CHICAGO, Aug. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Internationally-renowned autism experts Dr. Robert Koegel and Dr. Lynn Koegel will present a one-day training on research-based solutions to autism spectrum disorders in Skokie on October 4. The doctors are recognized as the developers of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), one of the few responses to autism that is both comprehensive and empirically supported, as recognized by the National Research Council, the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, and the National Standards Project. Their Koegel Autism Center at the University of CaliforniaSanta Barbara has earned acclaim for promoting effective, scientifically-proven behavioral treatments for autism. The Chicago Area Pivotal Response Treatment Conference will take place at the Doubletree Hotel North Shore in Skokie on Friday, October 4 from 8 AM 4 PM. The event is designed for educators, parents, and clinicians who seek research-based answers to autism spectrum disorders. Attendees will learn the foundational principles of PRT, including: teaching first words, initiations, socialization, decreasing disruptive behavior, and functional behavior analysis. In Illinois, the Chicago Children's Clinic is the only agency certified to provide training on PRT. Dr. Rob Daniels, founder and executive director of the clinic, also will speak at the conference, sharing practical … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Press Office newsmedia@mssm.edu 212-241-9200 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine Scientists at the Seaver Autism Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), a promising treatment for a subtype of autism called Phelan McDermid Syndrome (PMS). The grant will allow researchers to expand upon an ongoing study assessing the clinical benefit of IGF-1 in children with this severe type of autism. IGF-1 is a commercially-available compound for growth deficiency that is known to promote nerve cell survival as well as synaptic maturation and plasticity. The primary aim of the study is to target core features of PMS, including social withdrawal and language impairment, which will be measured using both behavioral and objective assessments. So far, nine patients have participated in a pilot study to assess safety and feasibility of IGF-1. The Seaver Autism Center team hopes to enroll 18 more participants with support from the NIH grant, in order to establish statistically significant clinical benefit of IGF-1. The NIH will provide more than $750,000 over three … Continue reading →

Several key elements in systems of care can reduce stroke deaths and disabilities, according to a new American Heart Association/American Stroke Association policy statement published in its journal Stroke. A release from AHA notes that stroke is the number four cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, every 4 minutes someone dies of a stroke. The policy statement addresses patients' care from the time stroke symptoms are identified, to the emergency medical services' (EMS) response, to the transport and treatment in the hospital and rehabilitation. Recommendations include: *Develop public education programs to improve awareness of stroke symptoms and the need to call 911 to get to the hospital quickly for treatment. *Ensure EMS personnel can quickly assess stroke patients and get them to the hospital with appropriate care within 15-20 minutes. *Establish protocols to optimize the transfer of patients between hospitals offering different levels of care and within the different departments of a hospital. *Support the certification of stroke centers that follow treatment guidelines designed to improve patient care and outcomes. *Use telemedicine, especially in rural areas, to ensure patients have 24/7 access to consultation and care. The association also calls … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Dwight Angell dwight.angell@hfhs.org 313-850-3471 Henry Ford Health System DETROIT In the latest in a series of experiments testing the use of stem cells to treat neurological disease, researchers at Henry Ford Hospital have shown for the first time that microscopic material in the cells offers a "robust" treatment for crippling stroke. "In this study we pioneered a totally new treatment for stroke, and possibly for all neurological disease," says Michael Chopp, Ph.D., scientific director of the Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute. The new study is published online in the current issue of Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. It focused on exosomes, blister-like microscopic "bubbles" that once were thought to carry and get rid of "old" proteins that were no longer needed by the body. After they were recently found to also carry RNA, whole new fields of study were suggested including the pioneering work at Henry Ford. The research team found that after inducing stroke in lab rats, injecting exosomes containing this genetic material into their blood prompted remodeling of the affected brain, including increased production of new brain cells, blood vessels and neural rewiring. Together, these effects … Continue reading →

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the Office of Emergency Medical Services will activate the Southeast Regional Pilot Acute Stroke System (SRPASS) on Aug. 26. The new system will serve patients in 18 southeast Alabama counties. Providing access to rapid stroke treatment within the first few hours of the onset of symptoms is vitally important in ensuring good patient outcomes, said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. We applaud our partners for working to establish a system that will dramatically improve the quality of care stroke patients can receive by saving precious time and delivering expert neurologic care. Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Patients who are having a stroke need to be quickly evaluated at a hospital, just like patients who are having a heart attack. Ischemic strokes, which are the most common type of strokes, can sometimes be treated and completely reversed by use of a clotbuster drug called thrombolytic agent tissue plasminogen activator or tPA, Dr. Sarah Nafziger, assistant state EMS medical director, explained. Because of the need for urgency in treatment with tPA, these patients must be rapidly transported to … Continue reading →

