Showing posts with label author. Show all posts
Showing posts with label author. Show all posts
01 March 2009
Another Voice from Down Here
I recently had an email from Gary Presley, you may of read a couple of the posts earlier by him, and he is happy to exchange blog feeds as well. I hope you enjoy reading them:
The Dancing with Monsters blog presents interesting perception about disability in this world. In the most recent post, the author offers the opinion that "God values us and values our stories."About that I am not sure. I sometimes think God Is what was before the Big Bang and awaits us beyond the edge of Infinity.
The Dancing with Monsters blog presents interesting perception about disability in this world. In the most recent post, the author offers the opinion that "God values us and values our stories."About that I am not sure. I sometimes think God Is what was before the Big Bang and awaits us beyond the edge of Infinity.
27 February 2009
Stunning Finding: Compounds Protect Against Cerebral Palsy
by Insciences
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Two compounds developed by Northwestern University chemists have been shown to be effective in pre-clinical trials in protecting against cerebral palsy, a condition caused by neurodegeneration that affects body movement and muscle coordination.“The results were just stunning, absolutely amazing,” said Richard B. Silverman, John Evans Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern, who led the drug development effort. “There was a remarkable difference between animals treated with a small dose of one of our compounds and those that were not.”The findings, which are published online by the journal Annals of Neurology, suggest that a preventive strategy for cerebral palsy may be feasible for humans in the future. (The paper also will appear in the journal’s February issue, in print the week of March 2.)
Richard Silverman None of the fetuses born to animals treated with the two compounds died; more than half of those born to untreated animals died. Eighty-three percent of animals treated with one of the compounds were born normal, with no cerebral palsy characteristics. Sixty-nine percent of animals treated with the other compound were born normal. There was no sign of toxicity in the treated animals, and their blood pressure was normal. Cerebral palsy is caused by an injury to the brain before, during or shortly after birth, although it typically is not diagnosed until after the age of one. Approximately 750,000 children and adults in the United States have a form of cerebral palsy, with the majority having been born with the condition.
The new compounds Silverman and his team developed inhibit an enzyme found in brain cells that produces nitric oxide, thus lowering nitric oxide levels. At normal levels, nitric oxide acts as a neurotransmitter and is important to neuronal functioning, but at high levels it has been shown to damage brain tissue. An overabundance of nitric oxide is believed to play a role in cerebral palsy.After a lengthy drug development process, Silverman went to his collaborator Sidhartha Tan, M.D., a neonatologist from NorthShore University HealthSystem, to test the two best compounds on Tan’s cerebral palsy animal model. A diminished supply of oxygen (hypoxia) from mother to fetus causes an increase in nitric oxide levels in the brain, which leads to brain damage and newborns with cerebral palsy characteristics. Silverman and Tan wanted to see if they could prevent brain damage in the fetuses by administering one of the compounds to the mother before the hypoxic event. They expected some degree of success but were surprised by how effective the treatment was.
The researchers attribute the protection from cerebral palsy to the decrease in the brain enzyme and the nitric oxide that is produced.“We still have to bring the phenomenon to humans, which would be very exciting,” said Tan, who has been investigating the impact of nitric oxide on neuronal damage. “There is such a dire need. If we could safely give the drug early to mothers in at-risk situations, we could prevent the fetal brain injury that results in cerebral palsy.”
In developing the potential drugs, Silverman and his team were able to produce something that pharmaceutical companies so far have not: highly selective compounds that inhibit the enzyme found in brain cells that produces nitric oxide but that do not affect similar nitric oxide-producing enzymes found in endothelial and macrophage cells. Endothelial cells regulate blood pressure, and macrophage cells play an important role in the immune system. Reducing their production of nitric oxide would have deleterious effects on an animal, such as increasing blood pressure or compromising the immune system.“The challenge was to lower only the nitric oxide in the brain and not in the other cells where the nitric oxide is very important,” said Silverman, a member of Northwestern’s Center for Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology. “Early compounds developed by drug companies to target the brain enzyme actually bound to all three nitric oxide enzymes,” he said. “This made me think that the three enzymes must be very similar in structure. We decided to look for differences away from the normal binding site to get selectivity for only the brain enzyme.”This approach paid off. Silverman and his team started with a molecule that showed good selectivity of the brain enzyme over the macrophage enzyme but with no selectivity over the endothelial enzyme.
The researchers then made modifications to the molecule and built a library of 185 different compounds that could be tested for the selectivity they wanted. They found 10 good ones. More modifications were made until they had a few compounds that were very selective and very potent for the brain enzyme.Silverman then started collaborating with Thomas Poulos, Chancellor’s Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and a crystallographer from University of California, Irvine, who had been working on the structure of the neuronal brain enzyme. Silverman sent him several potent and selective compounds, and Poulos produced crystal structures showing each compound bound to the brain enzyme.“Thanks to the talents of Tom and his associate Huiying Li we could, for the first time, see visually why these compounds were selective and also see the difference between them,” said Silverman.Haitao Ji, a postdoctoral fellow who is an expert in structure-based design, joined Silverman’s team. Ji took the crystal structures of their molecules bound to the enzyme and, using computer modeling, designed new structures with even better properties.These compounds were more potent and much more selective than earlier ones. Poulos produced crystal structures of the new compounds.
These are the compounds that Tan tested on his cerebral palsy animal model with such promising results, as reported by the research team in the Annals of Neurology paper. “This is a great example of a multi-institutional collaboration that could not have been done without each of the parts -- we each contributed something different,” said Silverman. “Science is going in that direction these days.”The researchers caution that taking the compounds to human clinical trials is a lengthy and complicated process. Silverman says they next plan to make the compounds even more potent, selective and bioavailable and then envision partnering with a company that would want to develop the drugs further.
