Wally Lewis stands defiant against bigger man Mark Geyer in 1991. Photo: Craig Golding For such a high profile rugby league player who read the game better than most, Wally Lewis kept his epilepsy a secret for 20 years until the night of November 16, 2006. It was, in a way, his team secret. And then, the secret he had successfully concealed during his stellar football career from all except wife Jaqui and few very close friends, came tumbling out in his new career. Wally Lewis with son Lincoln. Photo: Helen Nezdropa Lewis had an epilepsy attack while he was reading the television sports news on the Brisbane's Nine Network, giving the wrong impression that he may have been drunk on air. Advertisement He wasn't. He lived with epilepsy, but told very few people. Lewis had brain surgery to correct the epileptic seizures at Melbourne's Austin Hospital. Statue of Wally Lewis which stands outside Suncorp Stadium, or Lang Park as traditionalists call it. Photo: Cameron Spencer Original post: Wally Lewis: Team Brisbane … Continue reading →

GW Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge has won a key European approval for a cannabis-based drug to fight Dravets syndrome a rare and lethal form of childhood epilepsy resistant to current treatments. Added to fast-track FDA approval for its solution, Epidolex, in the US this gives the UK business a battery of options in the fight for a global cure. GWs CEO Justin Gover said the European Medicines Agency approval would accelerate the companys development programme. He said: Dravet syndrome represents a very substantial unmet need in Europe and a significant therapeutic challenge as many of the children suffering with this condition are resistant to current treatments and have exhausted all options. GW is now advancing a full clinical development programme for Epidiolex in Dravet syndrome and looks forward to starting this programme in the coming weeks. We believe that the clinical effect and safety data recently released on Epidiolex support GWs confidence in the prospect of ultimately enabling children with Dravet syndrome around the world to have access to an approved prescription CBD medicine. In addition to this orphan designation by the EMA, GW has been granted fast track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration for Epidiolex in the … Continue reading →

One Hour One Hour Long Cycle. Kettlebells 4 Autism. ASAT. AFGS Pouillon Les Landes. Extraits de ma premire participation un vnement de Girevoy Sport. Challenge international organis par Jason Dolby (One Hour Long Cycle) et Christina Danos (Kettlebells 4 Autism)... By: Pascal Delente … Continue reading →

If you want your Obamacare plan to cover acupuncture, California is the place to be. If you need foot care, better try Arizona. Plans in Washington, D.C., will pay for weight-loss programs that New York wont allow, but Obamacare plans in the Empire State will cover surgery to shed those same pounds. The benefits offered by health plans created under the Affordable Care Act are all over the map. The law requires all health insurers to cover a group of 10 essential benefits in broad categories of medical care, such as hospitalization, prescription drugs, and maternity. Beyond those staples, however, the requirements vary widely from state to state, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The law instructs each state to select a benchmark plan to serve as a model for what other plans in the state must cover. Researchers from the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at University of Pennsylvania examined the benchmark plans to see whats covered where and found a patchwork that defies logic. Only five states cover weight-loss programs, for instance, while 23 cover a far more expensive obesity treatment: bariatric surgery. Chiropractic care is covered in most states and acupuncture … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 22-Oct-2014 Contact: Emma Rayner emma.rayner@nottingham.ac.uk 44-115-951-5793 University of Nottingham @UoNPressOffice A large international clinical trial has shed new light on the effectiveness of current hospital protocols for managing blood pressure in stroke patients. The two-part ENOS trial (Efficacy of Nitric Oxide in Stroke,) was carried out at The University of Nottingham in collaboration with 23 countries to try to solve two major conundrums faced by doctors when treating people who have suffered a stroke should blood pressure be lowered using medicated skin patches, and should existing blood pressure medication be stopped or continued after a stroke? The results of the trial, carried out by the University's Stroke Trial Unit in the Division of Clinical Neurosciences, are being published in The Lancet. The trial was funded by the Medical Research Council, Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme, and BUPA Foundation. The trial involved 4,011 patients with acute stroke, both ischaemic (blood clot) and haemorrhagic (bleeding). Patients were randomly assigned to receive a glyceryl trinitrate 5mg skin patch (often used in angina patients) or no patch for 7 days. Patients who were already on medication for high blood pressure before their stroke were also randomly assigned to either continue … Continue reading →