A brain scan followed by quick drug treatment in the right patients can stop a stroke in its tracks. A brain scan followed by quick drug treatment in the right patients can stop a stroke in its tracks. It's been a long and often controversial road, but U.S. doctors are finally embracing a drug that can halt strokes and prevent disabling brain damage. An analysis of more than 1 million stroke patients shows that use of the 17-year-old drug, called alteplase (brand-name Activase), nearly doubled between 2003 and 2011. The study indicates that use of the therapy jumped from 43 percent to 77 percent over the past decade among those lucky patients who got to a hospital within two hours of their first stroke symptoms and had no disqualifying factors. "That's very encouraging," study author Dr. Deepak Bhatt tells Shots. "That's a very large increase. But 23 percent of eligible patients still aren't getting it." Alteplase treatment doesn't guarantee a good outcome. But studies have shown that 30 percent of stroke patients who get it have less long-term disability, and some patients have remarkable recoveries. Twelve percent recover with little or no disability. The results show that many U.S. hospitals … Continue reading →

MONTGOMERY, AL - The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the Office of Emergency Medical Services are announcing the activation of the Southeast Regional Pilot Acute Stroke System (SRPASS). The system will serve patients in 18 southeast Alabama counties effective Aug. 26. "Providing access to rapid stroke treatment within the first few hours of the onset of symptoms is vitally important in ensuring good patient outcomes," said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. "We applaud our partners for working to establish a system that will dramatically improve the quality of care stroke patients can receive by saving precious time and delivering expert neurologic care." Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Patients who are having a stroke need to be quickly evaluated at a hospital, just like patients who are having a heart attack. "Ischemic strokes, which are the most common type of strokes, can sometimes be treated and completely reversed by use of a clotbuster' drug called thrombolytic agent tissue plasminogen activator or tPA,'" Dr. Sarah Nafziger, assistant state EMS medical director, explained. "Because of the need for urgency in treatment with tPA, these patients … Continue reading →

Public release date: 31-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jacqueline Partarrieu press@escardio.org 44-754-070-4494 European Society of Cardiology Amsterdam, The Netherlands Saturday 31 August 2013: General practitioners (GPs) undertreat women with atrial fibrillation (AF), according to research presented at ESC Congress 2013 today by Dr Pierre Sabouret from France. The analysis of more than 15,000 patients showed that women were undertreated with antithrombotic medications compared to men regardless of their stroke risk and comorbidities. Dr Sabouret said: "Gender-related differences among outpatients with stable coronary artery disease are well known.1-6 Heart diseases are one of the most important causes of death among women worldwide.5 Therefore, it's crucial that women benefit from optimal treatments according to guidelines." In France both the prevalence (600,000 to 1 million patients) and incidence (110,000 to 230,000 new cases per year) of AF are dramatically increasing.7 ESC AF guidelines recommend the CHA2DS2-VASc score to determine stroke risk and the need for anticoagulation to prevent stroke.8 Female gender is a specific risk and adds one point to the stroke risk score. However no antithrombotic treatment is required if the patient is female, 1. After excluding women ineligible for anticoagulation (CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1 and age … Continue reading →

Aug. 31, 2013 General practitioners (GPs) undertreat women with atrial fibrillation (AF), according to research presented at ESC Congress 2013 today by Dr Pierre Sabouret from France. The analysis of more than 15,000 patients showed that women were undertreated with antithrombotic medications compared to men regardless of their stroke risk and comorbidities. Dr Sabouret said: "Gender-related differences among outpatients with stable coronary artery disease are well known.1-6 Heart diseases are one of the most important causes of death among women worldwide.5 Therefore, it's crucial that women benefit from optimal treatments according to guidelines." In France both the prevalence (600,000 to 1 million patients) and incidence (110,000 to 230,000 new cases per year) of AF are dramatically increasing.7 ESC AF guidelines recommend the CHA2DS2-VASc score to determine stroke risk and the need for anticoagulation to prevent stroke.8 Female gender is a specific risk and adds one point to the stroke risk score. However no antithrombotic treatment is required if the patient is female, 1. After excluding women ineligible for anticoagulation (CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1 and age … Continue reading →

Aug. 29, 2013 The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has identified several key elements needed for systems of care to effectively reduce stroke-related deaths and disability. The systems should quickly and appropriately address patients' needs from when stroke symptoms appear and EMS is called, during transport to and treatment in the hospital and through rehabilitation. Several key elements in systems of care can reduce stroke deaths and disabilities, according to a new American Heart Association/American Stroke Association policy statement published in its journal Stroke. Stroke is the number four cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, every 4 minutes someone dies of a stroke. The policy statement addresses patients' care from the time stroke symptoms are identified, to the emergency medical services' (EMS) response, to the transport and treatment in the hospital and rehabilitation. Recommendations include: The association also calls for patients to have access to post-stroke care, including rehabilitation and nursing services, regardless of their financial status or socio-economic background. Authors of the statement also address issues related to adequate reimbursement for stroke treatment and care and the need for quality improvement and public reporting initiatives. Share this story on … Continue reading →