Public release date: 29-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Ian Evans i.evans@elsevier.com 44-186-584-3584 Elsevier New York, February 29, 2012 A revealing study published in Epilepsy & Behavior provides evidence that the perception of epilepsy is not faring well in social media. Kate McNeil and colleagues from Dalhousie University in Canada analyzed data collected from Twitter to provide a snapshot of how epilepsy is portrayed within the twitter community. Twitter, a social networking platform launched in 2006, allows its users to communicate through posting of "tweets" limited to 140 characters. Twitter has gained worldwide popularity since its inception, with approximately 110 million tweets per day from 200 million users worldwide counted in January 2011. Twitter's role in a number of revolutions, including the 2011 Egyptian revolution and the 2010-2011 Tunisian protest, has confirmed its ability to influence culture and perceptions on a global scale. In their study McNeil and colleagues analyzed 10,662 tweets collected during one week in April 2011 mentioning the word "seizure" or "seizures". They found that 41% of these seizure-related tweets were considered to be derogatory in nature. Fortunately there were a few tweets that spoke out against mocking those with seizures. For instance, "Why do … Continue reading →

28-02-2012 13:40 Read the original here: The Son - Rise Program - Fun is The Name of The Game - Video … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON - Early diagnosis is considered key for autism, but minority children tend to be diagnosed later than white children. Some new work is beginning to try to uncover why and to raise awareness of the warning signs so more parents know they can seek help even for a toddler. "The biggest thing I want parents to know is we can do something about it to help your child," says Dr. Rebecca Landa, autism director at Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute, who is exploring the barriers that different populations face in getting that help. Her preliminary research suggests even when diagnosed in toddlerhood, minority youngsters have more severe developmental delays than their white counterparts. She says cultural differences in how parents view developmental milestones, and how they interact with doctors, may play a role. Consider: Tots tend to point before they talk, but pointing is rude in some cultures and may not be missed by a new parent, Landa says. Or maybe mom's worried that her son isn't talking yet but the family matriarch, her grandmother, says: Don't worry Cousin Harry spoke late, too, and he's fine. Or maybe the pediatrician dismissed the parents' concern, and they were taught not to … Continue reading →

Public release date: 29-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Maureen Nagg naggm@ccf.org 216-444-5703 Cleveland Clinic Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, Cleveland: Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital has launched a study to determine whether genetic markers can be used to help identify children who are at risk of developing autism. The study is designed to confirm the predictive value of established genetic markers and is a follow-up to retrospective studies that have been completed. Thomas Frazier, Ph.D., of Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital Center for Autism, is the principle investigator for the study being funded by IntegraGen, a French biomedical company. The study will enroll 600 children over the next two years. "This is the first time anyone has done a prospective study on a combination of genetic markers to examine whether a genetic risk score is helpful in identifying children with autism," Dr. Frazier said. "Autism is currently assessed by looking at behavioral characteristics of children. If we can develop a genetic test to assist in the earlier diagnosis of autism, we can provide beneficial treatment that leads to improved outcomes more quickly." This study launches as the autism community prepares for the American Psychiatric Association's publication of the fifth edition … Continue reading →

Public release date: 29-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Leslie Capo lcapo@lsuhsc.edu 504-568-4806 Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, LA Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that a synthetic molecule protected the brain in a model of experimental stroke. Dr. Bazan was issued a patent on the molecule called LAU-0901, a low molecular weight drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier. The findings are published in the March 2012 issue of Translational Stroke Research. During an ischemic stroke, the most common kind, the body releases signals that cause neuroinflammation which leads to a buildup of chemicals that harm the brain. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) accumulates, and inhibition of this process plays a critical role in neuronal survival. "LAU-0901 is able to reduce this incorrect signaling and inhibit the PAF receptor, which reduces multiple neuroinflammatory signals and greatly lessens the severity of damage in experimental stroke," notes Dr. Bazan. The research team used magnetic resonance imaging in conjunction with behavior and immunohistopathology to further study this novel therapeutic approach. The researchers report that LAU-0901, given two hours after the … Continue reading →

