Newsline — Monday, November 25, 2013 13:38
Brain Still Injured from Concussion After Symptoms Fade
Understanding a Protein’s Role in Familial Alzheimer’s Disease
Monday, November 25, 2013 9:00
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used genetic engineering of human-induced pluripotent stem cells to parse the roles of a key mutated protein in causing familial Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the process, they discovered that simple loss-of-function does not contribute to the inherited form of the neurodegenerative disorder. “In some ways, this is a powerful technical demonstration of the promise of stem cells and genomics research in better understanding and ultimately treating AD,” the principal investigator revealed. “We were able to identify and assign precise limits on how a mutation works in familial AD.” Click here to read the full article.
New Study Decodes Brain’s Process for Decision-making
Friday, November 22, 2013 13:00
When making a choice, the brain sifts and retrieves specific traces of memories, rather than a generalized overview of past experiences, new research reveals. The study combined computer simulations with brain-imaging data to compare two different types of decision-making models. Perhaps resolving a debate more than three decades old, the findings demonstrate that the exemplar model accounted for the majority of participants’ decisions, in which choices were framed around concrete traces of memories. “We flexibly memorize our experiences, and this allows us to use these memories for different kinds of decisions,” lead researcher Michael Mack explains. Click here to read the full article.
Study: Hospitals Vary in Treating Children with Brain Injury
Friday, November 22, 2013 9:15
According to a new study, hospitals differ in management of children with traumatic brain injury, particularly when it comes to monitoring and preventing the harmful effects of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). The study, reported in Neurosurgery, focused on two evidence-based interventions for brain injury: ICP monitoring and craniectomy. Rates of both interventions varied significantly between hospitals, and researchers call for further studies to understand “the institutional and regional factors associated with variability in the use of these invasive but potentially outcome-modifying technologies.” Click here to read the full article.
Ethics: Doctor Assesses the Terrain of Random Acts of Kindness Toward Patients
Thursday, November 21, 2013 13:00
When Abigail Zuger, MD, offered an old computer to a longtime patient, she began to ponder the ethics of kindness between doctors and their charges. In an essay for the New York Times’ Well Blog, she writes: Kindness to friend and duty to patient: Are they one and the same? Or separated by a barbed-wire fence? Opinion is all over the map. At one extreme is the position probably best articulated by one of medicine’s great clinician-scientists, Dr. Donald Seldin of the University of Texas. In a 1981 talk to an audience of physicians, Dr. Seldin deplored “a tendency to construe all sorts of human problems as medical problems” and thus within doctors’ duty and purview to fix. If it isn’t “relief of pain, prevention of disability and postponement of death,” Dr. Seldin said, why then, doctor, leave it alone! He got a standing ovation. Click here to read the full essay.
For Your Patients: Keeping Epilepsy Sufferers Safe During Seizures
Thursday, November 21, 2013 9:33
November marks Epilepsy Awareness Month, and Patricia Gibson, director of Epilepsy Information Services at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, wants to inform patients and the public on ways to recognize and care for those having a seizure. “Statistically, one in 10 of us will have a seizure at some time,’’ she said. “So recognizing and being able to take care of handling a seizure is just something that everybody needs to know.’’ Click here for information to share with your patients.
Can Herbs Curb Alzheimer’s?
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 13:00
According to an animal model study at St. Louis University, extracts from the antioxidants in spearmint and rosemary can improve learning and memory. Researchers are assessing the role that herbs can play in potentially warding off Alzheimer’s disease. “We found that these proprietary compounds reduce deficits caused by mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease,” says the study’s author. Click here to read the full article.
Study: Gastric Bypass Reduces Stroke Risk by 42 Percent
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 9:41
Those who undergo gastric bypass reduce their stroke risk by 42 percent. The finding from research at the Cleveland Clinic also shows that these patients also reduce their risk of experiencing a heart attack by 40 percent. “This study emphasizes that gastric bypass dramatically changes the trajectory of many chronic diseases associated with diabetes and improves multiple cardiovascular risk factors in the long term,” said the study’s co-author. Click here to read the full article.
High Blood Pressure Linked to Alzheimer’s Biomarker Found in Spinal Fluid
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 13:00
According to research published in a recent issue of Neurology, middle-aged people with a high blood pressure measure called pulse pressure are more likely to have biomarkers of Alzhiemer’s disease in their spinal fluid than those who have lower pulse pressure. Pulse pressure is said to increase with age and is a sign of an aging vascular system. “These results suggest that the forces involved in blood circulation may be related to the development of the hallmark Alzheimer’s disease signs that cause loss of brain cells,” says the study author. Click here to read the details of the study.
Ted Talk: What We’re Learning from 5,000 Brains
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 10:31
From Ted.com: Mice, bugs and hamsters are no longer the only way to study the brain. Functional MRI (fMRI) allows scientists to map brain activity in living, breathing, decision-making human beings. Read Montague gives an overview of how this technology is helping us understand the complicated ways in which we interact with each other. What does “normal behavior” look like? To find out, Read Montague is imaging thousands of brains at work. Click here if you are unable to view the video above.