DAVID Wallings is a lucky man. The 47-year-old suffered a stroke last January while doing the washing up. Had he suffered the same stroke just ten years ago he would not be alive to tell his remarkable tale. While suffering no pain, David felt numbness down his right side while at home alone in Central Avenue, Southend. After initially ignoring the sensation, it quickly spread down his right arm and leg and he realised something was seriously wrong. He managed to contact his wife at work. Although he had already lost the ability to speak coherently, she realised what was wrong and called an ambulance. David had suffered a spontaneous carotid artery dissection, which sent a blood clot straight to his brain. Ten years ago, that would have been a death sentence. However, now, thanks to the speedy treatment and advanced stroke facilities available at Southend Hospital, just 20 months later you would not be able to tell David came so close to death. He said: I want everyone to have the access to the treatment that I did at the hospital. I ignored the feeling to start with, just thinking I had stood funny, or something like that. But … Continue reading →

Jersey City, NJ (PRWEB) October 21, 2014 CarePoint Health Christ Hospital has received the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients. Get With The Guidelines Stroke helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. CarePoint Health Christ Hospital earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include aggressive use of medications and risk-reduction therapies aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients. CarePoint Health Christ Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care and The American Heart Association/American Stroke Associations Get With The GuidelinesStroke helps us achieve that goal, said Nizar Kifaieh, MD, FACEP, President and Chief Medical Officer of CarePoint Health Christ Hospital. With this award, our hospital demonstrates our commitment to ensure that our patients receive care based on internationally-respected clinical guidelines. We are pleased to recognize CarePoint Health Christ Hospital for their commitment and … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 21-Oct-2014 Contact: Quinn Eastman qeastma@emory.edu 404-727-7829 Emory Health Sciences @emoryhealthsci Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a protein released by neurons while the brain is recovering from a stroke. The results are scheduled for publication Oct. 21 in Journal of Neuroscience. The protein, called urokinase-type plasminogen activator or uPA, has been approved by the FDA to dissolve blood clots in the lungs. It has been tested in clinical trials in some countries as a treatment for acute stroke. The Emory team's findings suggest that in stroke, uPA's benefits may extend beyond the time when doctors' principal goal is dissolving the blood clot that is depriving the brain of blood. Instead, uPA appears to help brain cells recover from the injuries induced by loss of blood flow. Treating mice with uPA after an experimental stroke can improve their recovery of motor function, the researchers found. uPA (urokinase-type plasminogen activator) and tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator), the drug that is the only approved treatment for acute stroke, have similar names, because they both act biochemically to activate plasmin, which directly dissolves blood clots. "We are finding that uPA and tPA do very different things in the brain. … Continue reading →

Today, Healthgrades released its 2015 hospital ratings which found Dignity Health Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital (SNMH) ranked among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation in overall pulmonary care and the top 10 percent of hospitals for stroke treatment and womens health services. The hospital also received five-star ratings for treatment of heart attack, stroke, pneumonia and sepsis (infection), along with five stars for total knee replacement. Our entire staff works incredibly hard to provide the best possible care to our community, and these ratings prove what we already know that the quality of our hospital is worthy of our special community, said Brian Evans, MD, vice president of medical affairs at SNMH. Healthgrades is the leading online resource for consumers looking to make informed decisions about their health care choices. The company evaluates objective quality research data from 40 million Medicare patient records at 4,500 short-term, acute hospitals nationwide based solely on clinical outcomes risk adjusted morality and in-hospital complications. The bottom line, according to Dr. Evans, is the level of care that the hospital provides. It is always humbling to be entrusted to care for our patients, and we take that job very seriously, he said. … Continue reading →