Monthly Archives: March 2012

Tomball Regional receives Quality Achievement Award

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 6:21 pm | Updated: 6:54 pm, Tue Mar 13, 2012. Tomball Regional Medical Center recently received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Associations Get With The GuidelinesStroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes TRMCs commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The GuidelinesStroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award addresses the important element of time, said Bud Wethington, CEO of TRMC. The hospital has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate. To receive the Get With The GuidelinesStroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award, TRMC consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the Get With The GuidelinesStroke program for 90 days. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking cessation. The 90-day evaluation period is the first in an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Tomball Regional receives Quality Achievement Award

Tomball Regional receives award

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 6:21 pm | Updated: 6:54 pm, Tue Mar 13, 2012. Tomball Regional Medical Center recently received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Associations Get With The GuidelinesStroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes TRMCs commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The GuidelinesStroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award addresses the important element of time, said Bud Wethington, CEO of TRMC. The hospital has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate. To receive the Get With The GuidelinesStroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award, TRMC consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the Get With The GuidelinesStroke program for 90 days. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking cessation. The 90-day evaluation period is the first in an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Tomball Regional receives award

Research and Markets: Psychological Management of Stroke – A Review and Synthesis of the Current Theory and Data

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ed68dfd0/psychological_mana) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new book "Psychological Management of Stroke" to their offering. Psychological Management of Stroke presents a review and synthesis of the current theory and data relating to the assessment, treatment, and psychological aspects of stroke. - Provides comprehensive reviews of evidence based practice relating to stroke - Written by clinical psychologists working in stroke services - Covers a broad range of psychological aspects, including fitness to drive, decision making, prevention of stroke, and involvement of carers and families - Reviews and synthesizes new data across a wide range of areas relevant to stroke and the assessment, treatment, and care of stroke survivors and their families - Represents a novel approach to the application of psychological theory and principles in the stroke field Key Topics Covered: Section 1 Background to Stroke and Stroke Services Read the original here: Research and Markets: Psychological Management of Stroke - A Review and Synthesis of the Current Theory and Data … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Research and Markets: Psychological Management of Stroke – A Review and Synthesis of the Current Theory and Data

Stroke symptoms? Ambulance = Brain

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

When it comes to stroke, neurologists are fond of reminding us that "time equals brain." What they mean is that, if you are experiencing any of the warning signs of stroke, the faster you get to the hospital, the more often physicians can take measures that limit the brain damage and long-term disability that stroke can cause. But apparently, Americans are not getting that message -- and it may be costing us brain cells we can ill afford to lose. A "Research Letter" reported in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. this week reveals that in 2008, virtually no more Americans suffering the first signs of a stroke called 911 for ambulance transport than was the case in 1997. That's despite active campaigns to get Americans to call 911 immediately if they suspect they or a loved one is having a stroke. At last count, just over half -- 51% -- of patients determined to be having a stroke arrived for emergency medical care in an ambulance, wrote researchers from Weill Medical College in New York and UC San Francisco. In 1997, 49% did. The effort to get stroke victims to call 911 and get help immediately took on … Continue reading →

Comments Off on Stroke symptoms? Ambulance = Brain

InVivo Therapeutics’ CEO Frank Reynolds Scheduled to Appear on Fox 5 News: Live in Las Vegas

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (OTC/BB: NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI), today announced that CEO Frank Reynolds is scheduled to appear on KVVU-TVs Fox 5 News: Live in Las Vegas on Friday, March 16th at 8:45am PDT. InVivo Therapeutics has pioneered a new treatment that uses a biocompatible polymer-based scaffold to provide structural support to a damaged spinal cord in order to spare tissue from scarring while improving recovery and prognosis after a traumatic spinal cord injury. In addition to the scaffold, Reynolds will discuss applications for the technology in other areas of the nervous system, including additional products the company intends to submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012. Our technology is a true platform that can be leveraged to create many products, including treatments for peripheral nerve injury and other conditions. Were currently under review at FDA for our first spinal cord injury treatment, and we look forward to receiving approval to begin those human studies, said Reynolds. Fox 5 News: Live in Las Vegas airs weekdays from 7:00-9:00am PDT on KVVU-TV, the FOX affiliate on channel 5 for the greater Las Vegas … Continue reading →

Posted in Spinal Cord Injury Treatment | Comments Off on InVivo Therapeutics’ CEO Frank Reynolds Scheduled to Appear on Fox 5 News: Live in Las Vegas

Research suggests new therapeutic approach for spinal cord injury

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

Public release date: 13-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: David Sampson ajpmedia@elsevier.com 215-239-3171 Elsevier Health Sciences Philadelphia, PA, March 13, 2012 A new study suggests that administering FTY720, an oral drug that has shown promise in trials for human multiple sclerosis, significantly improves locomotor recovery in mice with spinal cord injury (SCI). The research suggests a possible new avenue to counteract the degeneration of the spinal cord in human SCI. The study will be published in the April 2012 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Beyond the initial tissue damage, much of the degradation of the spinal cord in SCI is due to a cascade of secondary injuries, including neuronal and glial apoptosis, inflammation, glial scar formation, local edema and ischemia, and oxidative stress. The aim of current SCI treatment is to counteract the mechanisms of secondary injury and prevent their pathological consequences, because central nervous system (CNS) neurons have very limited capacity to self-repair and regenerate. Researchers from the Jichi Medical University School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Tokyo had previously shown that the concentration of the lysophospholipid mediator, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), was significantly increased in the location of … Continue reading →

Posted in Spinal Cord Injury Treatment | Comments Off on Research suggests new therapeutic approach for spinal cord injury

Glaucoma: A Neurological Disorder?

