Veterinarians at the Cambridge Veterinary School took cells from the dog’s nose and injected them into his ailing spinal cord. The New York Daily News reported that nose cells were used because they encourage the growth of new nerve fibers in the spinal cord. Henry had lost the ability to walk at the end of last year when discs between the vertebrae in his spine ruptured. It was also reported that certain species of canines have an increased risk of spinal cord injuries, so they make good candidates for exploration of experimental treatments.

Scientists had previously reported success with the nose cell technique in experiments with rats, which inspire professors Nick Jeffrey and Robin Franklin to attempt the experimental procedure on the dachshund. The scientists hope to eventually use the procedure to treat human patients with severe spinal cord injuries.

In addition to the medical treatment, Henry received physiotherapy and rehabilitation on a treadmill. Only a month after getting the nose cell treatment, Henry was able to walk again. The poor little puppy was reportedly downtrodden and depressed before he received the procedure. Afterward, his owner reported signs of the dog’s returning happiness.

Sarah Beech, the owner of the lucky dachshund, was amazed by the miraculous results of the veterinary treatment. She was quoted in the New York Daily News article saying, “It’s incredible,” Henry’s owner, Sarah Beech, told the Daily Mail. “I didn’t think Henry would ever be able to walk again, but over the last few months, he has been wagging his tail and taking small steps.”

The news of such rapid success in reversing Henry’s paralysis should bring hopeful expectation to the many spinal cord injury patients waiting for such amazing treatments to be made available to humans. With all the recent advances in spinal cord injury treatments, it seems only a matter of time before paralysis is seen as a temporary, instead of irreversible, condition.

(pic from flickr.com/photos/franklin_hunting)

One patient, 20-year-old quadriplegic Amanda Perla, was mentioned in the article as being able to stand by herself with the help of a metal bar. Two years ago, Amanda was paralyzed in a tragic car accident on her prom night. She was told by doctors she would never walk again and would be bound to a powered wheelchair for the rest of her life, but six months later, with the help of the Step Up Recovery Center, she has transitioned to a manually powered wheelchair.

The owner and founder of the Step Up Recovery Center, Amanda Perla’s mother Liza Reidel, opened up the center as her response to the hopelessness and lack of available treatment options presented to her daughter by doctors. At the center, spinal cord injury recovery specialists prompt patients to get up out of their wheelchairs and perform “aggressive exercise and repetitive motions” in an attempt to “reorganize the nervous system,” the article read.

While some doctors have criticized the recovery center for providing false hope to its patients, the goals of the center are to “help patients regain function,” and to “possibly even walk again.” Although Amanda Perla is still bound to a wheelchair, she noted that she has already recovered beyond the expectations of her doctors, and she believes that with further treatment and rehabilitation she will walk again some day.

Clients at the recovery center undergo three-hour therapy sessions three or four times a week. While critics worry about giving patients false hope, the center advocates progressive action in the face of an otherwise dreary prognosis. It is a progressive advance to offer movement therapy and physical rehabilitation attempts to patients who would otherwise have resigned themselves to life in wheelchairs with no hope.

Although patients at the center have yet to walk again after paralysis, the increased movement and deliberate exercise is something the patients would not otherwise be exposed to, and in that sense, it provides a positive option where one did not previously exist.

(pic from flickr.com/photos/meanestindian)

Of the seven risks mentioned on the site, infection and death, blood loss and nerve damage, and Hepatitis or HIV infection are among the more serious dangers associated with oral piercing. Another health website, YgoY, reported on the possibly fatal dangers of tongue piercing back in December of 2007. In addition to mentioning the possibility of serious brain infection, the YgoY article also noted the potential for heart valve damage, blood poisoning, and speech impediments.

The BBC article discussed the more common dangers of tongue piercing, including oral infections, chipped teeth, recession of gum lines, and problems with uncontrolled bleeding. Professional piercers pointed out that using proper procedures and maintaining hygienic after-care protocols rarely lead to any complications, much less death from brain abscesses and infections.

Tongue piercing remains both widely popular and controversial. The BBC article named Mel B of the Spice Girls and Princess Anna’s daughter Zara Phillips among the celebrities with tongue piercings.

