brain injury Archives - Amazing Health Advances

‘There’s Something Wrong with Me’: Domestic Abuse Victims Could Have Traumatic Brain Injuries

AHA Publisher — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 07:00:24 +0000

Lorie Johnson via CBN News – Domestic violence is a terrible crime, often leading to a lifetime of emotional and physical scars. That can include traumatic brain injuries, which often go undetected. Now a growing number of domestic abuse advocates are trying to change that. Paula’s Story Like many domestic violence victims, Paula Walters has been hit in the head more times than she can count. “Not just the slaps to the head,” she told CBN News, “But it was physically, him pounding my head against the cement and the tile floor. ” Unfortunately, that cruel treatment was all too familiar for Paula. “I was a child abuse victim, so I didn’t see anything very wrong with what he did,” she said. It wasn’t unusual for Paula to be hit in the head multiple times in one day, something other abuse victims often report. “In the car, if he was mad, hit me across the head if I said something, mouthed off or anything,” Paula said. “He had a pole, it was that long, and he’d hit me in the head, especially in the back, and the neck.” Paula left her abuser decades ago. She’s in a safe, healthy relationship now. Through her nonprofit organization, The Courageous Survivor she tries to educate and empower other abuse victims. However, despite her progress, Paula still suffers from brain-related repercussions from her years of abuse, such as sensitivity to light and sound, dizziness, and more. “My memory, I have a really hard time,” she said, “Tell me something, to go to the store to get two items, and I’ll get there and can’t remember the two items.” A doctor’s visit and an MRI revealed Paula suffered from extensive brain damage which is likely permanent and could cause her increasing difficulty as she ages. “He still controls my life very much,” she said, “My life might end early because of him. I have to worry about, I might not get to see my grandkids potentially because of him and there’s nothing I can do.” Not Just Football Players About 15 years ago, doctors discovered football players who were repeatedly hit in the head, often developed the brain disease called CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalitis. Now, researchers are taking a closer look at domestic violence victims who have been repeatedly hit in the head to determine whether they too may have CTE or other types of brain injuries. These diseases can cause personalities to change, steal memories, and lead to early death. Lee Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher and clinical team leader at the Boston University CTE Center told CBN News, “What happens over time is that these repetItive injuries, these repetitive insults to the brain, accumulate, cause damage to the brain, and then trigger a neurodegenerative disease that then progresses over time, even in the absence of further insults.” Dr. Goldstein emphasizes CTE can occur in people who have never sustained a concussion, but who instead have repeatedly been hit in the head, regardless of whether any of the blows caused a concussion. Researchers are reportedly close to developing a test to diagnose CTE in people who are alive, but right now, the only way to determine whether a person definitely had CTE is to examine their brain after their death. “Unfortunately at the present time we have no way to definitively diagnose CTE in living persons at this point,” said Dr. Goldstein. Scientists at the B.U. CTE Center have confirmed CTE in the donated brains of over a thousand people, mostly deceased football players, who exhibited CTE symptoms while they were still alive. “The forgetfulness, the changes in behavior, the changes in mood, the changes in personality, and often aggression, violence, homicide, suicide, and the like,” Dr. Goldstein explained. The B.U. CTE Center has also confirmed CTE in a small number of brains from battered women, mainly due to lack of access. “Intimate partner abuse, or domestic violence, we have far fewer individuals who have donated with this type of a background, so we’re in really urgent need,” explained Dr. Goldstein, adding, “The donations are essential not only for helping the next person down the line who may be at risk for this, but also to help families understand what was going on with their loved one.” Making the Connection Surprisingly, until very recently, it didn’t occur to many in the medical community, victim advocates, and abused women themselves, that repeated hits to the head were likely causing traumatic brain injuries. “We have to start connecting domestic violence and brain injury,” Rachel Ramirez, LISW-S, RA, the Founder and Director of The Center on Partner-Inflicted Brain Injury, a project of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, is one of the few to research this connection. “One of the most important revelations we found,” she told CBN News, “is how common hits to the head are. We’ve known that, but connecting hits to the head with the possible consequence of brain injury is something that seems kind of obvious after the fact,” she said, but nevertheless, “Brain injury never played a part of that conversation.” Now that the connection between domestic abuse victims who’ve been repeatedly hit in the head and traumatic brain injury has been made, Ramirez is trying to raise awareness among people best positioned to help victims. “The first person they reach out to when they’re struggling with abuse, it’s not us,” she said, “They’re not calling our hotlines. They’re talking to your viewers. They’re talking to their friends, they’re talking to their families, they’re talking to their pastor.” Recognizing the risk of permanent brain injury from domestic abuse could potentially motivate more victims to leave dangerous partners, get medical attention, and stop blaming themselves for the symptoms they’re experiencing such as depression, difficulty remembering, and trouble with problem-solving. Ramirez said domestic violence victims often know “there’s something wrong,” but generally keep it to themselves and, “often attribute that to either a psychological issue, to, ‘There’s something wrong with me,’ to, ‘I’m stupid. I’m crazy.'” Shelters Now Getting Involved When women gather the strength to seek help from domestic abuse shelters, more of the people who work at these help centers are beginning to consider the possibility that the women coming to them could be suffering from traumatic brain injury. One of those is Samaritan House, which provides emergency and permanent housing, support services and community outreach to victims of violence in the Hampton Roads, Virginia region. “We do assessments for every woman who comes into our program, and ask her some survey questions, to see what types of injuries she’s had, or symptoms she’s had, from possibly being punched in the head, or slapped or hit, where she could have some traumatic brain injury from that,” Robin Gauthier, Samaritan House Executive Director told CBN News. Those questions include inquiries about physical health, such as whether the woman has experienced headaches, dizziness, and vision problems, mental health, concerning problems with memory, concentration, and staying organized. Emotions also play a part, including irritability, nervousness and depression. “It’s a very scary situation to think someone is being hurt so badly that they could get a traumatic brain injury,” Gauthier said, “Why are perpetrators being allowed to abuse, and why aren’t they going to jail more often for longer lengths of time so they don’t continue to cumulatively hurt other people?” Counting the number of domestic abuse victims with brain injuries is difficult. Many choose to suffer in silence. Those who seek medical treatment often minimize their injuries or lie about how they got them. “Sometimes women carry so much shame they don’t want to tell anyone,” Gauthier explained, “And then the other thing is sometimes it’s dangerous if they do tell what’s going on, and then they’re going back home to that abuser, they’re going to get hurt even worse.” “The damage is done,” Walters said, “I don’t get to take a pill and have it better.” While treatments for brain injuries are limited, some can get better, especially when identified early. Some things that help are lots of rest, a healthy diet, and most importantly, avoiding future head injuries. To read the original article click here.

