular anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen restores the ability of brain cortex to reorganize -- a process necessary for recovery of stroke-damaged functions. "Our research was conducted on rats, but we have good reasons to suppose that in future our results will help improve effectiveness of rehabilitation of stroke patients," says Prof. Kossut. The Nencki Institute team stresses that so far there are no proofs that the treatment will be effective in humans and that they did not investigate if the ibuprofen therapy prevents strokes, but concentrated on post-stroke recovery. The most frequent cause of stroke is blocking of brain arteries. Without supply of oxygen, neurons die quickly. In the … Continue reading →

HATFIELD, England, October 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New results for Fycompa(R) (perampanel) presented today at leading epilepsy conference New data shared today with Europes epilepsy community at the 10th European Congress on Epileptology (ECE) in London, demonstrate the efficacy of once-daily Fycompa(R) (perampanel) in reducing partial-onset seizures, the most common form of epilepsy, and its effectiveness and flexibility of use as add-on therapy. The successful treatment of partial-onset seizures (the most common form of epilepsy) remains a significant challenge in some patients and the incidence of uncontrolled partial epilepsy remains high, despite many existing anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs); between 20 - 40% of patients with epilepsy have remained poorly controlled despite these treatments.[1] The new data supports the use of perampanel as a new therapeutic option for this hard-to-treat patient population. Results from two separate analyses of pooled data from the perampanel pivotal Phase III clinical trial programme endorse the efficacy and safety of the new AED at clinically relevant doses.[2] In addition, the results show that perampanel decreased the frequency of both complex partial seizures and secondarily generalised seizures.[3] In a third analysis of the pooled trial data, patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures taking any of the five most commonly-used … Continue reading →