The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Robert A. Welch Foundation.Silverman, Tan, Poulos, Li and Ji (lead author) are all authors of the paper, titled “Selective Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors and the Prevention of Cerebral Palsy.” Other authors are Jotaro Igarashi, from the University of California, Irvine; Matthew Derrick, M.D., from NorthShore University HealthSystem (formerly Evanston Northwestern Healthcare); Pavel Martasek, M.D., and Linda J. Roman, from the University of Texas Health Science Center; and Jeannette Vasquez-Vivar, from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Two compounds developed by Northwestern University chemists have been shown to be effective in pre-clinical trials in protecting against cerebral palsy, a condition caused by neurodegeneration that affects body movement and muscle coordination.“The results were just stunning, absolutely amazing,” said Richard B. Silverman, John Evans Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern, who led the drug development effort. “There was a remarkable difference between animals treated with a small dose of one of our compounds and those that were not.”The findings, which are published online by the journal Annals of Neurology, suggest that a preventive strategy for cerebral palsy may be feasible for humans in the future. (The paper also will appear in the journal’s February issue, in print the week of March 2.)
Richard Silverman None of the fetuses born to animals treated with the two compounds died; more than half of those born to untreated animals died. Eighty-three percent of animals treated with one of the compounds were born normal, with no cerebral palsy characteristics. Sixty-nine percent of animals treated with the other compound were born normal. There was no sign of toxicity in the treated animals, and their blood pressure was normal. Cerebral palsy is caused by an injury to the brain before, during or shortly after birth, although it typically is not diagnosed until after the age of one. Approximately 750,000 children and adults in the United States have a form of cerebral palsy, with the majority having been born with the condition.
The new compounds Silverman and his team developed inhibit an enzyme found in brain cells that produces nitric oxide, thus lowering nitric oxide levels. At normal levels, nitric oxide acts as a neurotransmitter and is important to neuronal functioning, but at high levels it has been shown to damage brain tissue. An overabundance of nitric oxide is believed to play a role in cerebral palsy.After a lengthy drug development process, Silverman went to his collaborator Sidhartha Tan, M.D., a neonatologist from NorthShore University HealthSystem, to test the two best compounds on Tan’s cerebral palsy animal model. A diminished supply of oxygen (hypoxia) from mother to fetus causes an increase in nitric oxide levels in the brain, which leads to brain damage and newborns with cerebral palsy characteristics. Silverman and Tan wanted to see if they could prevent brain damage in the fetuses by administering one of the compounds to the mother before the hypoxic event. They expected some degree of success but were surprised by how effective the treatment was.
The researchers attribute the protection from cerebral palsy to the decrease in the brain enzyme and the nitric oxide that is produced.“We still have to bring the phenomenon to humans, which would be very exciting,” said Tan, who has been investigating the impact of nitric oxide on neuronal damage. “There is such a dire need. If we could safely give the drug early to mothers in at-risk situations, we could prevent the fetal brain injury that results in cerebral palsy.”
In developing the potential drugs, Silverman and his team were able to produce something that pharmaceutical companies so far have not: highly selective compounds that inhibit the enzyme found in brain cells that produces nitric oxide but that do not affect similar nitric oxide-producing enzymes found in endothelial and macrophage cells. Endothelial cells regulate blood pressure, and macrophage cells play an important role in the immune system. Reducing their production of nitric oxide would have deleterious effects on an animal, such as increasing blood pressure or compromising the immune system.“The challenge was to lower only the nitric oxide in the brain and not in the other cells where the nitric oxide is very important,” said Silverman, a member of Northwestern’s Center for Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology. “Early compounds developed by drug companies to target the brain enzyme actually bound to all three nitric oxide enzymes,” he said. “This made me think that the three enzymes must be very similar in structure. We decided to look for differences away from the normal binding site to get selectivity for only the brain enzyme.”This approach paid off. Silverman and his team started with a molecule that showed good selectivity of the brain enzyme over the macrophage enzyme but with no selectivity over the endothelial enzyme.
The researchers then made modifications to the molecule and built a library of 185 different compounds that could be tested for the selectivity they wanted. They found 10 good ones. More modifications were made until they had a few compounds that were very selective and very potent for the brain enzyme.Silverman then started collaborating with Thomas Poulos, Chancellor’s Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and a crystallographer from University of California, Irvine, who had been working on the structure of the neuronal brain enzyme. Silverman sent him several potent and selective compounds, and Poulos produced crystal structures showing each compound bound to the brain enzyme.“Thanks to the talents of Tom and his associate Huiying Li we could, for the first time, see visually why these compounds were selective and also see the difference between them,” said Silverman.Haitao Ji, a postdoctoral fellow who is an expert in structure-based design, joined Silverman’s team. Ji took the crystal structures of their molecules bound to the enzyme and, using computer modeling, designed new structures with even better properties.These compounds were more potent and much more selective than earlier ones. Poulos produced crystal structures of the new compounds.
These are the compounds that Tan tested on his cerebral palsy animal model with such promising results, as reported by the research team in the Annals of Neurology paper. “This is a great example of a multi-institutional collaboration that could not have been done without each of the parts -- we each contributed something different,” said Silverman. “Science is going in that direction these days.”The researchers caution that taking the compounds to human clinical trials is a lengthy and complicated process. Silverman says they next plan to make the compounds even more potent, selective and bioavailable and then envision partnering with a company that would want to develop the drugs further.
The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Robert A. Welch Foundation.Silverman, Tan, Poulos, Li and Ji (lead author) are all authors of the paper, titled “Selective Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors and the Prevention of Cerebral Palsy.” Other authors are Jotaro Igarashi, from the University of California, Irvine; Matthew Derrick, M.D., from NorthShore University HealthSystem (formerly Evanston Northwestern Healthcare); Pavel Martasek, M.D., and Linda J. Roman, from the University of Texas Health Science Center; and Jeannette Vasquez-Vivar, from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
08 February 2009
MRI scans can predict effects of multiple sclerosis 'flare-ups' on optic nerve
One of the most pernicious aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS) - its sheer unpredictability - may finally be starting to yield to advanced medical imaging techniques.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report online in the journal Neurology that an approach known as magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allowed them to estimate three months in advance the chronic effects of inflammation of the optic nerve. The condition occurs most often as a result of MS, a neurodegenerative disorder that can present with an extremely broad variety of symptoms that range from vision loss and other sensory damage to muscle weakness, spasticity or paralysis to depression, sleep loss or incontinence. MS affects an estimated 500,000 Americans.