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Heartbeat Can Help Detect Signs of Consciousness in Patients After a Coma

AHA Publisher — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 07:00:23 +0000

L’Université de Liège via Newswise – A new study conducted jointly by the University of Liege (Belgium) and the Ecole normale superieure – PSL (France) shows that heart brain interactions, measured using electroencephalography (EEG), provide a novel diagnostic avenue for patients with disorders of consciousness. This study is published in the Journal of Neuroscience. Catherine Tallon-Baudry (ENS, CNRS) introduces : “The scientific community already knew that in healthy participants, the brain’s response to heartbeats is related to perceptual, bodily and self-consciousness. We now show that we can obtain clinically meaningful information if we probe this interaction in patients with disorders of consciousness.” In the past decades several important improvements for the diagnosis of these patients have been made, yet, it remains a big challenge to measure self-consciousness in these patients that cannot communicate. For their study, the researchers included 68 patients with a disorder of consciousness. Fifty-five patients suffered from the minimally conscious state, and showed fluctuating but consistent signs of consciousness but were unable to communicate, and 13 patients in the unresponsive wakefulness state (previously called vegetative state) who do not show any behavioural sign of awareness. These patients were diagnosed using the coma recovery scale-revised, a standardized clinical test to assess conscious behaviour. “As these patients suffered from severe brain injury, they might be unable to show behavioural signs of awareness. Therefore, we also based our diagnosis on the brain’s metabolism as probe for consciousness. This is a state-of-the art neuroimaging technique that helps to improve the diagnosis of patients with disorders of consciousness. Although these scans are very informative, they can only be acquired in specialized centers,” says Jitka Annen (GIGA Consciousness, ULiege). The researchers recorded brain activity during resting state (i.e. without specific task or stimulation). They selected EEG segments right after a heartbeat and EEG segments at random timepoints (i.e. not time-locked to a heartbeat). They then used machine learning algorithms to classify (or diagnose) patients into the two diagnostic groups. Diego Candia-Rivera (ENS) further comments: “EEG segments not locked to heartbeats were informative to predict if a patient was conscious or not, but EEG segments locked to heartbeats were more accurate in doing so. Our results indicate that the heartbeat evoked potential can give us supplementary evidence for the presence of consciousness.” It is important to note that the heartbeat evoked responses were more in accordance with the diagnosis based on brain metabolism than the diagnosis based on behavioural assessment. It seems therefore that the heartbeat evoked response can be used to measure a perspective of self-consciousness that is not assessed successfully using behavioural tools. “The next challenge is to translate our findings to clinical applications so that all patients with disorders of consciousness can benefit from better diagnosis using widely available bedside assessment technologies,” concludes Steven Laureys, head of GIGA Consciousness research unit and Centre du Cerveau (ULiege, CHU Liege).

