ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Watching Natasha Merangoli run drills, you wouldn't guess that two years ago, doctors said she'd never play soccer again. "Playing soccer just sets your mind free," she said, adding that it was "devastating" when she was told she might not be able to play the sport. In December of 2012, Natasha Hurt her ankle and didn't think much of it, though she was playing and living in constant pain. "It felt like someone stabbing me from the inside of my foot out," she said. That stabbing feeling was the result of the bones in her foot dying. She was diagnosed with a condition called avascular necrosis, where the bone can't get enough blood flow. "The problem with avascular necrosis is, when the bone dies, it can collapse, and then you get a very rapid secondary degeneration," said Dr. Dennis Lox, a sports and regenerative medicine expert. "The most common cause is from trauma, but often times, athletes experience aches and pains all the time, so they just think it's going to get better. And it just doesn't." After a few months of not getting better, several doctors told Natasha that her only option … Continue reading →

Brain implant which uses light waves to counteract seizures tested by Newcastle University academics Tyneside scientists are testing a new technique which could revolutionise the treatment of epilepsy. Newcastle University is leading a project to develop a brain implant which uses light waves to try to counteract the disrupted brain activity which causes epileptic seizures. The 10m project, funded jointly by the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC, will last seven years and will involve designing a small device, about the size of a drawing pin, and implanting it into the patients brain. It will continually monitor and interact with brain activity. The technique will also involve a form of gene therapy called optogenetics, which will be used to make the specific neurons which need to be targeted light sensitive. Teams from Imperial College and UCL universities will collaborate with the North East academics on the CANDO project, which could help some of the 600,00 people in the UK who suffer from the condition. People like Emma Dowling, 28, who has lived with epilepsy since she was a girl. When she was diagnosed at eight years old she was put on drug treatment, and then later had surgery to remove part of … Continue reading →

Putting it All Together: Aaron FOR MORE INFORMATION: visit http://www.autismtreatmentcenter.org/ The Autism Treatment Center of America is the worldwide teaching center for The Son-Rise P... By: autismtreatment … Continue reading →

The latest look at autism in the U.S. shows a startling 30 percent jump among 8-year-olds diagnosed with the disorder in a two-year period, to one in every 68 children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did the survey, says the numbers almost certainly reflect more awareness and diagnosis of kids who would have been missed in years past. The new estimate for 2010 was a jump from one in 88 children in 2008, the last year for which numbers had been available. The number of children diagnosed with autism continues to rise, the agencys Dr. Coleen Boyle told reporters. But the CDC noted that the numbers vary greatly from state to state, and it did not use a nationally representative sample, but a look at groups of children in 11 states. The number of children identified with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) ranged from 1 in 175 children in Alabama to 1 in 45 children in New Jersey, CDC says in its report, based on a survey taken in 2010. The numbers from 2008 were first reported in 2012. This would work out to about 1.2 million children under 18, Boyle says. Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a child neurologist … Continue reading →

A stroke can kill part of the brain and make a person appear drunk in public, but doctors lack knowledge about how to treat widespread misery among survivors. Depression, anxiety and apathy are common after a stroke, says Australian researcher Professor Maree Hackett, leader of an international study. 'There is an unmet need for mental health treatment for these people.' Part of the problem is that post-stroke problems such as loss of speech and cognitive impairment can hamper diagnosis, says Prof Hackett of The George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney. About 50,000 Australians every year have a stroke. Half are younger than 73. There are millions of survivors around the world. About three in 10 experience mental health issues, according to Prof Hackett's study, which is published in the journal The Lancet Neurology. It highlights a problem that causes a lot of misery, says Professor Richard Lindley, who was not involved in the study. 'We have not yet got a very good repertoire of interventions that can make a difference,' he says. 'The article is a call to arms. We need to invest in some pretty serious research.' A stroke can be devastating, especially to people … Continue reading →