An on-and-off switch for the brain being pioneered by Australian neuroscientists is giving hope to stroke and Parkinson's disease sufferers with speech problems. A technique known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, which has previously been used to treat depression, has produced encouraging results in trials conducted by the University of Queensland. A coil shaped like a figure-eight is held over a patient's head to try to switch on a part of the brain in Parkinson's sufferers and switch off a different part in stroke victims. 'The actual technology was developed back in the mid-80s but it sort of sat around for a while,' Professor Bruce Murdoch told AAP ahead of Speech Pathology Australia's national conference in Hobart. 'Now it's starting to come to the fore and people are starting to recognise that the brain is much more plastic ... it can heal itself much better than we ever thought it could. 'This seems to be a way of helping the brain to sort of rewire itself.' The trial has produced improvements over 12 months in long-term patients with both conditions who have already been through traditional therapies. Parkinson's sufferers, 85 per cent of whom experience speech or language difficulties, are improving … Continue reading →

By MICHELLEBEARDEN | The Tampa Tribune Published: June 23, 2012 TAMPA - Come late August, downtown Tampa will be the epicenter of politics and protests when the Republican National Convention rolls into town. One Davis Islands woman is leading an initiative to make sure that another element plays an important role: prayer. "Face it, the divide is so deep in Washington that somebody had to do something, somewhere, to heal it," says Camille McWhirter, a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. "And the problems are too big for any one political party or any one man to solve. "So as God's people, we're going to pray." And they're doing it through all kinds of venues, from an online outreach, a rally in a public park, a minichapel at the convention site and an inspirational concert aimed at youth. A volunteer group led by McWhirter launched a website (www.conventionsprayercoverage.com) to build a "nonpolitical, nonpartisan house of prayer" to bring people together on a common spiritual ground. The effort now includes organizers in Charlotte, N.C., where the Democratic National Convention meets Sept. 3 to 6. With an estimated 100,000 political leaders, protesters, media and tourists converging on the two cities, McWhirter says, … Continue reading →

By MICHELLE BEARDEN | The Tampa Tribune Published: June 23, 2012 Updated: June 23, 2012 - 7:00 AM Come late August, downtown Tampa will be the epicenter of politics and protests when the Republican National Convention rolls into town. One Davis Islands woman is leading an initiative to make sure that another element plays an important role: prayer. "Face it, the divide is so deep in Washington that somebody had to do something, somewhere, to heal it," says Camille McWhirter, a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. "And the problems are too big for any one political party or any one man to solve. "So as God's people, we're going to pray." And they're doing it through all kinds of venues, from an online outreach, a rally in a public park, a minichapel at the convention site and an inspirational concert aimed at youth. A volunteer group led by McWhirter launched a website (www.conventionsprayercoverage.com) to build a "nonpolitical, nonpartisan house of prayer" to bring people together on a common spiritual ground. The effort now includes organizers in Charlotte, N.C., where the Democratic National Convention meets Sept. 3 to 6. With an estimated 100,000 political leaders, protesters, media and tourists converging … Continue reading →