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Lack of Sleep and Stress Can Lead to Symptoms Resembling Concussion

AHA Publisher — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 08:00:12 +0000

Ohio State University via EurekAlert – COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study suggests that a lot of people might be going through life with symptoms that resemble concussion – a finding supporting researchers’ argument that athletes recovering from a brain injury should be assessed and treated on a highly individualized basis. In the national study, between 11% and 27% of healthy college athletes with no history of a recent concussion reported combinations of symptoms that met criteria for post-concussion syndrome (PCS) as defined by an international classification system. Among the nearly 31,000 student-athletes surveyed, three factors stood out as the most likely to predict PCS-like symptoms: lack of sleep, pre-existing mental health problems and stress. The participants were cadets from four U.S. military service academies – who undergo rigorous training and are required to participate in athletics – and students who competed in NCAA sports at 26 U.S. higher education institutions. Beyond the substantial numbers of students who reported clusters of PCS-like symptoms, between one-half and three-quarters of all of the athletes surveyed reported one or more symptoms commonly experienced by people who’ve had a concussion, the most common being fatigue or low energy and drowsiness. “The numbers were high, and were consistent with previous research in this area, but it is quite shocking,” said study lead author Jaclyn Caccese, assistant professor in The Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. “These are elite athletes who are physically fit, and they are experiencing that many symptoms commonly reported following concussion. So looking across the general population, they’d probably have even more.” It’s important to understand that there are multiple sources of these symptoms, researchers say, so that student-athletes’ post-concussion care zeroes in on symptoms caused by the injury. In addition, knowing athletes’ medical history and baseline symptom status may help clinicians predict which pre-existing factors could contribute to a slower recovery from a concussion. “When a patient comes into a clinic and they are a month or more out from their most recent concussion, we need to know what symptoms they were experiencing before their concussion to know if their symptoms are attributable to their concussion or something else. Then we can start treating the concussion-related symptoms to hopefully help people recover more quickly,” Caccese said. This study, published last week in the journal Sports Medicine, was conducted by the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium established by the NCAA and U.S. Department of Defense. Caccese completed the research while she was a PhD student and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware, a consortium member institution. The initiative is designed to fill gaps in knowledge about concussion effects and recovery among student-athletes at colleges, universities and military service academies by collecting and analyzing data on men and women who compete in a range of sports and undergo military training. Participants in this study included 12,039 military service academy cadets and 18,548 NCAA student-athletes who completed the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool symptom evaluation as part of the consortium’s baseline testing. The consortium also collected demographic data and personal and family medical histories from participants. Statistical analyses showed which factors in athletes’ medical histories were most closely associated with reports of symptoms that aligned with PCS criteria. Among cadets, 17.8% of men and 27.6% of women reported a cluster of symptoms that met PCS criteria. Among NCAA athletes, 11.4% of men and 20% of women reported combined symptoms that mimicked the PCS criteria. (Caccese said the varied timing of data collection at military service academies compared to NCAA preseason testing likely contributed to the symptoms reported by a higher percentage of cadets.) For both groups, sleep problems – and particularly insufficient sleep the night before the test – and pre-existing psychiatric disorders were the most predictive conditions, and a history of migraines also contributed to symptoms that met PCS criteria. In cadets, academic problems and being a first-year student increased odds of having symptoms that met PCS criteria, and in NCAA athletes, a history of ADHD or depression contributed to meeting PCS criteria. The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision uses the term post-concussion syndrome for persistent symptoms following concussion, although the cause or causes of these symptoms can be difficult to determine. Symptoms range from persistent headaches, dizziness and fatigue to anxiety, insomnia and loss of concentration and memory. A complicating factor with high symptom reporting is that recognizing concussion and determining return to play is based on reported symptoms. And while some symptoms may be more closely connected to concussion than others – such as dizziness, pressure in the head, or sensitivity to light or noise – others, like fatigue, drowsiness and even headaches, can be linked to a variety of causes. “Perhaps we can create a battery of symptoms more specific to concussion,” Caccese said. “That is another project in this series – trying to see if there are groups of symptoms or specific symptoms that may be more able to identify individuals with concussion.” The CARE Consortium also aims to identify factors that will help predict outcomes in student-athletes and cadets who suffer concussions. “This hopefully not only shows clinicians that we need to consider how people would have presented before injury, but also provides some normative data so they can interpret other patients’ data,” Caccese said. “We really don’t know a lot about why people have persistent symptoms, and it seems to be very variable. So we’re trying to understand this better to help predict who will have a prolonged recovery, and who will not.” To read the original article click here.