"We see this as part of a battery of tests we hope to give patients within the next decade to help our clinical assessment and tailor it to an optimal treatment," says lead author Robert T. Naismith, M.D., assistant professor of neurology and a staff physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "It may also help further refine our basic understanding of MS in terms of expanding our insights into where and how damage occurs and why it can affect patients differently."
Scientists believe MS results from misdirected immune system attacks against the nervous system. Symptoms occur in bouts that vary unpredictably in nature, severity, duration and frequency. Symptoms of optic nerve inflammation, known as optic neuritis, include loss of vision, blurring or fogginess and pain in the affected eye.
Regular MRI scans can detect optic neuritis but offer no information on its severity and potential lasting consequences for a patient's vision.
Currently in use clinically to detect and follow up on strokes, DTI uses a rapid series of MRI scans to track water diffusion in tissue. Noting that inflammation and the cell damage it causes would likely alter water diffusion in the affected tissues, Naismith and his colleagues hypothesized that this information might allow them to assess the severity and potential for lasting damage of MS flare-ups. Over the past five years, the new paper's senior authors, Sheng-Kwei Song, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology, and Anne Cross, M.D., professor of radiology, did much of the quantitative work in animal models of MS. The new data, based upon this successful collaborative history, are the first to show that DTI can produce potentially useful predictive information in humans.
For the study, researchers used DTI to image the optic nerves of 12 healthy volunteers, 12 patients who had begun to suffer from optic neuritis within the past month and 28 patients with a history of earlier outbreaks. They gave participants with optic neuritis or a history of it detailed assessments of their visual health, including tests of visual acuity and the thickness and conductivity of their optic nerves.
In the healthy subjects, DTI scans showed that the water diffusion along the length of the subjects' optic nerves, a characteristic known as axial diffusivity, averaged about 1.66 micrometers squared per millisecond. In three patients with acute optic neuritis, those levels went down as much as 0.45 micrometers squared per millisecond.
"As the inflammation breaks down the structure of the axons or branches of the optic nerves, the normal water diffusion in this direction is impeded," Naismith explains. "After several months, though, the debris is cleared away, and this value and another characteristic known as radial diffusivity then start to increase."
In acute patients, the initial decrease in axial diffusivity brought on by optic neuritis correlated with decreased sensitivity to visual contrast one month and three months later. In patients with a history of optic neuritis, the increase in radial diffusivity was a good predictor of lower scores on several tests of visual health. Scientists plan to assess the acute patients again one year after the onset of symptoms to see if the scan results continue to be predictive.
Researchers are currently working to expand the approach to assess MS attacks in the brain and spinal cord.
"The optic nerve was our proof of concept, because it's structurally a very simple tract with all the nerves going one way, like a one-way street," he says. "The next step is taking the technique into the brain and spinal cord, where there are many different streets crossing. Measuring damage and correlating it to dysfunction will be more complex as a result."
http://www.medicine.wustl.edu/
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report online in the journal Neurology that an approach known as magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allowed them to estimate three months in advance the chronic effects of inflammation of the optic nerve. The condition occurs most often as a result of MS, a neurodegenerative disorder that can present with an extremely broad variety of symptoms that range from vision loss and other sensory damage to muscle weakness, spasticity or paralysis to depression, sleep loss or incontinence. MS affects an estimated 500,000 Americans.
"We see this as part of a battery of tests we hope to give patients within the next decade to help our clinical assessment and tailor it to an optimal treatment," says lead author Robert T. Naismith, M.D., assistant professor of neurology and a staff physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "It may also help further refine our basic understanding of MS in terms of expanding our insights into where and how damage occurs and why it can affect patients differently."
Scientists believe MS results from misdirected immune system attacks against the nervous system. Symptoms occur in bouts that vary unpredictably in nature, severity, duration and frequency. Symptoms of optic nerve inflammation, known as optic neuritis, include loss of vision, blurring or fogginess and pain in the affected eye.
Regular MRI scans can detect optic neuritis but offer no information on its severity and potential lasting consequences for a patient's vision.
Currently in use clinically to detect and follow up on strokes, DTI uses a rapid series of MRI scans to track water diffusion in tissue. Noting that inflammation and the cell damage it causes would likely alter water diffusion in the affected tissues, Naismith and his colleagues hypothesized that this information might allow them to assess the severity and potential for lasting damage of MS flare-ups. Over the past five years, the new paper's senior authors, Sheng-Kwei Song, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology, and Anne Cross, M.D., professor of radiology, did much of the quantitative work in animal models of MS. The new data, based upon this successful collaborative history, are the first to show that DTI can produce potentially useful predictive information in humans.
For the study, researchers used DTI to image the optic nerves of 12 healthy volunteers, 12 patients who had begun to suffer from optic neuritis within the past month and 28 patients with a history of earlier outbreaks. They gave participants with optic neuritis or a history of it detailed assessments of their visual health, including tests of visual acuity and the thickness and conductivity of their optic nerves.
In the healthy subjects, DTI scans showed that the water diffusion along the length of the subjects' optic nerves, a characteristic known as axial diffusivity, averaged about 1.66 micrometers squared per millisecond. In three patients with acute optic neuritis, those levels went down as much as 0.45 micrometers squared per millisecond.
"As the inflammation breaks down the structure of the axons or branches of the optic nerves, the normal water diffusion in this direction is impeded," Naismith explains. "After several months, though, the debris is cleared away, and this value and another characteristic known as radial diffusivity then start to increase."
In acute patients, the initial decrease in axial diffusivity brought on by optic neuritis correlated with decreased sensitivity to visual contrast one month and three months later. In patients with a history of optic neuritis, the increase in radial diffusivity was a good predictor of lower scores on several tests of visual health. Scientists plan to assess the acute patients again one year after the onset of symptoms to see if the scan results continue to be predictive.
Researchers are currently working to expand the approach to assess MS attacks in the brain and spinal cord.
"The optic nerve was our proof of concept, because it's structurally a very simple tract with all the nerves going one way, like a one-way street," he says. "The next step is taking the technique into the brain and spinal cord, where there are many different streets crossing. Measuring damage and correlating it to dysfunction will be more complex as a result."
http://www.medicine.wustl.edu/
Brain Surgery for Epilepsy Extends Life Expectancy, Study Says
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- A surgery to remove a paper clip-sized sliver of brain may help some epilepsy patients live as much as five years longer than those on anti-seizure drugs, according to a computer-generated analysis of patient data and studies.