Newswise Toronto, February 29, 2012 - Scientists at the Toronto Western Research Institute (TWRI), Krembil Neuroscience Center, have developed a drug that protects the brain against the damaging effects of a stroke in a lab setting. This drug has been in development for a few years. At this point, it has reached the most advanced stage of development among drugs created to reduce the brains vulnerability to stroke damage (termed a neuroprotectant). Over 1000 attempts to develop such drugs by scientists worldwide have failed to be translated to a stage where they can be used in humans, leaving a major unmet need for stroke treatment. The drug developed by the TWRI team is the first to achieve a neuroprotective effect in the complex brain of primates, in settings that simulate those of human strokes. ischemic stroke. The study, Treatment of Stroke with a PSD95 inhibitor in the Gyrencephalic Primate Brain, published online today in Nature, shows how the drug, called a PSD95 inhibitor prevents brain cell death and preserves brain function when administered after a stroke has occurred. We are closer to having a treatment for stroke than we have ever been before, said Dr. Michael Tymianski, TWRI Senior Scientist … Continue reading →

The head of the medical staff at the South Bruce Grey Health Centre said doctors at the Walkerton hospital need more time before deciding on whether they want to set up a proposed specialized stroke treatment centre. A month ago hospital president and chief administrative officer Paul Davies told the board of directors the hospital has the CT scanner and other equipment needed to join the provincial Telestroke system. On Feb. 22 Dr. Andrew Denyer told directors at a meeting in Durham that the doctors at the Walkerton hospital are mulling over the proposal and assessing the risks involved. The same drugs used to treat stroke are used in the treatment of heart attack and there are risks involved. Treating strokes with these blood thinning agents is not entirely without risk. There is a risk of bleeding. So potentially you could make the patient worse. At the same time the benefits to patients are huge, said Dr. Andrew Denyer during the hospital board meeting. A stroke is such a devastating event to happen to anyone and even though people survive them they are so disabled and the quality of life is very poor. So if you can do anything for … Continue reading →

Public release date: 29-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Nadia Daniell-Colarossi nadia.daniell-colarossi@uhn.on.ca 416-603-5294 University Health Network Toronto, February 29, 2012 - Scientists at the Toronto Western Research Institute (TWRI), Krembil Neuroscience Center, have developed a drug that protects the brain against the damaging effects of a stroke in a lab setting. This drug has been in development for a few years. At this point, it has reached the most advanced stage of development among drugs created to reduce the brain's vulnerability to stroke damage (termed a "neuroprotectant"). Over 1000 attempts to develop such drugs by scientists worldwide have failed to be translated to a stage where they can be used in humans, leaving a major unmet need for stroke treatment. The drug developed by the TWRI team is the first to achieve a neuroprotective effect in the complex brain of primates, in settings that simulate those of human strokes. ischemic stroke. The study, "Treatment of Stroke with a PSD95 inhibitor in the Gyrencephalic Primate Brain", published online today in Nature, shows how the drug, called a "PSD95 inhibitor" prevents brain cell death and preserves brain function when administered after a stroke has occurred. "We are closer to having … Continue reading →

Ochsner Health System this week announced that its neurologists recently completed the 1000th patient consult in a burgeoning stroke treatment program for rural and understaffed hospitals. Ochsner, amulti-hospital enterprise that serves a larger share of the patient base than any of its competitors in the New Orleans region, launched the Acute Stroke System for Emergent Regional Telestroke (ASSERT) program in 2009. The service uses technology to link vascular neurologists at Ochsner Medical Center to other hospitals that do not have vascular neurologists on call when a stroke victim arrives for treatment. ASSERT is intended to improve treatment in the critical hours after a blockage begins in a cerebral artery. Via video, an Ochsner Medical Center specialist can observe a patient, assist in diagnosis and consult on how to proceed with thrombolytic therapy, the administration of drugs intended to break up blockages and resume oxygen flow to brain tissue. Thrombolytic therapy is the most common emergency treatment for ischemic stroke, which occur upon arterial blockages, as opposed to hemorrhagic stroke that occurs when a vessel bleeds into brain tissue. Telemedicine is an expanding enterprise on the American health-care landscape, though Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital to use the technology for … Continue reading →