Neural Stem Cell Therapy for Ischemic Stroke Patients

March 15, 2011 | by

The single largest cause of adult disability in the developed world is ischemic stroke, in which blood flow in or to the brain is blocked. It precipitates immense amounts of social and financial costs. Currently, therapies for stroke focus on prevention or acute phase treatments that arrest the stroke while it is happening. But many patients are not fortunate enough to get acute phase treatment and suffer neurological damage that leads to functional and cognitive impairment. Until now, there have been almost no options for such patients. But last February, a company called ReNeuron received approval to begin a clinical trial of neural stem cell therapy for disabled stroke patients [1]. Two patients have been treated thus far and the therapy appears to be safe.

Neural stem cell therapy

Brain Awareness Week: Brain Fitness Book Give Away

March 14, 2011 | by

Here at Highlight HEALTH, we’re very interested in health and wellness, and the evidence-based preventive steps that can be taken to maintain or preclude disease or injury. This same idea applies to brain health: what preventive measures can be taken to improve or retain mental ability and brainpower?

Cognitive decline as you age appears to be largely due to altered connections among brain cells. Keeping the brain active — reading, writing, working crossword or other puzzles, educational courses, memory exercises — appears to strengthen the brain and may build reserves of brain cells and connections.

Today, it’s common to hear the buzzwords “brain fitness”, “brain training” and/or “neuroplasticity”. There are several products available on the market that can help to maintain and/or rebuild cognitive performance. We reviewed the SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness when it was released in 2009. The guide aims to help people make informed decisions about brain health and cognitive fitness, based on the latest scientific research, and to help navigate new products and confusing myths and claims that are part of the emerging brain fitness market.

SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness book give away

For Brain Awareness Week, SharpBrains has generously provided 5 copies of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness for us to give away. Here’s how it works:

Simply leave a comment below and tell us in 2-3 sentences how brain research can impact health and/or healthcare. Together with Alvaro Fernandez at SharpBrains, we’ll select the 5 best answers and send the authors a copy of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness.

If you need ideas to help you get started, check out past stories on the brain here at Highlight HEALTH.

Steps to brain fitness

An unhealthy lifestyle can lead to diseases like obesity, diabetes and brain-related health problems, all of which increase the risk of stroke, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. These conditions can be managed and even prevented by a healthy lifestyle. Research shows that brain health is promoted by a healthy lifestyle that includes [1]:

  • Eating a brain-healthy diet
  • Staying mentally active
  • Exercising and keeping fit
  • Staying socially engaged
  • Getting plenty of sleep
  • Managing stress
  • Protecting your head from trauma
  • Controlling risk factors
  • Avoiding unhealthy habits
  • Understanding your genetic risk

The decision to review your current lifestyle and start making changes for brain health is truly an important choice to make. Following the healthy steps listed above will be effective at any age; however, the earlier you start, the better off you will be. Your goal should be to make a brain-healthy lifestyle a normal part of your everyday.

References

  1. Steps to Brain Fitness. Alliance for Aging Research. 2006.

Brain Awareness Week 2011 at Highlight HEALTH

March 14, 2011 | by

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is the global campaign to increase public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. Founded and coordinated by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and European Dana Alliance for the Brain, every March BAW unites the efforts of organizations worldwide in a week-long celebration of the brain.

Brain Awareness Week

Vitamin D Regulates Genes Associated with Susceptibility to Autoimmune Diseases

March 10, 2011 | by

Vitamin D is, at this point, probably one of the trendiest vitamins around. Everyone suddenly seems to be getting their vitamin D level tested (specifically vitamin D3 or 25(OH)D, also called calcidiol) and, when levels are found to be deficient, taking supplements. In November 2010, the Institute of Medicine tripled its daily recommendations for vitamin D from 200 International Units to 600 [1]. Severe vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, which leads to a softening and weakening of the bones, so milk has been fortified with vitamin D to prevent rickets. Less dramatic vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in ailments ranging from cancer to heart disease to schizophrenia to autoimmune diseases to colds and the flu. But how does vitamin D act in the body — how can it contribute to so many different physiological processes?

Functions of vitamin D

Biomarker Bulletin: March 7, 2011

March 7, 2011 | by

Biomarker Bulletin is an occasionally recurring update of news focused on biomarkers aggregated at BiomarkerCommons.org. Biomarkers are physical, functional or biochemical indicators of normal physiological or disease processes. The individualization of disease management — personalized medicine — is dependent on developing biomarkers that promote specific clinical domains, including early detection, risk, diagnosis, prognosis and predicted response to therapy.

Biomarker Commons