The surgery can also boost quality of life, allowing patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of the disorder, to live more years with fewer seizures, the analysis found. The report will be published in tomorrow’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
Doctors have known the surgery to be effective since the 1950s in patients whose seizures stem from the temporal lobe, the part of the brain that processes emotions. Still, many patients that might benefit don’t get the surgery because doctors overestimate the likelihood of complications, the study’s authors said. The surgery is most effective when performed early enough to prevent permanent disabilities, said neurologist Jerome Engel, the author of an accompanying editorial.
“The objective for treatment should be no seizures and no side effects, and as soon as possible,” said Engel, a professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a telephone interview today. He was not involved in the study. “The longer the seizures go on, the less likely patients are to be rehabilitated.”
The report was created by using quality-of-life data obtained directly from patients and published data from medical studies to create a model. The researchers ran the model 10,000 times to get their results. The model patient used in the report was 35 years old.
Signals Disrupted
Epilepsy is an illness in which signals of the brain’s nerve cells’ are disrupted, causing seizures. The condition is incurable, and the risk of seizures means some people can’t get drivers’ licenses in certain states, according to the National Institutes of Health. About 3 million Americans are affected, causing $12.5 billion in annual costs, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.
About 20 percent to 40 percent of patients aren’t helped by anti-seizure medications, according to the study. Epilepsy drugs include Johnson & Johnson’s Topamax, Abbott Laboratories’ Depakote and Novartis AG’s Tegretol.
“The rule of thumb we use is when patients fail two medications at optimal doses, doctors should consider referring patients,” for the surgery, said Hyunmi Choi, an assistant professor of neurology at the Columbia University Medical Center and the study’s lead author.
To perform the surgery, doctors first confirm that the anterior part of the temporal lobe is causing the seizures, said Choi. If that’s where the seizure begins, doctors remove 2 to 3 centimeters of tissue.
Surgical Side Effects
Side effects of the surgery, which may be performed on children and adults, include complications from anesthesia, some sensory changes, partial loss of vision or speech, or infection, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, an advocacy group.
“The likelihood of patients noticing any cognitive changes are small,” Choi said in a telephone interview today. “Because seizures arise from that part of the brain, it’s dysfunctional already.”
The surgery can also boost quality of life, allowing patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of the disorder, to live more years with fewer seizures, the analysis found. The report will be published in tomorrow’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
Doctors have known the surgery to be effective since the 1950s in patients whose seizures stem from the temporal lobe, the part of the brain that processes emotions. Still, many patients that might benefit don’t get the surgery because doctors overestimate the likelihood of complications, the study’s authors said. The surgery is most effective when performed early enough to prevent permanent disabilities, said neurologist Jerome Engel, the author of an accompanying editorial.
“The objective for treatment should be no seizures and no side effects, and as soon as possible,” said Engel, a professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a telephone interview today. He was not involved in the study. “The longer the seizures go on, the less likely patients are to be rehabilitated.”
The report was created by using quality-of-life data obtained directly from patients and published data from medical studies to create a model. The researchers ran the model 10,000 times to get their results. The model patient used in the report was 35 years old.
Signals Disrupted
Epilepsy is an illness in which signals of the brain’s nerve cells’ are disrupted, causing seizures. The condition is incurable, and the risk of seizures means some people can’t get drivers’ licenses in certain states, according to the National Institutes of Health. About 3 million Americans are affected, causing $12.5 billion in annual costs, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.
About 20 percent to 40 percent of patients aren’t helped by anti-seizure medications, according to the study. Epilepsy drugs include Johnson & Johnson’s Topamax, Abbott Laboratories’ Depakote and Novartis AG’s Tegretol.
“The rule of thumb we use is when patients fail two medications at optimal doses, doctors should consider referring patients,” for the surgery, said Hyunmi Choi, an assistant professor of neurology at the Columbia University Medical Center and the study’s lead author.
To perform the surgery, doctors first confirm that the anterior part of the temporal lobe is causing the seizures, said Choi. If that’s where the seizure begins, doctors remove 2 to 3 centimeters of tissue.
Surgical Side Effects
Side effects of the surgery, which may be performed on children and adults, include complications from anesthesia, some sensory changes, partial loss of vision or speech, or infection, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, an advocacy group.
“The likelihood of patients noticing any cognitive changes are small,” Choi said in a telephone interview today. “Because seizures arise from that part of the brain, it’s dysfunctional already.”
07 February 2009
Physiotherapy Neurological Conditions and Pediatric Disorders
Physiotherapy Neurological Conditions and Pediatric Disorders
13.12.2008 Author: Louis Soul Posted in Health & Fitness
by Louis Soul
Neurological conditions that are autoimmune diseases are difficult to treat. Myasthenia Gravis is one such illness. It causes muscular weakness because of a lack of communication between nerves and muscles. Like other neurological conditions, it can be very debilitating.
MS, one of the neurological conditions that affects the brain and spinal cord, can lead to a long, slow decline. Parkinson’s disease is another of the neurological conditions of the brain. This one can cause shaking and loss of coordination, and problems moving and walking. Physiotherapy offers some relief to these patients.
Many of the patients with neurological conditions cannot carry on daily functions such as caring for themselves and their homes. It is not uncommon for these people to be unable to work. They may even have trouble walking or getting up and down stairs at all.
Life after physiotherapy may be a more cautious affair than is was before. One may have to think before acting. No matter what one does, it is possible that a return to physiotherapy will take place. The best thing to do is to do your best to make all the right moves after physiotherapy.
Pediatric Disorders Help
Torticollis is a type of pediatric disorders of the neck. There is a problem with one of the muscles of the neck so that the one is not able to hold his head up straight. The head will be tilted to one side. This chin will jut out on the opposite side of the neck. Physiotherapy can stretch this muscle so that the child can hold his head more normally.
Spinal cord injuries as pediatric disorders are difficult to treat. Children often do not want to do the work that is required to stay ahead of the deterioration that can be caused by this condition. Physiotherapy personnel are challenged to keep the child’s spirits up as they teach them how to exercise with and without special equipment.