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Brain Detox: Is It Time for a Cleanse? (Plus How to Do It)

AHA Publisher — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 08:00:58 +0000

Jillian Levy, CHHC via Dr. Axe – Your liver and kidneys might normally get all the credit when it comes to detoxification, but did you know that your body also has another extensive system in place that helps detoxify your brain? If you’re wondering what a “brain detox” is all about — or “how can I clean my brain?” — you’ve come to the right place. Below we cover what exactly a brain detox entails, whether or not you really require one to maintain normal brain activity, and tips for boosting your mental health even if you don’t want to actually do a “cleanse.” What Is the Glymphatic System? The glymphatic system refers to the system of blood vessels in the body that removes waste products from the brain and central nervous system. The glymphatic system is most active while you sleep, which is why getting a good night’s rest is imperative for feeling mentally sharp. How does the glymphatic system work? This system depends on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which enters spaces next to smaller blood vessels that lead to the brain. CSF interchanges with interstitial fluid, the fluid surrounding the brain cells. This helps form a glymphatic vasculature that “detoxifies” the brain by collecting waste, such as proteins (including the protein called beta-amyloid, which may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease), metabolites, toxins, etc. This system then carries this waste away from your brain and through your body so it can be dispelled. While we’re sleeping, there is increased glymphatic activity due to greater availability of space between interstitial and cerebrospinal fluid. Exercise can also boost glymphatic activity, according to some studies. When the glymphatic system becomes disrupted, it’s thought that this can contribute to some diseases of the brain, as well as symptoms like brain fog and poor memory. Researchers now believe that a well-functioning “clearance system” in the nervous system is critical for prevention of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease and ALS. Many experts believe that your brain’s glymphatic system may need to work harder if you’re exposed to many toxins, especially over a long period of time. Toxin exposure that affects the brain can be caused by: Eating a highly processed diet with inflammatory foods High intake of alcohol Drug and tobacco use Use of some medications Exposure to foreign substances, such as heavy metals and environmental pollutants While not a toxin, sleep deprivation is also linked to impaired mental capabilities. Aging also disrupts glymphatic function, such as by decreasing CSF and blood flow to the brain/pulsing of the arteries, although healthy habits can help slow this down. What Is a Brain Detox/Brain Cleanse? A brain detox, or brain cleanse, is intended to help protect against neurodegenerative diseases and decrease symptoms related to poor brain function. Why do people try brain cleanses? Usually to help manage symptoms such as: Fatigue Brain fog Anxiety Depression Memory loss Brain injury and stroke Addictions This type of cleanse usually involves steps such as prioritizing sleep, taking certain supplements that may help support brain function, eating an anti-inflammatory diet, exercising and fasting if appropriate. While all of these habits can be beneficial for overall mental and physical well-being, most experts don’t believe that a strict “brain cleanse” is actually necessary to support healthy cognitive function. Instead, consistently leading a healthy lifestyle seems to offer the most benefits and protection against mental/cognitive health issues. How to Detox Your Brain How do you do a mental detox? Here’s how to detox your brain according to research regarding mental health: 1. Get Enough Sleep Getting enough sleep each night is one of the best ways to support your brain’s natural detoxification processes. Most adults need about seven to nine hours of sleep per night to operate at their best. Here are tips for helping you get the best sleep you can: Go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time every day, including on the weekends/your days off. This helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which controls your energy, motivation, appetite and more. Sleep in a very dark and cool room. Try white noise to help drown out disturbances. Read something relaxing to calm your mind. If racing thoughts keep you up, try journaling before bed. Establish a bedtime routine that is calming, such as by taking a warm shower, stretching, lighting candles, etc. Exercise during the day to help you sleep better at night. Close to bedtime, try gentler activities that won’t keep you awake, such as light yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises. Spend time outdoors each day in the sun and in nature, which is beneficial for boosting vitamin D levels, relaxation and controlling stress. Consider trying supplements, such as melatonin (which should be used short term), 5HTP, and herbs like valerian root, kava and ashwagandha. 2. Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet Due to the gut-brain connection, your diet plays a pivotal role in managing your cognitive health. Gut-related and intestinal problems, such as leaky gut syndrome, can increase inflammation, which can alter how well your organs work, including the brain, and can contribute to issues such as depression, fatigue, anxiety and lack of concentration/focus. Your brain needs a steady supply of nutrients — including protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and essential vitamins and minerals — for you to feel your best. Emphasize these “brain foods” in your diet in order to fight free radical damage and boost your nutrient intake: Vegetables, such as leafy greens, beets, broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, etc. (fruits and veggies are both high in bioflavonoids, carotenes, polyphenols, thiols, anthocyanins, and other vitamins and minerals