The scientific advisor to the British Dental Association, professor Damien Walmsley, told the BBC News, “Piercing of oral sites also carries with it a risk of infection. The clear message is that oral piercing is ill advised and should be avoided.” The Dental Health Site article also recommended caution and advised avoidance of tongue piercing altogether.

While the death of the Israeli man from brain abscesses due to complications with his tongue piercing is a rare case, the severity of it may make many consumers more cautious about getting an oral piercing. For many, the risk of brain damage and death may be enough to scare them away from the cosmetic procedure, while for others, the piercing will still be worth the risk.

(pic from wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons)

The article did also note that the study released in the October 13 edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology did not reveal an overall link between cell phone use and brain cancer. However, many trusted and respected studies reviewed in the current research have shown associations between instances of brain tumors and cell phone use.

The director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the University of Berkeley, Joel Moskowitz, also served as the study’s senior author. He told MedicineNet that, “clearly there is risk.” Moskowitz recommended that children either be required to use a headset when using cell phones, or not be allowed to use the phones at all. He admonished, “It seems fairly derelict of us as a society or as a planet to just disseminate this technology to the extent that we have without doing a whole lot more research of the potential harms and how to protect against those harms. Clearly, we need to learn a whole lot more about this technology.”

Industry representative John Walls of CTIA-The Wireless Association pointed out that the American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the National Cancer Institute do not recognize any risk or danger associated with the use of cell phones.

The current study was composed of data gathered by searching medical databases and compiling the results of 23 studies involving over 37,000 participants. The entire group of studies taken as a whole did not show any statistical risk of increased cancer danger, but a set of more rigorous studies, conducted mainly by a group of Swedish scientists, showed an 18% increased risk of brain tumors in cell phone users who had been using their phones for 10 years or more.

Not surprisingly, a set of industry-consortium-funded studies, when analyzed separately, showed that cell phones had a protective effect on the brain. While the current study as a whole did not reveal massive and imminent danger, the scientists involved encouraged serious caution and the use of hands-free devices while more studies are conducted. Moskowitz also mentioned the possibility of danger to the genitals from keeping cell phones in pockets.

Since such a huge portion of the human population on the planet use cell phones, the scientists and researchers involved in producing the current research are pushing for more rigorous and comprehensive research on the long-term health effects of cell phone usage before making any conclusions about the safety of the technology. Buyer beware.

(pic from flickr.com/photos/ksiniy)

The bill, if passed, would require all Americans to obtain health insurance, and would issue penalties to those who did not obtain it. Maine’s senator, Olympia J. Snowe, is the only republican senator on the committee who voted in favor of the health care reform bill. Snowe also helped by adding an amendment to the bill to reduce the penalties recommended for those who did not obtain health insurance in time, according to a Washington Times article. The amendment to reduce penalties was passed unanimously by the committee.

Since the bill was not stalled by the Senate Finance Committee, it now remains in the hands of the Senate to determine whether or not it will move closer to becoming law in a vote expected to occur later this month.

Republicans used the AHIP report to bolster their case against what some have termed, “Obamacare.” Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, told USA Today that the health care plan in question will lead to, “higher premiums, higher taxes, and more government.” Senator Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va said to USA Today that, “The [insurance] industry stands today as the greatest impediment to health care reform.”

The AHIP, who commissioned the controversial report, responded by saying, “We don’t see comprehensive cost control in any piece of legislation.”

While the Senate Finance Committee passed the healthcare reform bill on Tuesday, there still remains much work and compromise between democrats and republicans before a bill will be voted on and agreed upon between both the Senate and House of Representatives. They will all have to come to an agreement or a compromise before any serious overhaul of the health care system will be possible.

If passed into law, the bill passed to the Senate by the Senate Finance Committee would extend health insurance coverage to the over 30 million Americans currently without health insurance. The over 20 million illegal immigrants currently working in the United States would still remain without health insurance, as article in the Guardian reported.

The Senate Finance bill will cost $829 billion over ten years if passed into law, and will require all individuals to purchase health care if it costs 8% or less of their total income, and it will offer tax credits to individuals and families under 400% of the poverty line. The bill will also disallow insurance companies from denying coverage to or charging higher premiums for pre-existing conditions or gender.

The details of other proposed healthcare legislation currently being considered in various parts of congress, including President Obama’s personal recommendations, can be found in this article published in the New York Times.

