Monica A. Perez, P.T., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery and The Miami Project, and colleagues, recently published A novel cortical target to enhance hand motor output in humans with spinal cord injury in the June issue of Brain that provides the first evidence that cortical targets could represent a novel therapeutic site for improving motor...
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Anti-epilepsy drug restores normal brain activity in mild Alzheimer’s disease
In the last decade, mounting evidence has linked seizure-like activity in the brain to some of the cognitive decline seen in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease have an increased risk of epilepsy and nearly half may experience subclinical epileptic activity—disrupted electrical activity in the brain that doesn’t result in a seizure but...
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Genes, ozone and autism
Increased risk for autism when genetic variation and air pollution meet UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new analysis shows that individuals with high levels of genetic variation and elevated exposure to ozone in the environment are at an even higher risk for developing autism than would be expected by adding the two risk factors together....
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Grappling with cancers like John McCain’s glioblastoma that break all the rules
Arizona Sen. John McCain’s recent diagnosis of the hard-to-treat cancer glioblastoma stands in contrast to recent media reports that paint an optimistic picture of cancer treatment in America. A sampling of headlines includes “Cancer survival rates at all-time high” and “Cancer death rates continue to decrease in the United States.” Driving much of the progress...
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Landmark FDA approval bolsters personalized medicine
Our understanding of cancer has been morphing from a tissue-specific disease — think lung cancer or breast cancer — to a disease characterized more by specific genes or biomarkers than by location. A recent FDA decision underscores that transition and further opens the door to personalized medicine. Two years ago, the director of the FDA’s...
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World first: Stem cell treatment for lethal STAT1 gene mutation shows ‘disappointing,’ but promising results
The first ever study assessing how patients with “gain of function” mutation of the STAT1 gene respond to stem cell transplantation has taken place. It involved 15 young patients, from nine different countries, each suffering a range of complications caused by the gene’s mutation. Of these, only six survived a regime of stem cell transplantation...
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A text message helped one of my patients stay in control of his health. Here’s how
As a new doctor, I’ve learned that the best patient care happens as often outside of the hospital as inside. While we treat sick people and get them tuned up, each patient’s opportunity to get better and stay better often depends on their access to resources beyond clinical walls. One of those resources, I’m learning, could be...
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Blind grandmother, 65, will be able to SEE for the first time in 40 years – following pioneering surgery using her TEETH
Honor Davis lost her sight when she was 26 due to a rare skin and eye disorder Surgery which involves placing a tooth into her eyes will help restore her vision Ms Davis said that she was unable to ‘imagine what it will be like to see better’ A blind mother will be able to...
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Radiation therapy vital to treating brain tumors, but it exacts a toll
Radiation therapy (RT) using high-energy particles, like x-rays or electron beams, is a common and critical component in successfully treating patients with brain tumors, but it is also associated with significant adverse effects, such as neuronal loss in adjacent healthy tissues. In a new study, published in the June issue of Brain Connectivity, researchers at the...
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Boosting natural detoxification pathways in the body to reduce cellular oxidative stress
Promoting innate detoxification mechanisms in the body and discovering which supplements increase the efficacy of those biochemical pathways could be an efficient strategy to reduce the cellular oxidative stress and protect our health, according to an article published in the journal Food Chemistry by the researchers Rafael Franco, from the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of...