Traumatic injuries require a certain amount of psychological training, as the subject of the accident or other ordeal may bring on such distress that the child does not want to work. A good physiotherapist will be able to work with such a child. Traumatic injuries can also be severe enough that the physiotherapist plans a lengthy course of therapy to overcome them. Pediatric disorders like this require patience from everyone involved.
About the Author:
Diabetes Information Guide supplies more accurate reviews, visit this link: How to mantain yourself if you diabetics. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
13.12.2008 Author: Louis Soul Posted in Health & Fitness
by Louis Soul
Neurological conditions that are autoimmune diseases are difficult to treat. Myasthenia Gravis is one such illness. It causes muscular weakness because of a lack of communication between nerves and muscles. Like other neurological conditions, it can be very debilitating.
MS, one of the neurological conditions that affects the brain and spinal cord, can lead to a long, slow decline. Parkinson’s disease is another of the neurological conditions of the brain. This one can cause shaking and loss of coordination, and problems moving and walking. Physiotherapy offers some relief to these patients.
Many of the patients with neurological conditions cannot carry on daily functions such as caring for themselves and their homes. It is not uncommon for these people to be unable to work. They may even have trouble walking or getting up and down stairs at all.
Life after physiotherapy may be a more cautious affair than is was before. One may have to think before acting. No matter what one does, it is possible that a return to physiotherapy will take place. The best thing to do is to do your best to make all the right moves after physiotherapy.
Pediatric Disorders Help
Torticollis is a type of pediatric disorders of the neck. There is a problem with one of the muscles of the neck so that the one is not able to hold his head up straight. The head will be tilted to one side. This chin will jut out on the opposite side of the neck. Physiotherapy can stretch this muscle so that the child can hold his head more normally.
Spinal cord injuries as pediatric disorders are difficult to treat. Children often do not want to do the work that is required to stay ahead of the deterioration that can be caused by this condition. Physiotherapy personnel are challenged to keep the child’s spirits up as they teach them how to exercise with and without special equipment.
Traumatic injuries require a certain amount of psychological training, as the subject of the accident or other ordeal may bring on such distress that the child does not want to work. A good physiotherapist will be able to work with such a child. Traumatic injuries can also be severe enough that the physiotherapist plans a lengthy course of therapy to overcome them. Pediatric disorders like this require patience from everyone involved.
About the Author:
Diabetes Information Guide supplies more accurate reviews, visit this link: How to mantain yourself if you diabetics. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
Science of Sleep
Sleep disorders are common in U.S., and experts are concerned
Billie Jean Hemelstrand, 65, of Christmas Valley, settles in for the night last week at the High Desert Sleep Center in Bend. Hemelstrand underwent her second sleep study at the center to test the effectiveness of a continuous positive airway pressure machine to prevent her sleep apnea. Experts say millions of Americans are getting their sleep problems checked out, reducing the risk of serious health complications.
During a sleep study, doctors attach electrodes to the patient to track heart rate, breathing and brain waves. The results can be used to diagnose what might be preventing patients from getting a good night’s sleep.
Technicians at the High Desert Sleep Center in Bend fit an oxygen mask on Billie Jean Hemelstrand last week. The mask helps keep her airway open. Patients with untreated sleep apnea can wake up 200 times a night, leaving them far from rested the next morning.
Dr. Theresa Buckley, one of the doctors of the High Desert Sleep Center
Tips for a good night's sleep
Set a schedule: Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Sleeping in on weekends disrupts your sleep cycle and makes it much harder to get up on Monday morning.Exercise: Try to exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day. There’s conflicting evidence whether exercising later in the day interferes with sleep.Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol: Caffeine, in coffee, sodas and some medications, is a stimulant that keeps people awake. Smokers tend to sleep very lightly and often wake up early due to nicotine withdrawal. Alcohol robs people of deep sleep.Relax before bed: A warm bath, reading or other relaxing routine can make it easier to get to sleep.Sleep until sunlight: If your schedule allows, wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the morning. Sunlight helps the body’s internal clock reset itself.Don’t lie awake in bed: If you can’t get to sleep, get up and do something else until you feel tired. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can contribute to insomnia.
Control your room temperature: Extreme temperatures may disrupt sleep or prevent you from falling asleep.See your doctor if your sleeping problem continues: If you have trouble falling asleep, night after night, or if you always feel tired the next day, you may have a sleep disorder. Talk to your primary care physician about a referral.
Every morning, millions of Americans roll over to turn off the alarm and dig deep to find the motivation to drag themselves out of bed. Tired, sleepy, even downright exhausted, they plod their way through another workday, another round of shuttling kids to after-school activities, another evening of the myriad tasks that must be completed before bed. Then the few hours of the night that remain — the spare change left of the day’s dollar — they give to sleep.
Sleep experts warn that America has become a sleep-deprived society and is suffering significant health and economic consequences. “With Americans working such long hours — on top of their other responsibilities like childcare and household maintenance — something has to give. Unfortunately that something is usually nighttime sleep,” said Darrel Drobnich, acting CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. “People tend to give up sleep, when getting a good night’s sleep should be at the top of everyone’s list to ensure maximum daytime performance both at work and home.”
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the widespread practice of burning the candle at both ends in Western industrialized societies has created so much sleep deprivation that what really should be abnormal sleepiness has become the norm.
Now sleep specialists are making a push to educate Americans about how crucial it is to get sufficient sleep and how to identify bad habits or sleep disorders that are getting in the way. Your health and well-being, they say, depend on it.
“That time might be the most important of your entire day,” said Dr. David Dedrick, a sleep disorder specialist at the High Desert Sleep Center in Bend. “You may have done everything right, in terms of exercising and (eating a healthy diet), but if you didn’t get the right quantity and quality of sleep, you may have really missed the boat.”
Pillow time
Dedrick said most people need seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Yet, in a recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation, adults said they sleep on average only 6 hours and 40 minutes per night, about three hours less time than they spend working.
Nearly two-thirds of those forgoing sufficient sleep said they just accept their sleepiness and keep going, while another third rely on caffeinated beverages to get them through the day. More than half said they try to catch up on their sleep during the weekend.
