A mobile stroke unit that debuted in Ohio earlier this year could come to help save lives in Palm Beach County. In May, Cleveland Clinic started using the unit to diagnose the type and severity of brain attacks more quickly. Using a portable CT scanner, the ambulances staff wirelessly transmits brain images to neuro-radiologists and, if appropriate, administers the clot-busting drug tPA en route to the hospital in Ohios most populous county. The nonprofit medical giant hopes to bring a similar mobile stroke unit to Palm Beach County. The specially equipped ambulance costs $1 million and staffing it costs about $1.2 million a year, according to Dr. Ryan McTaggart, director of neurointerventional services at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston. Cleveland Clinic has a satellite clinic in West Palm Beach. Clots in blood vessels cause more than 80 percent of all strokes; the rupturing of blood vessels cause the rest. The drug tPA can stop or reduce brain damage caused by clots if it is administered within 4.5 hours of the onset of symptoms. The rate of tPA administration for appropriate cases in South Florida is abysmal, about 1 percent, McTaggart said. That is because many patients dont recognize stroke symptoms … Continue reading →

Genetics may play a larger role in causing Lou Gehrig's disease than previously believed, potentially accounting for more than one-third of all cases, according to one of the most comprehensive genetic studies to date of patients who suffer from the condition also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The study, conducted by investigators at Cedars-Sinai and Washington University in St. Louis, also showed that patients with defects in two or more ALS-associated genes experience disease onset about 10 years earlier than patients with single-gene mutations. "These findings shed new light on the genetic origins of ALS, especially in patients who had no prior family history of the disease," said Robert H. Baloh, MD, PhD, director of neuromuscular medicine in the Department of Neurology and director of the ALS Program at Cedars-Sinai. Baloh is senior author of the study, published online in Annals of Neurology. Typically, researchers classify 90 percent of ALS cases as "sporadic," meaning they occur in patients without a family history of the disease. In their study, however, the researchers found a significant degree of genetic involvement in patients with no family history. Examining DNA from 391 individuals, they identified numerous new or very rare ALS gene … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, Dec. 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Many American parents would be interested in having their newborn baby undergo in-depth genetic screening to learn about potential health risks, a new study reveals. Newborns currently get a blood test to screen for at least 30 heritable, treatable conditions. But in-depth genetic screening, known as genomic testing, has the potential to provide more comprehensive personal information, according to the Boston-based researchers. The researchers surveyed 514 parents within 48 hours of their baby's birth. Parents were given a brief explanation of genes and how they can affect health and medical care, and then were asked what they thought about genomic testing of newborns. Nearly 83 percent of the parents said they were either extremely (18 percent), very (28 percent) or somewhat (36 percent) interested in in-depth newborn genetic testing, the study found. "Several other studies have measured parents' interest in newborn genomic screening, but none focused on new parents in the first 48 hours," senior author Dr. Robert Green, a geneticist and researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said in a hospital news release. "Since this is when genomic testing would be of the greatest value, it is especially … Continue reading →

Robert Vondracek has had multiple sclerosis for 20 years. His speech is starting to slur and he's been having more trouble getting around, and when he heard about a controversial stem cell therapy that might help, he got excited. "I heard about the stem cell treatments being done right here in Phoenix," said Vondracek, 61. "It shocked me because it was not approved in this country, I didn't think." The therapy was offered by an Arizona plastic surgeon who gives the stem cell treatments in the same clinic where he does cosmetic procedures. But when Vondracek's neurologist heard about his interest in the therapy, which would cost $7,000 per treatment, "He went crazy," said Vondracek. He strongly advised Vondracek against it. Plastic surgeons, other doctors and naturopaths at more than 100 clinics round the country are charging thousands of dollars for a controversial procedure called stem cell therapy to treat a range of disorders, including neurological diseases like MS and Parkinson's. Robert Vondracek and his girlfriend, Terese Knapik. The procedure has angered many neurologists and prominent researchers who say these doctors are preying on vulnerable people and capitalizing on the huge but still unrealized potential of stem cell research, which … Continue reading →