Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University have discovered a gene that may help develop new methods of treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, the study found a direct link between mutations in the gene, known as GIGYF2 and family history of patients with the disease.

European researchers have offered new hope for quadriplegics (people paralyzed from the neck down) through a technology that uses brain signals to control computers, artificial limbs and even wheelchairs. Quadriplegic patients, who are paralyzed neck down due to spinal injuries or neurodegenerative diseases, can now be independent to some degree due to this new type of brain computer interface that is non-intrusive.

This new type of non-intrusive brain-computer interface, or BCI, has been developed by the MAIA project. So far, the team, led by the IDIAP Research Institute in Switzerland, has carried out a series of successful trials in which users have been able to manoeuvre a wheelchair around obstacles and people using brainpower alone.

UCI researchers are studying handheld electrical devices that have been invented by Dr. Leon Silverstone and are being prepared for regulatory approval by NeuroMed Devices Inc. These devices aim at combating pain and depression by attacking the nervous system. While this technology’s therapeutic effects are supported by case studies, there is not much hard data from scientifically controlled clinical trials, a shortcoming that UCI aims to overcome through its study, with funding from NeuroMed.

Tamoxifen, a drug that is typically used to treat breast cancer, may help to decrease symptoms of mania in bipolar patients, according to a new report from Turkey. The three-week trial showed that about 50% of manic patients who took the drug improved during treatment, as compared to just 5% of placebo-treated patients. Patients with bipolar disorder exhibit mania, an abnormally elevated mood that may be characterized by impulsive behavior and higher energy and activity levels.

There is a direct correlation between how angry a teenager gets and the size and structure of the amygdala, which is a part of the brain that is involved with emotions and memory. The research was conducted by the ORYGEN Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia and the Oregon Research Institute, USA and was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research indicates that an increase in the size of the amygdalas has a direct correlation with the length and intensity of tantrums.