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 11, 2012 A novel explanation of glaucoma is rapidly rising, and it is promoting advances in treatment that may ultimately eliminate the disease. Rather than being viewed solely as an eye disease, top scientists now consider glaucoma to be a neurologic disorder that causes nerve cell death, similar to what happens in Parkinsons disease and Alzheimers. Treatment advances are being tested in patients or are scheduled to begin clinical trials soon. The long-standing theory regarding glaucoma was that vision damage was caused by unusually high pressure inside the eye, known as intraocular pressure (IOP). Therefore, lowering IOP was the focus of surgical techniques and medications; developing tests and instruments to measure and track IOP was vital to that effort. Although measuring a patients IOP is still a key part of glaucoma treatment, it is no longer the only method an ophthalmologist uses to diagnose glaucoma. Even when surgery or medication successfully lowers IOP, some glaucoma patients continue to lose vision. Also, some patients find it difficult to use eye drop medications as prescribed by their physicians. These problems encouraged researchers to look beyond IOP as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Parkinson's Treatment | Comments Off on Glaucoma: A Neurological Disorder?

Brian Grant, Ben Petrick, former NBA and MLB players, join Parkinson's disease symposium

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

Brian Grant, a former Trail Blazers power forward, and Ben Petrick, a Salem native and former pro baseball player, will be among those participating Saturday in a symposium designed for those age 59 and younger who have Parkinson's disease, and for their families. The event is sponsored by Oregon Health & Science University's Parkinson Center of Oregon and by the Brian Grant Foundation, which aims to build awareness of Parkinson's, to increase earlier diagnosis, educate patients and their families, and provide a forum for those affected by the disease. Dr. Matthew Brodsky will discuss Parkinson's research and treatment strategies. Other experts will focus on maintaining intimacy with Parkinson's, exercise, parenting with the disease and Social Security disability issues. Grant was diagnosed in 2008 at 36. Petrick, 34, a former catcher for the Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers and Portland Beavers, and a Glencoe High School grad, was diagnosed with Parkinson's after the 1999 season. The symposium runs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the OHSU School of Nursing, 3455 S.W. Veterans Hospital Road. Cost is $20. - Katy Muldoon; twitter.com/katymuldoon More: Brian Grant, Ben Petrick, former NBA and MLB players, join Parkinson's disease symposium … Continue reading →

Posted in Parkinson's Treatment | Comments Off on Brian Grant, Ben Petrick, former NBA and MLB players, join Parkinson's disease symposium

Spree-kill GI had bad brain injury

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

The US Army sergeant who massacred 16 Afghan civilians is a trained sniper who had suffered a traumatic brain injury and had serious marital problems, it was disclosed yesterday. But somehow, the still-unidentified 38-year-old soldier was deemed fit for combat duty by the Army and sent to Afghanistan in December. It was his fourth tour to a war zone after three deployments in Iraq. The killer, a father of two, is accused of gunning down nine children, three women and four men in a 90-minute rampage. After he turned himself in, the soldier lawyered up and refused to say what prompted the atrocity, which threatens to poison crucial US-Afghan relations for years. AP NIGHTMARE: Afghans remove the body of one of the massacres 16 victims, slain by an unhinged GI who, incredibly, was cleared for active duty. When the sergeant, assigned to Fort Lewis, Wash., returned from his last deployment to Iraq, he had difficulty reintegrating, including marital problems, ABC News reported. Army officials, however, concluded that he had worked through those issues and was ready to go back to war. In Afghanistan, he was assigned to Camp Belamby, a remote outpost in Kandahar Province, where he provided protection for … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Injury Treatment | Comments Off on Spree-kill GI had bad brain injury

Pentagon pressed on suspect's brain injury

Posted: Published on March 14th, 2012

WASHINGTON - A U.S. congressman asked the Pentagon on Tuesday to explain why the soldier accused in the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers was sent back into combat after earlier suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, as lawmakers questioned how seriously the military deals with the mental health of troops. The Army staff sergeant accused in Sundays shooting served three deployments to Iraq before he was sent to Afghanistan last year. The soldier, whose name has not been disclosed publicly, was treated for a traumatic brain injury suffered in a vehicle rollover in 2010 in Iraq, according to a U.S. official. Representative Bill Pascrell, founder of a U.S. congressional task force on brain injuries, wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta requesting details of the accused soldiers injury, diagnosis, and when and how he was returned to combat duty. I am trying to find out basically whether there was a premature OK on this guy, Pascrell, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview. This is not to excuse any heinous acts; we are all sickened by it. But dammit, we all have an obligation to prevent these things, Pascrell said. If this soldier fell through the cracks, does that mean … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Injury Treatment | Comments Off on Pentagon pressed on suspect's brain injury