But Dedrick said the notion that you can catch up on sleep is a fallacy. “Once the brain has gone through a night of insufficient amount of sleep, there is probably a measurable, albeit small, loss in neurological function,” he said. “It’s small, but over cumulative amounts of time, if you’re somebody that consistently does this, you’re doing damage to your brain.”
Studies document that insufficient sleep leads to worse productivity and more absences from work or school, a higher risk of work-related injuries, and a severe toll on well-being. A poor night’s sleep can negatively affect mood, attitude, energy, memory and overall outlook on life.
People suffering from sleep deprivation test worse on driving simulators than those who are intoxicated, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 motor vehicle accidents and 1,500 deaths each year can be attributed to driver fatigue.
Shortchanging yourself on sleep has been linked to serious health consequences, including a higher risk for diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Meanwhile, getting extra sleep seems to provide tangible benefits. Swiss researchers analyzed 20 years of health records and found that the number of heart attacks dropped on the Monday after daylight savings time ends. The researchers said the dip could be due to the extra hour of sleep. Mondays typically have higher rates of heart attacks, and many sleep experts believe that reflects changes in sleep schedules over the weekend. When people sleep in and stay up later on the weekend, the 6 a.m. alarm on Monday mornings might be particularly taxing for the body.
How sleep impacts the body is still poorly understood. Many sleep experts believe that sleep provides the opportunity for brain neurons used while we are awake to shut down and repair themselves. Without sleep, neurons may become so depleted of energy or so polluted with byproducts of normal cellular activities that they can’t function normally.
Dedrick likens the body to a skyscraper in which workers toil away during the day and a cleaning crew comes in during the night to vacuum, take out the trash and fix the broken equipment. If that nightly support staff goes on strike, soon the equipment breaks down and the trash piles up. “If you don’t give enough time for your night crew to come in and do their job, you’re not going to be able to work very well,” he said. “People often think of sleep as this passive process where your body is not doing anything. Actually, your body is incredibly active.”
The National Center on Sleep Disorders estimates that 50 million to 70 million Americans suffer from sleep problems. As a result, millions of people go through their day wondering why they can’t stay awake or go to bed wondering why they can’t fall asleep.
“People are notorious for underestimating how sleepy they are,” said Dr. David Kuhlmann, medical director of sleep medicine at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia, Mo., and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “People assume that their disrupted sleep and level of sleepiness when awake is normal for their age.”
Dedrick said that sleep patterns do change as people age. From ages 20 to 40, people tend to sleep pretty well in the absence of poor sleep habits or medical problems. From ages 40 to 60, sleep quality tends to decline, with less deep sleep and more awakenings during the night. “From age 60 and beyond, your sleep should be at baseline what it is, and it should be relatively good,” he said. “If it’s not, you can’t blame your age.”
Like father, like son
And it’s not just adults who aren’t getting enough sleep. A study published this week by researchers from the University of Montreal found that at least 30 percent of children between 6 months and 6 years of age have difficulty sleeping six consecutive hours. Those that got less sleep were more likely to be obese or hyperactive.
The researchers found that 25 percent of children who slept fewer than 10 hours were overweight, compared with 15 percent who slept for more than 10 hours, and 10 percent among those that slept at least 11 hours.
“When we sleep less, our stomach secretes more of the hormone that stimulates appetite,” said Dr. Jacques Montplaisir, a lead author of the study. “And we also produce less of the hormone whose function is to reduce the intake of food.”
And, Montplaisir said, unlike adults who just get sleepy, children get overly excited when they are tired. The study found that 22 percent of children who slept for less than 10 hours were hyperactive, double the rate of those who slept 10 to 11 hours per night.
Insufficient sleep also affected their performance on cognitive tasks. Some 41 percent of the children who didn’t get enough sleep scored poorly on a cognitive test, compared with 17 percent to 21 percent of children who slept 10 or 11 hours per night.
Many sleep experts believe that a certain percentage of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder may simply be short on sleep. And when those children are medicated, it often further disrupts their sleep patterns.
Most teens aren’t getting anywhere near the eight to 10 hours of sleep recommended either. Their tendency to stay up late, get up early and try to make up the sleep on the weekends is a recipe for disaster, said Dr. Ruth Benca, co-director of the sleep research center at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
“Kids who have an ongoing shift in their sleep patterns often have poor school performance and problems with depression and cognition,” she said. “Kids who go to bed earlier during the week feel better and perform better in everything they do.”
Benca said the body’s circadian rhythms, the cycles that govern sleeping and waking, start to change during puberty. Teens naturally become “night owls,” she said. But societal factors exacerbate the problem. Evening activities, as well as late-night Internet surfing, texting and TV time, often keep teens up even later. And with more activities outside of school, such as sports or clubs, many kids are getting up earlier as well.
“Some kids are getting up at 5 a.m. to fit these activities into their schedule,” Benca said. “Needless to say, they’re getting pretty sleep-deprived.”
Identifying problems
Dedrick said many sleep problem for adults and children can be linked primarily to bad habits. For example, many of his patients spend time checking their e-mail right before going to bed.
“What happens is you get on the computer and the bright light from the computer screen tricks your brain into making you think it’s daytime,” he said.
Other people turn to alcohol as a nightcap to help them sleep. That’s another bad idea, Dedrick said.
“The problem with any drug, alcohol included, is the withdrawal of the drug leads to an opposite effect,” he said. “Alcohol is a sedative and it may help you fall asleep, but when it wears off, it’s opposite sedation, it’s activation.”
As a result, people fall asleep fine, but at 2 a.m. are wide awake.
Dedrick said other strategies for getting a good night’s sleep involve getting plenty of exercise, which boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain, and establishing a regular schedule for sleep.
“We have a very callous attitude toward sleep, that sleep is a waste of my time, that it cuts out of my productivity at work. All of that is horribly wrong,” Dedrick said. “We’re sort of shooting ourselves in the foot.” Doctors like Dedrick can also identify more serious medical conditions that could be interfering with sleep. One in seven Americans, when they fall asleep, have trouble keeping their airways open, shutting off their supply of oxygen. The condition, known as sleep apnea, forces the brain to wake up to re-establish airflow.
