2012-03-21
2012-03-20
Evidence Builds That Meditation Strengthens the Brain
Earlier evidence out of UCLA suggested that meditating for years thickens the brain and strengthens the connections between brain cells. Now a direct correlation was found between the amount of gyrification and the number of meditation years, possibly providing further proof of the brain's neuroplasticity, or ability to adapt to environmental changes.
Eileen Luders, Florian Kurth, Emeran A. Mayer, Arthur W. Toga, Katherine L. Narr, Christian Gaser. The Unique Brain Anatomy of Meditation Practitioners: Alterations in Cortical Gyrification. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2012
2012-03-16
Flu Drug Speeds Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery
A multi-national study published Feb. 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed a significant breakthrough in the treatment of patients in vegetative and minimally conscious states. The study showed that the influenza medication amantadine hydrochloride accelerated the pace of functional recovery during active treatment in patients with post-traumatic disorders of consciousness.
Multi-National Clinical Trial Shows Effectiveness of Amantadine in Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury
2012-03-15
2012-03-14
Advertise on NYTimes.com Surgery for Epilepsy Gains Urgency in Trial
Researchers studied a group of 38 epilepsy patients, randomly assigning 15 to brain surgery and 23 to continued medical treatment. The surgery involves the removal of a piece of tissue about the size of a walnut from the temporal lobe, the part of the brain just above the ear. The surgery has been performed for many years, but the institution of high-resolution M.R.I. and microsurgical techniques have greatly improved its safety and efficacy.
...The patients in both groups were similar in age, duration of epilepsy, the number of antiepileptic drugs used and the number of seizures they had had. All had been taking drugs for one to two years without relief. The participants were seen at the study site every three months for two years after the start of the study. A group of specialists who did not know which patients had had surgery evaluated them for seizure type and severity as recorded in patient diaries. The study appears in the March 7 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
None of the 23 patients in the medication group and 11 of 15 in the surgical group were free of seizures during the second year of follow-up. Almost all of the surgical patients continued their drug regimen after their operations, which is the standard approach. After that point, if there are no seizures, patients can taper off the medicine...
...The patients in both groups were similar in age, duration of epilepsy, the number of antiepileptic drugs used and the number of seizures they had had. All had been taking drugs for one to two years without relief. The participants were seen at the study site every three months for two years after the start of the study. A group of specialists who did not know which patients had had surgery evaluated them for seizure type and severity as recorded in patient diaries. The study appears in the March 7 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
None of the 23 patients in the medication group and 11 of 15 in the surgical group were free of seizures during the second year of follow-up. Almost all of the surgical patients continued their drug regimen after their operations, which is the standard approach. After that point, if there are no seizures, patients can taper off the medicine...
2012-03-13
Who Should Treat Stroke?
David Sacks, Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery: ...There is no question that acute stroke is a major health problem, with about 800 000 strokes per year in the USA alone. Most stroke victims do not have a good recovery. US stroke healthcare costs are $41 billion a year.[1] Dollar amounts do not capture the suffering of the patient, family and friends for the death, disability and loss of independence caused by strokes. There is again no question that strokes are best prevented, but 800 000 strokes a year creates a huge need for emergency stroke treatment, including by endovascular means...
The Bottom Line is Patient Care
IA stroke therapy is highly beneficial if performed well by adequately trained physicians on appropriately selected patients. Take away any one of these three elements and benefit may become harm. Not every hospital should offer an IA stroke program. It requires tremendous resources, organization and commitment. Institutional competency is as important as physician competency. There is general (although not uniform) agreement that IA stroke is underserved within communities—24×7×365 coverage requires additional manpower. A training curriculum, combined with mastery of training and documentation of satisfactory clinical outcomes compared with national benchmarks, will confirm the skill of the endovascular stroke physician. It is time to stop looking from the perspective of an individual specialty. Vascular surgeons, cardiologists, IR, interventional neuroradiologists, interventional neurologists and neurosurgeons treat carotid disease. Endoscopy is performed by gastroenterologists, general surgeons and colorectal surgeons. Vertebral augmentation is performed by IR, interventional neuroradiologists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and anesthesiologists. IA stroke revascularization already is, and will continue to be, performed by physicians from multiple specialties. Our commitment needs to be focused on adequate training and confirmation of good outcomes.
...
The Bottom Line is Patient Care
IA stroke therapy is highly beneficial if performed well by adequately trained physicians on appropriately selected patients. Take away any one of these three elements and benefit may become harm. Not every hospital should offer an IA stroke program. It requires tremendous resources, organization and commitment. Institutional competency is as important as physician competency. There is general (although not uniform) agreement that IA stroke is underserved within communities—24×7×365 coverage requires additional manpower. A training curriculum, combined with mastery of training and documentation of satisfactory clinical outcomes compared with national benchmarks, will confirm the skill of the endovascular stroke physician. It is time to stop looking from the perspective of an individual specialty. Vascular surgeons, cardiologists, IR, interventional neuroradiologists, interventional neurologists and neurosurgeons treat carotid disease. Endoscopy is performed by gastroenterologists, general surgeons and colorectal surgeons. Vertebral augmentation is performed by IR, interventional neuroradiologists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and anesthesiologists. IA stroke revascularization already is, and will continue to be, performed by physicians from multiple specialties. Our commitment needs to be focused on adequate training and confirmation of good outcomes.
...
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