When doctors diagnosed Darcie Crawfords 2-year-old daughter with autism, she and her husband were left scrambling to find treatment options. They didn't know where to turn to help Lauren at first. "It was really devastating. We couldn't even leave the hospital, Darcie Crawford said. After five years of visits to specialists and out-of-pocket expenses, Crawford was grateful to have found the help she'd been searching for at the Hospital for Special Cares new Autism Center. Dr. John Molteni, who runs the center, said they try to help parents identify concerns that they have for their child, clarify diagnostics and provide treatment options. One of the centers goals is to provide help for an underserved population of children with autism, including those whose families have limited resources to access the kind of specialized care they need. Its also a place where parents can get a game plan on how to care for an autistic child. Hospital for Special Care Unveils New Autism Center Hospital for Special Care officials said the new autism center will help diagnose patients with autism and lead families toward the best treatment options. "It would have been so much more helpful had I gotten the diagnosis from … Continue reading →

When it comes to a stroke, minutes passed mean millions of brain cells lost, doctors say. But here in the East Valley, Mesa's Banner Desert Medical Center is looking to shorten the time for emergency room patients to receive clot-busting drugs after a stroke. The solution is to connect emergency room doctors and patients with neurologists through a virtual, secure video consultation. The telestroke program is in partnership with Specialists on Call, Inc. and will allow emergency room doctors to deliver clot-dissolving medication faster. This new service saves our patients precious time and delivers expert neurological care to the patients who need it most, said Dr. Jacqueline Carter, Banner Desert Medical Center stroke director. Its a novelty in our area, but it isnt in many places in the country. Banner Desert is believed to be the first hospital in the Phoenix area to provide this type of service. Through virtual consultation, stroke victims at Banner Desert Medical Center will receive faster care for a stroke. In the case of stroke, time is brain and every minute a patient is losing millions of brain cells, Carter said. We are minimizing the amount of brain cells lost by delivering tPA (tissue plasminogen … Continue reading →

Public release date: 8-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Deborah Wormser deborah.wormser@utsouthwestern.edu 214-648-3404 UT Southwestern Medical Center DALLAS -- UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators have identified a genetic manipulation that increases the development of neurons in the brain during aging and enhances the effect of antidepressant drugs. The research finds that deleting the Nf1 gene in mice results in long-lasting improvements in neurogenesis, which in turn makes those in the test group more sensitive to the effects of antidepressants. "The significant implication of this work is that enhancing neurogenesis sensitizes mice to antidepressants meaning they needed lower doses of the drugs to affect 'mood' and also appears to have anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects of its own that continue over time," said Dr. Luis Parada, director of the Kent Waldrep Center for Basic Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration and senior author of the study published in the Journal of Neuroscience. Just as in people, mice produce new neurons throughout adulthood, although the rate declines with age and stress, said Dr. Parada, chairman of developmental biology at UT Southwestern. Studies have shown that learning, exercise, electroconvulsive therapy and some antidepressants can increase neurogenesis. The steps in the process are … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Mar. 8, 2012) UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators have identified a genetic manipulation that increases the development of neurons in the brain during aging and enhances the effect of antidepressant drugs. The research finds that deleting the Nf1 gene in mice results in long-lasting improvements in neurogenesis, which in turn makes those in the test group more sensitive to the effects of antidepressants. "The significant implication of this work is that enhancing neurogenesis sensitizes mice to antidepressants -- meaning they needed lower doses of the drugs to affect 'mood' -- and also appears to have anti-depressive and anti-anxiety effects of its own that continue over time," said Dr. Luis Parada, director of the Kent Waldrep Center for Basic Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration and senior author of the study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. Just as in people, mice produce new neurons throughout adulthood, although the rate declines with age and stress, said Dr. Parada, chairman of developmental biology at UT Southwestern. Studies have shown that learning, exercise, electroconvulsive therapy and some antidepressants can increase neurogenesis. The steps in the process are well known but the cellular mechanisms behind those steps are not. "In neurogenesis, stem cells … Continue reading →

Public release date: 8-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Emily Ng eng3@nshs.edu 516-562-2670 North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System MANHASSET, NY A collaborative group of investigators has joined together to identify five genetic variations associated with Crohn's disease (CD) and Jewish individuals of Eastern and Central European decent, who are also known as Ashkenazi Jews. These findings were published in the March issue of PLoS Genetics. CD causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract and can be both painful and debilitating, and sometimes may lead to life-threatening complications. CD is two-to-four times more prevalent among individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish decent compared to non-Jewish Europeans. The study conducted at multiple institutions across the world, including the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, was an important step toward understanding the genetic reasons for this higher prevalence. "This large collaborative study made it possible to define more precisely the genetic contributions to Crohn's disease that are enriched in the Ashkenazi Jewish population, which has carried a higher risk for this disorder." said Peter K. Gregersen, head of the Robert S. Boas Center for Genomics and Human Genetics at the Feinstein Institute. "The study identified genetic regions that hadn't been … Continue reading →