“If you have unstable airflow while you’re asleep, it becomes de facto almost impossible to get a good night’s sleep,” he said. “Because the brain, instead of totally checking out and resting, is having to wake up over and over and over again.”
The awakenings are so brief that most people are not aware of it, but they break up sleep quality.
“It’s not unusual for us to find that 200 to 300 times per night,” Dedrick said.
Doctors have come to realize that untreated sleep apnea can be lethal, often leading to heart failure and sudden death. A study published earlier this year suggested that people with severe, untreated sleep apnea have five times the risk of dying from a heart problem. And often, patients are unaware they are affected.
Marta Izo, a surgical floor nurse at St. Charles Bend who is in her 50s, said she never really felt she wasn’t getting a good night’s sleep, but went for a sleep study at the High Desert Sleep Center after her husband told her she was snoring more at night.
There, technicians wired her to track her heart rate, oxygen flow and brain waves during the night. “Evidently, I had very bad sleep apnea, my pressures were super duper high,” she said. “I never really felt like I was sleep deprived. I wasn’t falling asleep during the daytime. I wasn’t doing what typically you would think a patient would do that had severe sleep apnea.”
Izo was given a continuous positive airway pressure machine, which provides a flow of air that keeps the airway open. It took some time to get used to the machine and the noise it made. Izo had to work with technicians at the sleep center to find the right combination of machine, mask and fit. “I do think my quality of sleep is much better. I dream now, which I was never dreaming before,” she said. “I think probably mentally I’m a little bit sharper.”
As a nurse, Izo sees many patients that suffer from sleep apnea and are overweight or obese. But Izo said she’s run across just as many people with reasonable weight, just like herself, who have sleep apnea. And despite her medical training, she said she never realized just how dire the consequences of not treating sleep apnea could be. “My husband, he complained about the fact that I snored, and then he complained about the sound of the machine, I just told him what the doctor told me. ‘Would your husband rather be taking care of you after you have a stroke?’” she said. “That made me sit up and take notice. I don’t want him to have to take care of me after I have a stroke.”
It’s worth talking to your doctor if you suspect you might have a sleep problem, she said. Most health insurance plans cover the cost of such sleep studies, although most require a referral from a primary care physician. Home sleep testing is also available, but it generally records less information and focuses solely on sleep apnea. While public awareness of sleep apnea is increasing — Dedrick said referrals spiked after former professional football player Reggie White died of sleep apnea several years ago — public health experts say most people still aren’t getting potential sleep problems checked out.
Two years ago, the Institute of Medicine issued a report calling for more attention
and research into sleep disorders. The group said the nation has neither the understanding nor the capacity to fully treat the 50 million to 70 million Americans with sleep disorders. “What your grandma told you about getting a good night’s sleep, what seems to be good common sense, is now panning out in the scientific data to be far more important than we’ve ever been aware of,” Dedrick said. “It’s kind of an amazing health revolution that’s going on right now.”
Billie Jean Hemelstrand, 65, of Christmas Valley, settles in for the night last week at the High Desert Sleep Center in Bend. Hemelstrand underwent her second sleep study at the center to test the effectiveness of a continuous positive airway pressure machine to prevent her sleep apnea. Experts say millions of Americans are getting their sleep problems checked out, reducing the risk of serious health complications.
During a sleep study, doctors attach electrodes to the patient to track heart rate, breathing and brain waves. The results can be used to diagnose what might be preventing patients from getting a good night’s sleep.
Technicians at the High Desert Sleep Center in Bend fit an oxygen mask on Billie Jean Hemelstrand last week. The mask helps keep her airway open. Patients with untreated sleep apnea can wake up 200 times a night, leaving them far from rested the next morning.
Dr. Theresa Buckley, one of the doctors of the High Desert Sleep Center
Tips for a good night's sleep
Set a schedule: Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Sleeping in on weekends disrupts your sleep cycle and makes it much harder to get up on Monday morning.Exercise: Try to exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day. There’s conflicting evidence whether exercising later in the day interferes with sleep.Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol: Caffeine, in coffee, sodas and some medications, is a stimulant that keeps people awake. Smokers tend to sleep very lightly and often wake up early due to nicotine withdrawal. Alcohol robs people of deep sleep.Relax before bed: A warm bath, reading or other relaxing routine can make it easier to get to sleep.Sleep until sunlight: If your schedule allows, wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the morning. Sunlight helps the body’s internal clock reset itself.Don’t lie awake in bed: If you can’t get to sleep, get up and do something else until you feel tired. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can contribute to insomnia.
Control your room temperature: Extreme temperatures may disrupt sleep or prevent you from falling asleep.See your doctor if your sleeping problem continues: If you have trouble falling asleep, night after night, or if you always feel tired the next day, you may have a sleep disorder. Talk to your primary care physician about a referral.
Every morning, millions of Americans roll over to turn off the alarm and dig deep to find the motivation to drag themselves out of bed. Tired, sleepy, even downright exhausted, they plod their way through another workday, another round of shuttling kids to after-school activities, another evening of the myriad tasks that must be completed before bed. Then the few hours of the night that remain — the spare change left of the day’s dollar — they give to sleep.
Sleep experts warn that America has become a sleep-deprived society and is suffering significant health and economic consequences. “With Americans working such long hours — on top of their other responsibilities like childcare and household maintenance — something has to give. Unfortunately that something is usually nighttime sleep,” said Darrel Drobnich, acting CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. “People tend to give up sleep, when getting a good night’s sleep should be at the top of everyone’s list to ensure maximum daytime performance both at work and home.”
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the widespread practice of burning the candle at both ends in Western industrialized societies has created so much sleep deprivation that what really should be abnormal sleepiness has become the norm.
Now sleep specialists are making a push to educate Americans about how crucial it is to get sufficient sleep and how to identify bad habits or sleep disorders that are getting in the way. Your health and well-being, they say, depend on it.
“That time might be the most important of your entire day,” said Dr. David Dedrick, a sleep disorder specialist at the High Desert Sleep Center in Bend. “You may have done everything right, in terms of exercising and (eating a healthy diet), but if you didn’t get the right quantity and quality of sleep, you may have really missed the boat.”
