Monthly Archives: May 2012

Public release date: 11-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Karen Mallet km463@georgetown.edu Georgetown University Medical Center WASHINGTON -- A brain study in infant rats demonstrates that the anti-epilepsy drug phenobarbital stunts neuronal growth, which could prompt new questions about using the first-line drug to treat epilepsy in human newborns. In Annals of Neurology EarlyView posted online May 11, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) report that the anti-epilepsy drug phenobarbital given to rat pups about a week old changed the way the animals' brains were wired, causing cognitive abnormalities later in life. The researchers say it has been known that some of the drugs used to treat epilepsy increase the amount of neurons that die shortly after birth in the rat brain, but, until this study, no one had shown whether this action had any adverse impact on subsequent brain development. "Our study is the first to show that the exposure to these drugs -- and just a single exposure -- can prevent brain circuits from developing their normal connectivity, meaning they may not be wired correctly, which can have long-lasting effects on brain function," says the study's senior investigator, Karen Gale, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology … Continue reading →

Monica Agudelo still remembers the first time she got a seizure. She was sitting in her parents bedroom, talking to her mother. I started feeling something something was coming, something was going to happen, said Agudelo, 32. Then, I just blanked out. She kept talking to me, and she was like, Why are you not answering? Agudelo was 17. For the next 15 years she would struggled with Left Temporal Lobe epilepsy that caused an average of 20-second-long seizures. During that time, she would blank out, close and open her hands, and sometimes make a monotonous mmm sound. It happened everywhere school, the grocery store, work. It was actually embarrassing when people would see you like that, she said. One year ago, it stopped. Cleveland Clinic surgeons performed a left temporal lobectomy. They made a-four inch, C-shaped cut in her temple just above her ear and removed her left temporal lobe, where abnormal electrical charges in the brains cells were causing the seizures. The surgery was done at the hospitals Cleveland, Ohio, campus after neurologists and epileptologists at the Weston center did a pre-surgical evaluation and post-surgery follow-up. Agudelo, who lives in West Miami-Dade, is now seizure free. In recent … Continue reading →

As Monday marked World Autism Awareness Day and April serves as Autism Awareness Month, staggering new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which were released on March 29, said that 1 in 88 U.S. children, have been "identified with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)." Suzanne Bonifert, who is the head of Speech Language Pathology and Clinical Lecturer at the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders, said that medical professionals currently do not know the cause for the increase in autism; however she said the testing for the disorder has changed. "There is better diagnosis available and pediatricians are much more aware because there's just been so much news and information," she said. "The American Academy of Pediatrics has put out a statement to mandate screens in pediatrician's offices for children for signs of autism, so children are getting referred to professionals at earlier ages, which is good. So we're recognizing children and seeing them, and just the evaluation process has been proved to be able to better recognize those signs and symptoms because of the improvement in the diagnostic process -- that is likely a part of the reason why -- it's not fully, it doesn't … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Rethink Autism, the first and only autism curriculum aligned with the Common Core State Standards, is an honored recipient of the 2012 SIIA CODiE Award for Best Instructional Solution for Special Needs Students, the second consecutive year it has won this award. The Software and Information Industry Association's (SIIA) CODiE Awards recognize excellence in digital content and educational technology. "We recognize the tremendous challenges faced by families, school districts and organizations serving children on the autism spectrum. In developing the Rethink Autism platform, we wanted to make clinical best practices accessible, affordable and easy to use for anyone, anywhere in the world," said Daniel Etra, Co-founder and CEO. "With this award, and with thousands of users in schools, organizations, universities and homes in all 50 states, as well as 27 countries around the world, we really feel like we have achieved our goal." Rethink Autism's unique web-based program provides parents and educators with a comprehensive evidence-based curriculum through 1,200+ video-based teaching steps, parent and staff training modules, an assessment tool, and progress tracking features. The curriculum, developed and endorsed by leaders in the field of autism treatment and research, spans the entire autism spectrum … Continue reading →

Intermountain Medical Center stroke coordinator Kelly Anderson poses for photos Thursday, May 10, 2012. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News SALT LAKE CITY More than 850 patients were treated for strokes at the Intermountain Medical Center last year. The staff is expecting to surpass that number this year, as more people are leading unhealthy lifestyles and are therefore at higher risk for stroke. "We see more than anywhere in the state," said Kelly Anderson, coordinator of the hospital's stroke program. She credits the high-quality care offered at IMC, as well as the speed in which patients are treated. Anderson mans a booth at health fairs and visits a variety of organizations and agencies throughout the year, educating people on what to do in case of a stroke or witnessing another person having a stroke. She said the first thing to do is always to "call 911." A 2009 Utah Department of Health survey states that most people could not recognize the symptoms of a stroke, which include a sudden feeling of weakness on one side of the body, changes in vision and speech, or a droop on one side of the face. About 45 percent of adults in Utah indicated they … Continue reading →