that fight free radical damage) Fresh fruits, including berries, oranges, etc. Herbs and spices, such as ginger, turmeric, garlic, rosemary, etc. Fermented, probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut Nuts and seeds Legumes and beans Complex carbs like whole grains and sweet potatoes Grass-fed meats Wild-caught fish, including salmon, sardines and mackerel Pastured poultry and free-range eggs Foods high in copper, vitamin C and manganese, which are all important for their roles in detoxification, such as citrus fruits, berries, leafy greens, mushrooms, organ meats, spirulina and algae Healthy fats, such as avocados, olive oil, coconut oil and grass-fed butter You also want to drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated, which is important for supporting your lymphatic system and keeping your energy up, in addition to green tea, herbal tea and and coffee In addition to eating a diet that includes lots of foods with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic effects, you want to avoid foods that can aggravate inflammation, autoimmune reactions and oxidative stress. These include processed meats, foods with processed vegetable oils and trans fats, added sugar, and highly processed foods in general. You may want to consider trying an elimination diet if you deal with digestive issues, brain fog or acid reflux/heartburn. If this sounds like you, it may help to avoid these aggravating foods: Large and heavy meals, especially close to bedtime Spicy and acidic foods, such as citrus fruits, vinegars and peppers Caffeine from coffee and chocolate Alcohol Mint 3. Exercise There’s some evidence suggesting that exercise may increase glymphatic activity and also improve brain plasticity, which plays a role in learning and memory. Additionally, exercise can help you cope with stress, sleep more deeply and have more energy in general. Most adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, which can be divided into shorter sessions. High intensity exercise (HIIT workouts) can also benefit brain health in various ways, such as by increasing blood flow to the brain, supporting mitochondrial function and potentially staving off dementia. Ideally try mixing up your workouts to keep things interesting and to challenge your body, such as by running, lighting weights, walking, hiking, cycling, doing tai chi or yoga, dancing, etc. 4. Intermittent Fast Fasting seems to help protect the brain against neurological diseases by influencing certain proteins involved in brain aging and by decreasing oxidative stress/inflammation. According to BrainFacts.org: In lab animals, fasting, as well as exercise, stimulates the production of a protein in nerve cells called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. This protein plays critical roles in learning, memory, and the generation of new nerve cells in the hippocampus. Its effect on mitochondrial activity also positively affects the brain. Some research, mostly from animal studies, has demonstrated that fasting may help boost working memory, alertness, learning, and can also improve physical performance and energy. 5. Minimize Toxin Exposure While avoiding all chemicals and toxins may not realistic, try to reduce exposure as much as your can, such as by avoiding smoking, drug use and unnecessary medications. Cut back on exposure to contaminants by choosing natural/organic beauty and household products and buying organic food whenever possible. This limits the amount of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals you ingest. If you suspect you’ve been exposed to heavy metals (such as due to eating farmed fish, contaminated water, dental fillings and household products), consider visiting a naturopathic doctor for testing and possible chelation therapy. Your doctor may also recommend detoxifying treatments, such as infrared sauna sessions. 6. Consider Supplements You can help support your body’s natural ability to detox by taking certain nootropics, adaptogenic herbs and supplements that nourish the liver, kidneys, gut and brain. Consider some of the following, based on your goals and current health: Milk thistle for liver support Medicinal mushrooms for general immune support NAD+ for mitochondrial support L-glutamine for gastrointestinal support Vitamin C for antioxidant support Green tea extract for a boost in energy and antioxidant effects Probiotics for gut support and maintaining a healthy microbiome Risks and Side Effects If most of the interventions above are new to you, take things slowly to prevent yourself from feeling overwhelmed. Too much too soon may even wind up making you feel worse before you start feeling better. What are the signs of your body detoxing? While these side effects may not necessarily be caused by a brain detox, generally speaking when you start a new diet, supplement routine or exercise program, you may temporarily deal with side effects such as: Headaches Fatigue and poor sleep Frequent urination Loose stools and digestive upset Cravings for sugary foods and carbs Nausea Muscle aches Irritability These should go away within one to two weeks — however, if they worsen or persist, it’s a good idea to scale back and speak with a doctor. You should also seek your doctor’s advice before beginning a brain detox/cleanse if you have existing health issues, such as liver or kidney disease, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s disease. Conclusion A brain detox, or brain cleanse, is intended to help protect against neurodegenerative diseases and decrease symptoms such as fatigue, moodiness and lack of concentration/focus. A brain detox can help support the glymphatic system, which refers to the system of blood vessels in the body that removes waste products from the brain and central nervous system. Getting enough sleep each night is one of the best ways to support your brain’s natural detoxification process. Other interventions that are included in a brain cleanse/brain detox include eating an anti-inflammatory diet, exercising, fasting, sauna therapy, and taking nootropic and herbal supplements. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

