The Michigan Department of Community Health has awarded $500,000 to Central Michigan University psychology professors to increase the number of professionals trained to serve individuals with autism spectrum disorders. CMU faculty members Carl Merle Johnson, Sharon Bradley-Johnson, Michael Hixson, Mark Reilly and Katrina Rhymer will train students in applied behavior analysis, which focuses on improving social behaviors of individuals with autism using intervention practices to modify actions and teach new skills. Behavior analysis is considered the best treatment of choice for autism because of the results it provides, said Johnson. Every individual who receives treatment experiences some improvement. Thats why its so important for us to train more people to be able to provide the service. The need is great and growing, particularly here in central and northern Michigan. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports one in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder, a neurological condition that affects normal brain function and impacts communication and interaction skills. The U.S. Department of Education estimates the number of individuals diagnosed with ASD is growing nationally at a rate of 10 to 17 percent a year. The one-year grant began Oct. 1 and will certify 25 undergraduate … Continue reading →

by Lucy Bustamante, 13News Now WVEC.com Posted on October 28, 2013 at 3:32 PM Updated today at 6:00 PM CHESAPEAKE -- Bill Bosley of Chesapeake remembers when his son Gabe started to seem more disconnected; it was about 13 years ago and Gabe was about two and a half years old. His vocabulary slipped from around 60 words to 30, then 10 and then zero. "The neurologist saw him hanging off the ceiling tiles and said, 'Oh, this child is autistic,' and that was his assessment," says Bosley. "It's pretty much the word you don't want to hear as a parent." Bosley started therapy right away but after years at Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs in Chesapeake, he realized his son needed more help. At the advice of a former therapist, Bosley enrolled Gabe in the Brain Balance Program in Cary, North Carolina. For three months, Gabe had daily physical exercise and cognitive therapy, meant to develop parts of his brain that weren't thriving. Bosley said when Gabe returned to school this year his teacher asked, "What did you do with your son?" See original here: Center offering treatment for ADD, ADHD & autism opens in Va. Beach … Continue reading →

by Geryl Ogilvy Ruekeith reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on October 28, 2013, Monday KUCHING: Stroke hits an average of 109 Malaysians across the country daily, while the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) admitted nearly 400 stroke patients in the first nine months of this year. SGH neurologist Dr Sim Siew Hung said the neurological department received an average of 100 patients per month. However, Dr Sim was quick to point out that victims of this Top 5 cause of death in the country might not suffer disabilities if quick medical attention is sought. An average of 40,000 Malaysians suffer stroke annually, and it is most common among those from the age of 55 to 63 years. Time is very precious. Stroke is a treatable condition as long as one could recognise stroke when it occurred. Those seeking quick medical attention after a stroke could recover after a few days without suffering any disability, she told the press after the launching of the state-level World Stroke Day at the Batu Kawah Health Clinic here yesterday. The event was officiated at by Assistant Minister of Public Health Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, and also present was state Health director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan. Dr Jerip said … Continue reading →

THEIR lives were turned upside down. From being independent and leading successful lives, two stroke survivors had to relearn everything from scratch. It was a long and difficult journey for Alvin Tay, 52, and Shahrizan Jamaluddin, 57. Stroke had rendered half of their bodies paralysed and robbed them of the ability to speak coherently. As a manager for an insurance agency, Tays hectic working life lead to a sedentary lifestyle. A diabetic for 20 years, he also has high blood pressure and borderline cholesterol. At the time of the attack, in June this year, he weighed 90kg. When he experienced numbness on the right side of his body, his family members rushed him to a medical centre where he was diagnosed with multiple acute stroke, better known as influx. From his scan report, it was found that Tay had five clots in his left side of his brain. He couldnt speak properly and was paralysed on the right side of his body, from head to toe. Ten days after the attack, Tay was brought to the National Stroke Association Of Malaysia (Nasam) centre in a wheelchair. At that time, he could not even lift his head, which was tilted to … Continue reading →

Oct. 26, 2013 The final results of a stroke prevention study in patients with narrowed brain arteries confirm earlier findings: Medication plus lifestyle changes are safer and more effective at preventing stroke than a surgical technique called stenting. Enrollment in the trial was halted two years ago when it became apparent that stenting was associated with a higher risk of early strokes and death. "Surgical interventions often have increased risk of complications early on, so we continued to follow the patients to see if the long-term effects of surgery were beneficial," said lead author Colin Derdeyn, MD, professor of radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and director of its Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "That did not turn out to be the case." The study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, the Medical University of South Carolina, Emory University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, appears Oct. 26 in The Lancet. The same day, the researchers will present their findings at joint meetings of the 6th International Conference on Intracranial Atherosclerosis and the 6th annual meeting of the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology in Houston. Each … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 26-Oct-2013 Contact: Barbara McMakin nindspressteam@ninds.nih.gov 301-496-5751 NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and is often the result of blood vessel narrowing due to buildup of cholesterol in brain blood vessels. A new report, published in Lancet, details long-term outcomes of a study that compared aggressive medical therapy with surgically implanted stents to open narrowed brain blood vessels for the prevention of stroke. This clinical trial was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Patients who had recently experienced a stroke or a stroke warning sign due to stenosis of blood vessels inside the head were randomized to receive aggressive medical therapy alone (anti-clotting medications, control of risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol, and a lifestyle modification program) or aggressive medical therapy plus a brain stent (a mesh implant that keeps the affected blood vessel open). Enrollment in this study was stopped in April 2011, which was earlier than planned due to safety concerns after researchers found that stents were associated with a high risk of early stroke and death. In addition … Continue reading →