by JIM BERGAMO / KVUE News and photojournalist John Gusky and editor John Fisher kvue.com Posted on August 13, 2013 at 5:43 PM Updated yesterday at 6:16 PM AUSTIN -- Epilepsy patients who don't respond to medication have new hope. Specialists at Dell Children's Medical Center are the first in Central Texas to perform a new procedure that can change lives in just days, compared to months. The thought of being rolled into an operating room for a procedure on the brain might scare most people, but not 16-year-old Keynan Martin. "I would have went for any surgery really," said Martin. "If it changed the way it was I would have gone for it." That's because for half his life, Martin has suffered from epilepsy -- an abnormal firing of brain cells. It can most easily be described as a short circuiting of the brain. "It was pretty harsh," said Martin. "It changed my life." Like 30 percent of all epilepsy patients, Martin did not respond to medication, and traditional brain surgery had its risks. "We have to be able to target an area of epilepsy," said Mark Lee, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Dell Children's Medical Center. "Epilepsy is not … Continue reading →

Originally published August 12, 2013 at 6:33 PM | Page modified August 13, 2013 at 2:25 PM WASHINGTON Autism advocates celebrated what they thought was a major victory when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010: They expected the law to require all insurance companies to cover pricey, potentially lifelong treatments for those with the incurable condition. But instead of creating a national standard for autism coverage, the administration bowed to political pressure from states and insurers and left it to states to define, within certain parameters, the essential benefits that insurance companies must provide. Coverage requirements for autism treatments, such as behavioral counseling and speech and occupational therapy, already vary from state to state. Far from smoothing out those differences, critics say the ACA will add a new layer of complexity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says it will consider setting a national standard in 2016. Until then, states will decide what autism treatments insurance companies must cover. Q: What is autism, how is it treated and at what cost? A: Autism is a mental disorder affecting more than 2 million Americans and tens of millions of people worldwide. According to the … Continue reading →

(PRWEB) August 14, 2013 An estimated 700,000 people have a stroke in the United States each year, and approximately 37% of stroke survivors develop depression within 2 years according to survey published in NewsFix*. Several studies have shown that stroke patients who develop depression recover more slowly and are more likely to die within ten years than stroke patients who dont become depressed. There is now substantial and accumulating basic science and clinical evidence linking neuro-inflammation with severe depression. In a landmark study published in the Journal Neuropsychopharmacology, Susana G. Torres-Platas analyzed the brains of suicide victims and concludes: "The presence of hypertrophic astrocytes in BA24 white matter is consistent with reports suggesting white matter alterations in depression, and provides further support to the neuro-inflammatory theory of depression." ** Perispinally injected Enbrel is a means of administering a powerful long-lasting anti-inflammatory agent to the brain. The standard treatment protocol Neurological Wellness Center physicians employ for individuals who have experienced a stroke is just one to four perispinal injections of 25 mg etanercept over up to a 40 day period coupled with oral minocycline 100 mg 2X daily for 50 days. "This treatment interrupts a self-perpetuating cycle of inflammation that can … Continue reading →