Feb. 19, 2015, 4 a.m. CanAssist restructure will provide the local branch with greater independence, president Gen Croaker said. SOLD: CanAssist has sold its patient accommodation facility, Jean Colvin House in Double Bay, as part of a restructure. Changes to the overall operation of CanAssist will provide the local branch with greater independence, president Gen Croaker said yesterday. Ms Croaker said CanAssist was undergoing a complete revamp. The organisations head office is downsizing by selling its patient accommodation facility, Jean Colvin House in Double Bay. Accommodation provided for support people and carers has also been sold off. Ms Croaker said the reality was that very few Bathurst patients travel to Sydney for their cancer treatment these days, with most undergoing radiation in Orange. She said community transports radiation bus transports patients from Bathurst to Orange, and then brings them back afterwards. This has alleviated much of the need to travel to Sydney, except in rare or extreme cases. Ms Croaker said the fact that fewer people need to seek treatment in Sydney was one of the factors in CanAssists decision to sell Jean Colvin House. View post: Restructure for CanAssist … Continue reading →

St. Louis, MO - Washington University - infoZine - Working with mice, two research teams at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis independently linked the protein to the ability to clear debris from the brain. Such waste builds up both as a byproduct of daily mental activities and as a result of misdirected immune system attacks on brain cells. If too much debris is present in the brain for too long, it can contribute to neurological disease. In one study, appearing online Feb. 26 in Cell, scientists showed that Alzheimers brain plaques build up more slowly in mice that have a defective version of the TREM2 protein. In another, published Jan. 29 in Acta Neuropathologica, researchers showed that mice lacking the same protein had trouble cleaning up debris in the brain produced by damage to a protective coating on nerve cells. The problem is thought to occur in MS and other neurological disorders. Scientists are looking for ways to activate the protein to slow or prevent damage caused by neurological disorders. Previous studies have linked rare forms of the TREM2 gene to early-onset dementia and increased risk of Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Scientists … Continue reading →