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Newfound Ability to Change Baby Brain Activity Could Lead to Rehabilitation for Injured Brains

AHA Publisher — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 08:00:34 +0000

King’s College London via EurekAlert – Researchers from King’s College London have identified the brain activity for the first time in a newborn baby when they are learning an association between different types of sensory experiences. Using advanced MRI scanning techniques and robotics, the researchers found that a baby’s brain activity can be changed through these associations, shedding new light on the possibility of rehabilitating babies with injured brains and promoting the development of life-long skills such as speech, language and movement. Published recently in Cerebral Cortex, the researcher builds on the fact that learning associations is a very important part of babies’ development but the activity inside the brain that was responsible for learning these associations was unknown and unstudied. Lead researcher, Dr Tomoki Arichi said it is the first time it has been shown that babies’ brain activity can be altered through associative learning – and in particular, brain responses become associated with particular stimuli, in this case, sound. “We also found that when a baby is learning, it actually is activating lots of different parts of the brain, so it is starting to incorporate the ‘wider network’ inside the brain which is important for processing activity,” he said. A total of 24 infants were studied by playing them a sound of a jingling bell for six seconds, coupled with a gentle movement induced by a custom-made 3D printed robot strapped to their right hand. During this time, the resulting brain activity was measured using functional MRI (fMRI). After 20 minutes of learning an association between the two types of stimuli, the babies then just heard the sound on its own and the resulting brain activity was compared to that seen before the period of learning. Dr Arichi said not only do the results provide new information about what is happening inside the normal baby brain when it is learning, but also have implications for the injured brain. If a baby was not capable of processing movement, or movement is not associated with normal activity inside the brain (such might be the case in a baby with cerebral palsy), clinicians could then be able to induce that activity by learning an association with sound, and using the sound simulation to try and amplify and rehabilitate their movement. “With our findings it raises the possibility of trying to do something to help with that through targeted stimulation and learning associations,” Dr Arichi said. “It is possible to induce activity inside the part of the brain that normally processes movement, for instance, just by using a single sound. This could be used in conjunction with rehabilitation or to try and help guide brain development early in life.” When babies are born, they have a new sensory experience around them that is completely different to what they would have been experiencing inside the womb. They must then start to quickly understand their environment and the relationships between different things happening, which is even more important in babies that have injuries to their brain. The researchers sought to understand how babies start to learn these key relationships between different kinds of sensory experiences and how this then contributes to the early stages of overall brain development. “A baby’s brain is constantly learning associations and changing its activity all the time so that it can respond to the new experiences that are around it,” Dr Arichi said. “In terms of influencing patients and interpreting it in a wider context, what it means is that we should be thinking about how we could help with disorders of brain development from a very early stage in life because we know that experience is constantly shaping the newborn brain’s activity.” To read the original article click here.

