Beaumont epilepsy unit opens but Cork sister site lies idle Saturday, February 08, 2014 A groundbreaking epilepsy monitoring unit that could save hundreds of lives over the coming years has opened in Beaumont Hospital but a sister site for Cork is still lying idle. Health Minister James Reilly with Prof Norman Delanty and Hannah Alam at Beaumont Hospital. Picture: Colin Keegan The facility works by monitoring the exact point in the brain where epileptic fits occur, depending on the patient involved, which leads to far more effective, individually tailored treatments. The specialist four-bed unit also means patients, who are kept under close monitoring for five to eight days in hospital, will no longer need to travel abroad and year-long waiting lists for up to 200 people nationwide will be significantly reduced. However, while the opening of the Beaumont service has been widely welcomed by doctors and the estimated 37,000 living with epilepsy in Ireland, those involved have raised ongoing concerns about major delays to a sister site at Cork University Hospital. As previously reported by the Irish Examiner, the second 500,000 unit facility has lain idle for over a year due to ongoing staffing issues and questions over where money … Continue reading →

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online A drug given to pregnant mice with models of autism prevents autistic behavior in their offspring, according to a new study reported Friday in the journal Science. Although the drug could not be administered prenatally in humans since there is no way to screen for autism in human fetuses, clinical trials in which the drug was administered to young children who have already developed autistic symptoms are showing progress, the researchers said. The causes of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, are complex and not well understood, although experts generally agree that the disorder has its origins in early life fetal and/or postnatal. Neurons contain high levels of chloride throughout the entire embryonic phase. As a result, GABA, the main chemical messenger of the brain, excites the neurons instead of inhibiting them in order to facilitate brain construction. Subsequently, a natural reduction in chloride levels allows GABA to exercise its inhibitory role and regulate the activity of the adolescent/adult brain. In the current study, researchers made a breakthrough in understanding ASD by demonstrating that chloride levels are not only elevated in the neurons of mice used in an animal model of autism, but … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 7-Feb-2014 Contact: Marguerite Beck marbeck@wakehealth.edu 336-716-2415 Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Feb. 7, 2014 The good news: More people survive stroke now than 10 years ago due to improved treatment and prevention. The bad news: Women who survive stroke have a worse quality of life than men, according to a study published in the Feb. 7 online issue of the journal Neurology. Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center compared the quality of life in men and women who had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). A total of 1,370 patients ages 56 to 77 from the AVAIL registry a national, multicenter, longitudinal registry of ischemic stroke and TIA patients were included in the study. The patients' quality of life was measured at three months and one year after a stroke or TIA using a formula that assesses mobility, self-care, everyday activities, depression/anxiety and pain. "We found that women had a worse quality of life than men up to 12 months following a stroke, even after considering differences in important sociodemographic variables, stroke severity and disability," said Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., associate professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist and senior author of the study. … Continue reading →

By Ian Dipple Friday 07 February 2014 Updated: 07/02 09:15 Buy photos Picture by Marcus Mingins 0414017MMR2 A KEY stroke target has been missed for the first time since the service was centralised into Worcester. In total 80 per cent of patients are supposed to spend at least 90 per cent of their time on a dedicated stroke ward but just 75 per cent did so during December. Part of the problem is staff were dealing with between six to seven stroke patients a day compared to the average of three to four, while difficulties getting people into community beds for rehabilitation were also behind the failure. Stroke services at the Alexandra Hospital were moved to Worcester in July last year as part of efforts to improve the service by centralising skills and expertise on one site and up until last month resulted in a spike in performance. The Standard reported in December warnings by Trust staff they were experiencing difficulties getting patients out of the stroke ward and into community hospitals or other locations which was impacting on the service, with one man waiting fours weeks to be discharged. The issue was also flagged up in July 2012 when … Continue reading →