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Nerve fibers (axons) transmit brain and spinal cord signals through nerves to target muscles or skin, and vice versa. Damage to these fibers thus leads to a disruption of connections and, consequently, to paralysis or numbness. The chances of recovery depend mainly on the speed at which the severed fibers regenerate as this process is time-limited, so usually only short distances can be overcome. Consequently, nerve injuries in the legs and arms often lead to permanent damage, which later may be accompanied by neuropathic pain. Therefore, a key therapeutic goal of research is the development of therapies to accelerate nerve...

Autopsy Shows Withdrawn Drug Was Helping Man With Parkinson'sBy Randolph E. Schmid Associated Press Writer Published: Jul 1, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) - A drug withdrawn from clinical trials because of safety concerns was helping regrow nerve fibers in the brain of a man with Parkinson's disease, scientists report. The finding probably will renew debate over the drug, GDNF. It had offered encouragement to people with Parkinson's who reported improvement when using it in trials. But the drug was withdrawn by the manufacturer, Amgen Inc., this year. Some of those patients in the trial sued Amgen to get continued supplies of...

Most Tuesdays, I run early in the morning with a woman named Meredith. For such close friends, we’re quite different. Meredith is a voluble social worker who draws energy from crowds. I’m an introverted editor who works from home. Meredith runs her best in large races and loves training with big groups. I’ve set PRs in solo time trials and tend to bail when a run’s head count gets above five. Meredith is a worrier, beset by regrets and anticipated outcomes, who has sought treatment for anxiety. I have dysthymia, or chronic low-grade depression. We like to joke that Meredith...

Whoopsie!!!! Decent double tremor. Specially when you are on the second floor. Probably a lame attempt to scare me. I'm guessing 3.1 Going back to sleep.

Danish scientists challenge the accepted scientific views of how nerves function and of how anesthetics work. Their research suggests that action of nerves is based on sound pulses and that anesthetics inhibit their transmission. Every medical and biological textbook says that nerves function by sending electrical impulses along their length. "But for us as physicists, this cannot be the explanation. The physical laws of thermodynamics tell us that electrical impulses must produce heat as they travel along the nerve, but experiments find that no such heat is produced," says associate professor Thomas Heimburg from the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen...

Source: University of Virginia Date: December 20, 2006 High-quality Marriages Help To Calm Nerves Science Daily — A University of Virginia neuroscientist has found that women under stress who hold their husbands' hands show signs of immediate relief, which can clearly be seen on their brain scans. "This is the first study of the neurological reactions to human touch in a threatening situation, and the first study to measure how the brain facilitates the health-enhancing properties of close social relationships," says Dr. James A. Coan, author of the study, which is published in the December 2006 issue of the journal...

Stand up. Step forward. Bend an elbow. Button your shirt. Feed yourself. They are simple commands, carried from the brain to the legs, arms, and hands by thin white fibers, nerves no thicker than a piece of yarn, impossibly delicate yet incredibly important. Cut them, break them, shred them--a car crash or a sharp piece of broken glass will do it--and a limb hangs helpless. Don't count on most orthopedic surgeons for help--they'll fix broken bones but not broken nerves. Neurosurgeons? They like to work on the brain and spinal cord. "Peripheral nerves, the ones in the extremities, are orphans...

Despite a glut of literature available on how to have more and better orgasms, science is only beginning to unravel the mysteries of the nervous system. The experiences of some paralyzed women prove how little we know: Though seemingly cut off from all feeling below the waist, some have found they still had orgasms when they tried sex. More mysterious still, some could have orgasms when touched in a spot on the trunk or neck just above the region of injury. One Philadelphia-area woman who was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident was overwhelmed to learn she'd...

Click Picture for Video image: Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. Brain PowerFor the first time, a paralyzed man with an experimental brain implant bypassed his damaged spine to manipulate an artificial limb and a computer program using only his imagination. This ScienCentral News video has more.Movin' on His MindAmericans celebrate their freedom every year on the same day that Matthew Nagle lost almost all of his. As Fourth of July fireworks flashed over Wessagussett Beach in Weymouth, Massachusetts nearly four years ago, Nagle found himself in a sea of flying fists and within minutes, Nicholas Cirignano, a man with a...

The national news media is abuzz with a story about the possible link between the tragic death of an infant Jewish boy from herpes and his circumcision. At the same time, the media has not fully reported on the fact that circumcision could save millions of lives from the scourge of AIDS. The problem is that circumcision is in the Bible, which makes it a serious violation of the religion practiced by the majority in academia and the mainstream media - secular fundamentalism. They have stood by while millions died and continue to die. How differently they value human life...