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Man Walks Out of Hospital After Iron Rod Rams Through Skull

AHA Publisher — Sun, 24 May 2020 07:00:40 +0000

Naama Barak via Israel21c – When I arrived at the trauma room, I saw a man with an iron rod in his head – literally crossing his head from side to side,’ says doctor from Hadassah Medical Center. An Israeli man who was severely injured when an iron rod penetrated through his skull was recently discharged in good shape from the hospital, after multiple surgeries to remove the metal from his head and to repair the damage. “Four weeks ago, on a Friday lunchtime, I went with my brothers to check up how the apartment I’m building for my family is coming along,” recalls Kamel Abdel Rahman, 46, from the Israeli-Arab town of Abu Ghosh outside of Jerusalem. “As I walked around the construction site I slipped and fell from the second floor of the apartment to the first floor, with my head on iron rods.” Abdel Rahman says he couldn’t move so he shouted for help. “I was conscious and didn’t feel any pain; I don’t know how to explain it,” he says. “My brother came and then the rest of the family and all the people who were there. I saw the expressions on their faces and the shock, and I heard them shouting and understood that the situation was grave.” Seeing that his brother was frozen on the spot, “I just started giving him orders. I told him that this wasn’t the time to be in shock and that he needs to call Magen David Adom and fire rescue services because they’d have to cut the iron rod so that I could be evacuated. I was really operating there with full understanding.” Once the emergency medical technicians appeared, they sedated Abdel Rahman and took him to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, where doctors began working on removing the iron rod from his head and stabilizing his condition, which had rapidly deteriorated. “When I arrived at the trauma room I saw a man with an iron rod in his head – literally crossing his head from side to side. After his breathing was stabilized, we conducted various imaging tests to understand the position of the rod, what we had to watch out for, what it had hit and how to remove it,” neurosurgeon Dr. Samuel Moscovici said. “The imaging tests showed that very fortunately the iron entered in between the two important arteries that provide the brain with blood and that it didn’t seem as if they were damaged. Our fear was that there was a tear that we couldn’t see because the rod was blocking it, and that the moment we remove the rod the artery would begin bleeding, which could cause immediate death,” he adds. “After the doctors’ lengthy discussion we decided to carry out the surgery according to the strictest protocols, and in fact prepare for the worst-case scenario that could happen during the operation, in which the artery would tear and the patient would deteriorate.” ‘The patient every surgeon dreams of’ The operation took many hours, during which the medical team removed the rod and carried out a catherization. A few days later, when the swelling reduced, they operated again – this time a complicated endoscopic surgery to repair further damages including leaking cerebrospinal fluid. “After the surgery we were optimistic, but we didn’t know what the level of injury would be and how the patient would wake up. To our happiness, after only two weeks of being treated at neurosurgical intensive care, Kamel woke up and showed vital signs and that everything was working properly and without any leakage,” Moscovici says. “You could certainly say that he was the patient that every surgeon dreams of.” Walking out of the hospital, Abdel Rahman summarized the experience. “I have no words to thank the doctors at Hadassah. They saved my life, my speech and my walking. Those who saw me didn’t believe that I’d live, and those who thought I’d live didn’t believe I’d be standing up on my feet,” he says. “I’ll be thanking them my whole life.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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Seismic Imaging Technology Could Deliver Finely Detailed Images of the Human Brain

