Future Science Group

One of the major themes from this year’s SfN Neuroscience meeting (Washington DC, USA, 11–15 November 2017) was developments in neuromodulation techniques, including deep brain stimulation (DBS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). One study highlighted by the society came from Nicole Swann (University of California, San Francisco, LA, USA) and colleagues, who presented evidence that a novel implantable device can both provide DBS and record activity at the brain surface, providing feedback and causing the device to moderate stimulation level according to the patient’s levels of dyskinesia. Whilst at the conference, Lauren Pulling (Editor) sat down with Nicole to hear more about the study and its implications for patients and future research – you can listen to the podcast here. Plus, you can find our round-up of the biggest news from Neuroscience 2017 here: https://www.neuro-central.com/2017/11/20/sfn17-news-highlights-speaker-interviews-neuroscience-2017/

Whilst at SfN's Neuroscience 2017, Lauren Pulling sat down with Kijun Yoon, who discussed the latest updates in Zika research, including his work on a Zika virus protein that may cause microcephaly.

Whilst at Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting (Washington DC, USA, 11–15 November 2017), Lauren Pulling (Editor) sat down with Doris Doudet (University of British Columbia, Canada) to hear more about her recent research, which has demonstrated elevated inflammation in the gut of a Parkinson's disease rat model.

This week we had the pleasure of attending ‘Clearing the brain: protein clearance in neurodegenerative disease’, a 1-day symposium organized by the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre (LWENC) at University College London (UCL; London, UK). The event saw researchers and clinicians from across the world come together to share the latest research and debate the future of the field, with topics spanning perivascular clearance, fluid biomarkers, glymphatics, lymphatics, and a lively panel discussion. In this #NCTalks podcast, recorded at the event, we speak to Henrik Zetterberg, a Professor at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and UCL and one of the world’s leading experts in fluid biomarkers for neuronal injury and degeneration. In this podcast, he provides an update on the most promising blood-based biomarker candidates for neurodegenerative disease and tells us what he’s most excited to see in the coming years. Want to find out more about the event? Catch up on our highlights on our Twitter (@

Shalini Prasad and Sriram Muthukumar: non-invasive monitoring technologies by Future Science Group

Neuromodulatory techniques have risen in profile in recent years, with these groundbreaking therapies now being used to treat a vast range of conditions from Parkinson’s to pain, and obesity to depression. With these techniques now becoming more refined and more readily-available to patients, we spoke to Ali Rezai, a leading neurosurgeon and Director of The Ohio State University Neurological Institute (OH, USA). Dr Rezai has been involved in the pioneering use of brain pacemakers for treating Parkinson’s disease, depression, OCD and traumatic brain injury, and his current research focuses on developing neuromodulation therapies to treat migraine headaches, asthma, addictions, Alzheimer’s, obesity, post-traumatic stress disorders and autism. Listen to our latest NCTalks podcast with Dr Rezai to hear more about his work, how neuromodulation can be harnessed to treat ‘alternative’ conditions, and where he hopes the field will progress in the next decade. You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and int

In this edition of NCTalks, we’ll be exploring the field of neuroregeneration as part of our latest Spotlight focus on Neuro Central. The limited capacity for repair in the nervous system represents a significant medical challenge - as the field works to address this, we’re learning more and more about innate regeneration, as well as how the regenerative process can be harnessed and exploited to treat neurodegenerative disease and facilitate repair following injury. In this podcast, Lauren Pulling (Editor) speaks to Dr Terry Burns, who practices and leads a research group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in the USA. His research group is developing regenerative strategies to optimize neurological function and quality of life for patients with brain tumors, neurological injuries and neurodegenerative diseases, with particular research focuses radiation-induced brain injury, microglial biology and cell-based regenerative therapies. Dr Burns tells us about his research, as well as the core challenges

In this podcast discover details of the TONIC trial which has yielded promising response rates in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer treated with nivolumab after induction treatment.

Listen to this podcast to discover more about the UNICANCER-NeoPAL study of letrozole and palbociclib in luminal cancer, data from which was presented at this years 2017 ESMO Congress (8–12th September, Madrid, Spain). You can view more podcasts plus the latest research, news and interviews at www.oncology-central.com

Listen to this podcast to discover more about CheckMate-153 study, data from which was presented at this years 2017 ESMO Congress (8–12th September, Madrid, Spain). You can view more podcasts plus the latest research, news and interviews at www.oncology-central.com

In this edition of NCTalks, Lauren Pulling (Editor, NC) chats with Rachelle Doody, Global Head of Neurodegeneration at Roche. Rachelle tells us about her varied career so far, moving from academia to industry, and discusses challenges in the neurodegenerative field, as well as the current pipeline treatments and diagnostics at Roche. You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and interviews with experts across neurology and neuroscience, at www.neuro-central.com.