(pic from metric.files.wordpress.com)

The Boston Globe also mentioned a University of North Carolina study saying that players who had suffered multiple concussions had “several times more prevalence of cognitive impairment” than those players who had never suffered brain injuries. The Boston Globe reported that 1.14 million kids play high school football and 3.2 million more play in youth leagues. New studies continue to be released revealing the serious danger inherent to the violent crashes between players in the sport.

Since it seems that football is not going to stop being a hugely popular sport, parents of young athletes are faced with the task of making the sport somehow safer for their young boys, or removing them from the sport altogether. After all, no matter how glorious it may feel to win games and make fantastic plays, living with degenerative brain disorder with a failing memory in a wheelchair is not glorious at all.

One solution some coaches and parents agree on is to not let boys continue playing after a concussion or head injury occurs until the child’s brain has had time to heal. The Globe article reported on a study from the journal Brain Injury that said 16% of student players in high school were returned to play after losing consciousness during a game. They added that most high school games do not have a certified athletic trainer in attendance on the sidelines.

A Harvard epidemiologist said to the Globe that the NFL should use footage of plays when injuries occur to make rule changes to ensure the safety of all players. Scientists at Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy told the Globe of incidents of degenerative brain disease in 18-year-old football players. They added that the brain continues to mature and develop well into the 20s and that football will have to change to make it safer for the youth.

60 Minutes reported that the impacts between football players, who can run at up to 20 miles per hour, are akin to a car hitting a brick wall at 40 miles per hour. Unfortunately, human heads are much more delicate than car bumpers. As the studies pile up that prove how dangerous football can be to the brains of the players, one must wonder what changes, if any, will be made to the sport to protect its players from serious injury.

Many times, athletes and their coaches and families are unaware that their brains have suffered serious injuries. Since degenerative brain disease eats away at brain cells slowly over time, it is easy to mistake the symptoms for psychological disorders or other issues. It is not until after a person dies and an autopsy is done on their brain that traumatic brain injuries and subsequent degeneration are revealed. Some scientists are working to improve diagnostic tools to better identify serious brain injuries in living patients while successful treatment remains possible.

It seems that football’s popularity will continue to remain high, but with 60 Minutes reporting that “sports related concussions are an epidemic in this country,” one can only hope that parents take the lead in keeping their children’s developing brains safe from traumatic brain injuries, and that NFL players and coaches will take the hint and stop putting players with concussions back in the game.

Each player has to ask himself, “Is it worth losing my brain functions later in life to continue playing now?” If the answer is no, changes to the game and how concussions are dealt with will have to be made.

(pic from flickr.com/photos/aheram)

Investigators told the Lincoln Journal Star that the young Alexis Verzal’s injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome and that Alexis may have been thrown. The day care provider is currently awaiting trial and claimed that the injury was the result of an accident. Tiffany Verzal and her husband Brandon were initially told to take their daughter home and wait to see if her condition improved. Lucky for their daughter, they didn’t take the advice. Instead, they searched all over the country for the best rehabilitation center they could find.

The couple put their daughter into rehabilitation at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. After spending many hours and days around the staff and other patients at the hospital, Tiffany started documenting her daughter’s progress with a video camera she borrowed from a social worker who was there to gather evidence for the trial. At first, Brandon Verzal questioned the filming, but he eventually went along with the idea. The couple both had worked for a sports television show as part of Texas A & M.

The filming extended to other patients in the rehabilitation center and eventually became a full-length documentary. The film, called Pathways: from brain injury to hope, consists of the paths of rehabilitation of four patients of different ages as they recover from different types of brain injuries. One of the patients, of course, is young Tiffany Verzal.

The documentary had its premiere in Nebraska on Tuesday, October 12, and will be showing at film festivals for the rest of the year and beyond.
While the sometimes grueling rehabilitation process from Tiffany has taken over 18 months and will continue on indefinitely, the Verzals told the Lincoln Journal Star that they would be willing to spend the next 20 years helping their daughter recover from her brain injury.

The process of rehabilitation opened the Verzal’s eyes to all new ways of looking at brain injuries. Instead of constantly wondering what it is that their daughter would never be able to do again, they now focus on doing all they can to expand her possibilities.

