Testing marijuana's effectiveness as an epilepsy treatment will be no easy accomplishment, a Brisbane symposium has heard. But Griffith University neurologist and researcher Professor Roy Beran told the Queensland Epilepsy Symposium on Thursday tests were essential because there was no other effective treatment for some epileptic syndromes. Anecdotal feedback from epilepsy sufferers and their families suggested marijuana could alleviate symptoms in some cases. "In particular, the one everybody mentions is Dravet syndrome, which is a very horrible form of epilepsy," Professor Beran said. But no scientific study has examined marijuana's efficacy as a treatment for epileptic seizures. In April, the American Academy of Neurology concluded there was not enough information to show if medical marijuana was effective in treating epileptic seizures. "Basically, there may be a component in marijuana that acts as an anti-epileptic medication emphasis on the maybe," Professor Beran said. "We don't think it is the addictive component [THC], we think it's the other part of the marijuana. "But we can't test it, really, because at the moment it's illegal and then if it were legal we haven't got the money to do it, so we'd have to fund it. "The issue is the big pharma (pharmaceutical companies) … Continue reading →

Since her diagnosis and successful treatment for epilepsy, Cailin Stroyke has done some amazing things. From returning to her straight-A academic career to traveling to Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Epilepsy Foundation, to being honored at a gala reception hosted by UCLA, the 15-year-old from Manhattan Beach has had a whirlwind 18 months since surgeons removed about an eighth of her brain. But atthis SundaysWalk/Run To End Epilepsy, a fundraiser for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles held at the Rose Bowl, she is helping take on quite a task: Bridging the gap between UCLA and USC less than a week before their annual football game. A sophomore at Marymount High School, Cailin is the youngest of three children in a USC family. But her diagnosis and treatment for the complex partial seizures that started when she was a sixth-grader took place at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood. Cailins mom said she realized something was amiss when her daughter, then a student at Manhattan Beach Middle School, seemed to zone out one day at the gym while trying on a volleyball jacket. They are kind of like staring spells, her mom said. I used to describe … Continue reading →

More than 26,000 military families with autistic children are getting better Tricare coverage of applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy and related services, which can improve a childs development and quality of life. But a Comprehensive Autism Care Demonstration that began a slow rollout in late October will still leave retirees and reserve component families facing heavy out-of-pocket costs to provide children with intensive ABA therapy that has become a standard of care, say advocates for families. Defense Health Agency (DHA) officials say the demonstration, which is to run through December 2018 and is open to any military child diagnosed with autism, will be a platform for evaluating ABA therapy, a series of behavior interventions, to learn which ones benefit autism patients the most. Army Maj. Gen. Richard W. Thomas, chief medical officer and director of healthcare operations for DHA, calls ABA therapy is an emerging science.Just as military has done for trauma care and other facets of health care delivery, Thomas sees the autism demonstration resulting in new, innovative solutions to these patients and discovery of best practices that are safe and effective. He called the improved autism coverage a very robust and generous benefit.We cant find anything comparable to … Continue reading →

A new nonprofit took its first steps toward building a specialized center for autism treatment and therapy in eastern North Carolina. People from in and around the Greenville area played in a tennis tournament and attended a dinner and auction, raising more than $40,000 for Aces for Autism. The organization is leading an effort to open an autism therapy treatment center that offers Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA therapy, in eastern North Carolina. The closest center offering the treatment is in Cary. ABA therapy is most effective as an early intervention tool for younger children with autism, physicians say. Three-year-old Samuel Robinson, diagnosed with autism at just 18 months old, was the honored guest of the day. Nearly 100 tennis players, including players from both the womens and mens ECU tennis teams, braved a cold Saturday to support the Robinson family. The group was started by friends of Kyle and Bobbie Robinson, Samuels parents. Kyle is the director of mens basketball at ECU under head coach Jeff Lebo. The event featured a celebrity match-up at noon between Coach Jeff Lebo, Nicole LaDuca of the ECU womens tennis team and WITNs sports director Billy Weaver and news anchor Gina DiPietro. Meterologist … Continue reading →

Improving Endovascular Stroke Treatment By: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center … Continue reading →

Nov. 20, 2014, 4 a.m. JAYSON Killicks work in raising awareness in the south-west about strokes and helping people recover from the brain injury has won him a national award. Jayson Killick shows off his award with Rebecca Naylor from the National Stroke Foundation. Picture: Supplied JAYSON Killicks work in raising awareness in the south-west about strokes and helping people recover from the brain injury has won him a national award. Mr Killick, of Portland, last month won the national improving life after stroke award from the National Stroke Foundation (NSF) for his community work in the south-west. Mr Killick was motivated by his own experience in recovering from a stroke in 2010 at the age of 35 to found and co-ordinate the Portland Stroke Support Group in 2011. He said that after he was released from hospital following seven weeks of treatment, he looked for support to help tackle strokes ongoing challenges. Since no support group was available, he established one to give stroke survivors, their carers and family members the opportunity to talk about how survivors could make the best of their abilities they had. Mr Killick is also a NSF Victoria Strokesafe ambassador for the south-west, giving … Continue reading →

Sidney Health Center was presented with the Stroke Recognition Award at the Montana Hospital Associations annual meeting in Billings this fall. The Stroke Recognition Award is sponsored by the Cardiovascular Health Program within the state health department. The Recognition Award singles out Critical Access Hospitals that demonstrate that they have the infrastructure and commitment to provide high quality care for patients with acute stroke. Receiving the Stroke Recognition confirms that Sidney Health Center meets high standards related to the utilization of evidence-based stroke order-sets and protocols, laboratory and radiology services available 24/7 and administrative commitment to treating acute stroke patients. The Stroke Recognition Award was launched in 2011, and Sidney Health Center is one of only nine Critical Access Hospitals in Montana to receive the recognition. Requirements for the recognition include tracking and reporting key stroke outcomes, using outcomes data to initiate quality improvement activities and coordinating regular healthcare provider stroke trainings. Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and is a leading cause of death in Montana. Last year, over 2,000 Montana families were directly impacted by the devastating effects of stroke. Symptom recognition and timely, high quality treatment are important factors in reducing death and disability from … Continue reading →