AHA Publisher — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 07:00:22 +0000

Imperial College London via EurekAlert – The Imperial College London and UCL researchers say their proof-of-concept study, published today in npj Digital Medicine, paves the way for the development of high-fidelity clinical imaging of the human brain that could be superior to existing technology. Unlike existing brain imaging methods like MRI, CT and PET scanning, the technology could be applied to imaging any patient, and could be suitable for the continuous monitoring of high-dependency patients. It could be delivered by a relatively small device, which would also potentially make it portable via ambulance and enable fast investigation in advance of arrival to hospital. The researchers are confident the technology will be safe as sound waves are already used for ultrasound scanning and this technology uses similar sound intensities. Ultrasound cannot easily penetrate through bone, whereas the new device, which is designed to be worn like a helmet, is able to overcome this barrier. The new approach is of special value in patients investigated for stroke – the second most common cause of death and most common cause of adult neurological disability – where rapid, universally applicable, high-fidelity imaging is essential. Lead author Dr Lluís Guasch, of Imperial’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said: “An imaging technique that has already revolutionised one field – seismic imaging – now has the potential to revolutionise another – brain imaging.” Professor Bryan Williams Director NIHR UCL Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, which partly funded the research, said: “This is an extraordinary and novel development in brain imaging which has huge potential to provide accessible brain imaging in routine clinical practice to evaluate the brain in head trauma, stroke and a variety of brain diseases. “If this lives up to its promise it will be a major advance. It is also a fabulous illustration of how the collaboration between engineers and clinicians, using methods from another sphere of science, can bring ground-breaking innovation into medical care.” Transcending Disciplines Earth scientists use seismic data and a computational technique called full waveform inversion (FWI) to map the inside of the earth. Seismic data from earthquake detectors (seismometers) are plugged into FWI algorithms that extract 3D images of the Earth’s crust that can be used to predict earthquakes and search for reservoirs of oil and gas. Now Imperial researchers have adapted this approach to medical imaging, developing a method that uses sound waves with the ultimate aim of producing high-resolution images of the brain. They built a helmet lined with an array of acoustic transducers that each sends sound waves through the skull. The ultrasound energy that propagates through the head is recorded and fed via the helmet into a computer. FWI is then used to analyse the reverberations of the sound throughout the skull, constructing a 3D image of the interior. The researchers tested their helmet on a healthy volunteer and found that the quality of the recorded signals was sufficient for the algorithm to generate a detailed image, and they are confident the scattered energy from the brain will be interpretable. Using computer modelling, they also found they could obtain high-resolution images with sound frequencies low enough to penetrate the skull at safe intensities. They created detailed computer simulations based on the properties of different types of human brain tissue to establish that sound waves would be effective for composing high-resolution images of the brain. Dr Guasch said: “This is the first time FWI has been applied to the task of imaging inside a human skull. FWI is normally used in geophysics to map the structure of the Earth, but our collaborative, multidisciplinary team of earth scientists, bioengineers and neurologists are using it to create a safe, cheap and portable method of generating 3D ultrasound images of the human brain.” Potential Clinical Use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is generally the best method for obtaining high-resolution images of the brain, and its use is currently essential to the investigation of many neurological disorders including stroke, brain cancer, and brain injury. Nonetheless, MRI requires large, complex, expensive, non-portable machines cooled to three degrees above absolute zero, and it cannot be used on patients for whom the presence of metallic implants or foreign bodies cannot be scrupulously ruled out. This makes emergency use in patients with potentially altered consciousness, such as those suspected of stroke, difficult or impossible. The researchers say that if it proves successful in human trials, their device will overcome these obstacles. Study co-author Professor Parashkev Nachev, of UCL, said: “This is a vivid illustration of the remarkable power of advanced computation in medicine. Combining algorithmic innovation with supercomputing could enable us to retrieve high-resolution images of the brain from safe, relatively simple, well-established physics: the transmission of soundwaves through human tissue. “The practicalities of MRI will always limit its applicability, especially in the acute setting, where timely intervention has the greatest impact. Neurology has been waiting for a new, universally applicable imaging modality for decades: full-waveform inversion could well be the answer.” Next, the researchers will build a new prototype for live imaging of normal human brains as the first step to a device that could be evaluated in clinical contexts. To read the original article click here.

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