With surgical facilities in Tampa, Florida and Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as consultation facilities in San Diego, California and The Villages, Florida, LSI performs endoscopic outpatient procedures to correct painful spinal issues stemming from bulging and herniated discs, pinched nerves, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, foraminal stenosis, bone spurs, spinal arthritis, and failed open back or neck surgeries.

The AAAHC conducted their usual two-day rigorous on-site survey and both the Tampa and Scottsdale facilities and required LSI to undergo a self-assessment of all of their procedures, policies, and processes. The AAAHC found that LSI met or exceeded all the qualifications necessary for them to receive the highly coveted accreditation.

The LSI facility in Scottsdale has four cutting edge operating rooms, and the Tampa flagship facility has seven. Both locations also provide patient access to MRI, radiology, physical therapy, and examination rooms with state of the art technology and equipment.

All of the surgeries performed at LSI facilities require an incision less than one inch long. Patients undergo examination, surgery, and recovery all at the same location. The PRNewswire release said, “From pre-operative imaging and diagnostic testing, to endoscopic laser surgery and post-operative physical therapy, patients receive the highest quality care combined with the most advanced treatments.”

Cheryl Harper, a former patient of LSI and mother of two young boys had only glowing praise for the treatment she received at the LSI facility. She was quoted in the article as saying, “The pain took over my life from morning to night. I have two little boys and I was always tired. After surgery, I feel like I’ve added 10 to 20 years onto my life. Now I’m active and spending time with my family, especially my two little boys.”

Potential patients of LSI who suffer from back or neck pain can get more information by visiting LSI’s website at http://www.laserspineinstitute.com or by calling 1-877-205-7498.

(pic from flickr.com/photos/andreanna)

The drug Kreipke was testing in animal trials is Clazosentan. It proved successful in the animal studies at preventing vasospasms blood vessel constrictions in the brain, which occur when the head has been impacted in an accident or other trauma.

Kollipara was extremely excited to have such a unique opportunity to observe up close the kinds of work she is looking forward to after another decade or so of schooling. She told the Chicago Tribune that her father’s death of lung cancer two years ago cemented her lifelong wish to become a brain surgeon. She said it has always been her dream to go into the medical field, but she knew for certain she would pursue it after her father died.

Over the course of Kreipke’s Clazosentan study, Kollipara was able to observe the surgeries the scientist performed on lab animals. She was also enlisted to assist Kreipke in the behavioral study portion of the research to measure the effectiveness of the novel drug.

Kreipke reported to the Tribune that he had a lot of trouble choosing a major and a career path - he changed his major seven times before completing his studies - so he was more than happy to grant Kollipara the chance to witness his research, since she knew exactly what career path she wanted to pursue, even at such a young age.

While other high schoolers go out partying or searching for minimum wage jobs, Kollipara was granted the opportunity to get a head start on her way to her dream career as a neurosurgeon.

(pic from ucdmc.ucdavis.edu)

The team of scientists at UCL used an injection of a tiny electrical current through the scalps and into the brains of 14 study participants while the subjects moved a spot around a computer screen. The subjects were instructed to move the spot around the screen with a joystick as fast as they could.
The specific current employed by the scientists increased the normal beta brainwave activity in the subjects’ brains. Beta brainwaves have been linked in previous studies to prolonged muscle activities, such as holding up a book, the article reported.

The new study differed from similar studies in the past in that the scientists used an oscillating current similar to the currents in operation in normal brain activity. In earlier studies, constant brain stimulation current has been employed. Although the participants were unable to sense the tiny electrical current, the effects is produced were profound. The participants’ fastest times recorded on the computer and joystick task were 10% slower when the electrical current was administered.

Earlier studies have also shown that altered brain waves have an effect on memory, but not until this groundbreaking study has it been demonstrated conclusively that a causal link between and increase in beta waves and the slowing of voluntary movement in all study participants. The researchers hope their findings will lead to possible treatments for conditions that involve slowed or uncontrolled movements., perhaps even those caused by traumatic brain injuries.

Brown was further quoted in the article as saying, “If we know what patterns of brain activity slow voluntary movement, then we can try and boost these patterns in conditions like chorea and dystonia, where there is excessive and uncontrolled movement,” … “Conversely, we can try and suppress beta activity in conditions like Parkinson’s disease typified by slow movement.”

(pic from zatma.org)