At the ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2017 (Barcelona, Spain, 28 June–1 July) we had the pleasure of speaking with Vincenzo Valentini from Gemelli ART (Rome, Italy). Listen to the interview now, to find out about the importance of knowledge based oncology and integrating radiotherapy with other treatment modalities such as surgery.

Brain banks are an essential tool for neuropathological studies, allowing us to answer pressing research questions and test new theories. Recent advances in molecular technologies have further expanded the utility of brain banks, while an aging population is increasing interest in dementia and neurodegenerative disorders. But what are the challenges in maintaining, funding and accessing brain banks? How can these be addressed? Listen our recent panel discussion, held in collaboration with The Drake Foundation, to hear from researchers at Queen Square Brain Bank (London, UK), plus experts from Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Association, as they discuss the current issues surrounding brain banking. You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and interviews with experts across neurology and neuroscience, at www.neuro-central.com.

Whilst at the European Neuro Convention (London, UK, 7–8 June 2017), we caught up with Jean-Pierre Lin, a consultant oediatric neurologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (London, UK), and President of the British Paediatric Neurology Association. In this NCTalks podcast, Jean-Pierre tells us about his clinical and research work, which focuses on movement disorders and neuromodulation in children. He also expands on current developments in the field of pediatric neurolomodulation, and the challenges that come with treating children with deep brain stimulation. You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and interviews with experts across neurology and neuroscience, at www.neuro-central.com.

In this IDHTalks podcast we speak to Mahmoud Ghannoum about the importance of fungi, his work in identifying mycobiome and its implications in health and disease.

At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC; London, UK, 16–20 July 2017), we sat down with Megan Zuelsdorff, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (WI, USA), to hear more about her work on lifetime stress experiences, racial disparities and cognitive health. Part of the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP) Study, Megan and colleagues examined the impact of lifetime stressful experiences on cognition. They found that a greater number of stressful events was associated with poorer late-life cognitive function for all study participants. In addition, African Americans experienced over 60% more stressful events than non-Hispanic White participants during their lifetimes, and these experiences were linked to poorer memory and thinking skills in older age. The researchers determined that, in African Americans, each stressful experience was equivalent to approximately 4 years of cognitive aging. In this interview, we hear more about the study and its implic

Whilst at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London (AAIC; UK, 16–20 July 2017), Lauren Pulling (Editor, Neuro Central) sat down with Kim Mueller, a researcher from the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute (University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA), whose abstract had been highlighted by the Association as one of note. The work presented at AAIC investigated whether early memory decline correlates with changes in everyday speech. The results showed that subtle changes in speech – e.g., the use of short sentences, more pronouns, more frequent pauses and filler words – increased in line with development of early mild cognitive impairment, and therefore, further down the line, could be used as a marker for Alzheimer’s disease. In this podcast, Kim discusses the study and its implications, including how these findings could one day be translated into new – potentially mobile – technology for at-home screening and disease monitoring. You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and intervie

Listen to this interview with Philip A Philip from the Karmanos Cancer Center (MI, USA) to discover new strategies and agents for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and interviews with experts across oncology at www.oncology-central.com

The plenary sessions at Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC; London, UK, 16–20 July 2017) have featured fantastic talks from leading experts in the field, so far addressing topics including biomarkers, targeting beta-amyloid, genetics, big data and the neurotoxicity of tau. While at the conference, Lauren Pulling (Editor, Neuro Central) sat down with Julie Williams, Professor of Neuropsychological Genetics at Cardiff University (UK) and the Chief Scientific Advisor of the Welsh Government, to hear more about her work on susceptibility genes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and interviews with experts across neurology and neuroscience, at www.neuro-central.com.

As part of the Neuro Central Spotlight of neuromodulation, we spoke to Jerrold Vitek, Professor of Neurology and a prominent voice in this ever-expanding field. Dr Vitek is currently the Head of the Neurology Department and Director of the Neuromodulation Research Program at the University of Minnesota (MN, USA), and is the PI for a number of non-human primate and human clinical studies on the neurophysiology of movement disorders and neuromodulation mechanisms. In this interview, Dr Vitek tells us more about the work of the Neuromodulation Research Center, shares his perspective on how the field of neuromodulation has progressed in recent years, and discusses the challenges associated with refining and developing new neuromodulation therapies for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. You can view more podcasts, plus the latest news and interviews with experts across neurology and neuroscience, at www.neuro-central.com.