Pillow time
Dedrick said most people need seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Yet, in a recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation, adults said they sleep on average only 6 hours and 40 minutes per night, about three hours less time than they spend working.
Nearly two-thirds of those forgoing sufficient sleep said they just accept their sleepiness and keep going, while another third rely on caffeinated beverages to get them through the day. More than half said they try to catch up on their sleep during the weekend.
But Dedrick said the notion that you can catch up on sleep is a fallacy. “Once the brain has gone through a night of insufficient amount of sleep, there is probably a measurable, albeit small, loss in neurological function,” he said. “It’s small, but over cumulative amounts of time, if you’re somebody that consistently does this, you’re doing damage to your brain.”
Studies document that insufficient sleep leads to worse productivity and more absences from work or school, a higher risk of work-related injuries, and a severe toll on well-being. A poor night’s sleep can negatively affect mood, attitude, energy, memory and overall outlook on life.
People suffering from sleep deprivation test worse on driving simulators than those who are intoxicated, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 motor vehicle accidents and 1,500 deaths each year can be attributed to driver fatigue.
Shortchanging yourself on sleep has been linked to serious health consequences, including a higher risk for diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Meanwhile, getting extra sleep seems to provide tangible benefits. Swiss researchers analyzed 20 years of health records and found that the number of heart attacks dropped on the Monday after daylight savings time ends. The researchers said the dip could be due to the extra hour of sleep. Mondays typically have higher rates of heart attacks, and many sleep experts believe that reflects changes in sleep schedules over the weekend. When people sleep in and stay up later on the weekend, the 6 a.m. alarm on Monday mornings might be particularly taxing for the body.
How sleep impacts the body is still poorly understood. Many sleep experts believe that sleep provides the opportunity for brain neurons used while we are awake to shut down and repair themselves. Without sleep, neurons may become so depleted of energy or so polluted with byproducts of normal cellular activities that they can’t function normally.
Dedrick likens the body to a skyscraper in which workers toil away during the day and a cleaning crew comes in during the night to vacuum, take out the trash and fix the broken equipment. If that nightly support staff goes on strike, soon the equipment breaks down and the trash piles up. “If you don’t give enough time for your night crew to come in and do their job, you’re not going to be able to work very well,” he said. “People often think of sleep as this passive process where your body is not doing anything. Actually, your body is incredibly active.”
The National Center on Sleep Disorders estimates that 50 million to 70 million Americans suffer from sleep problems. As a result, millions of people go through their day wondering why they can’t stay awake or go to bed wondering why they can’t fall asleep.
“People are notorious for underestimating how sleepy they are,” said Dr. David Kuhlmann, medical director of sleep medicine at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia, Mo., and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “People assume that their disrupted sleep and level of sleepiness when awake is normal for their age.”
Dedrick said that sleep patterns do change as people age. From ages 20 to 40, people tend to sleep pretty well in the absence of poor sleep habits or medical problems. From ages 40 to 60, sleep quality tends to decline, with less deep sleep and more awakenings during the night. “From age 60 and beyond, your sleep should be at baseline what it is, and it should be relatively good,” he said. “If it’s not, you can’t blame your age.”
Like father, like son
And it’s not just adults who aren’t getting enough sleep. A study published this week by researchers from the University of Montreal found that at least 30 percent of children between 6 months and 6 years of age have difficulty sleeping six consecutive hours. Those that got less sleep were more likely to be obese or hyperactive.
The researchers found that 25 percent of children who slept fewer than 10 hours were overweight, compared with 15 percent who slept for more than 10 hours, and 10 percent among those that slept at least 11 hours.
“When we sleep less, our stomach secretes more of the hormone that stimulates appetite,” said Dr. Jacques Montplaisir, a lead author of the study. “And we also produce less of the hormone whose function is to reduce the intake of food.”
And, Montplaisir said, unlike adults who just get sleepy, children get overly excited when they are tired. The study found that 22 percent of children who slept for less than 10 hours were hyperactive, double the rate of those who slept 10 to 11 hours per night.
Insufficient sleep also affected their performance on cognitive tasks. Some 41 percent of the children who didn’t get enough sleep scored poorly on a cognitive test, compared with 17 percent to 21 percent of children who slept 10 or 11 hours per night.
Many sleep experts believe that a certain percentage of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder may simply be short on sleep. And when those children are medicated, it often further disrupts their sleep patterns.
Most teens aren’t getting anywhere near the eight to 10 hours of sleep recommended either. Their tendency to stay up late, get up early and try to make up the sleep on the weekends is a recipe for disaster, said Dr. Ruth Benca, co-director of the sleep research center at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
“Kids who have an ongoing shift in their sleep patterns often have poor school performance and problems with depression and cognition,” she said. “Kids who go to bed earlier during the week feel better and perform better in everything they do.”
Benca said the body’s circadian rhythms, the cycles that govern sleeping and waking, start to change during puberty. Teens naturally become “night owls,” she said. But societal factors exacerbate the problem. Evening activities, as well as late-night Internet surfing, texting and TV time, often keep teens up even later. And with more activities outside of school, such as sports or clubs, many kids are getting up earlier as well.
“Some kids are getting up at 5 a.m. to fit these activities into their schedule,” Benca said. “Needless to say, they’re getting pretty sleep-deprived.”
Identifying problems
Dedrick said many sleep problem for adults and children can be linked primarily to bad habits. For example, many of his patients spend time checking their e-mail right before going to bed.
“What happens is you get on the computer and the bright light from the computer screen tricks your brain into making you think it’s daytime,” he said.
Other people turn to alcohol as a nightcap to help them sleep. That’s another bad idea, Dedrick said.
“The problem with any drug, alcohol included, is the withdrawal of the drug leads to an opposite effect,” he said. “Alcohol is a sedative and it may help you fall asleep, but when it wears off, it’s opposite sedation, it’s activation.”
As a result, people fall asleep fine, but at 2 a.m. are wide awake.
Dedrick said other strategies for getting a good night’s sleep involve getting plenty of exercise, which boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain, and establishing a regular schedule for sleep.
“We have a very callous attitude toward sleep, that sleep is a waste of my time, that it cuts out of my productivity at work. All of that is horribly wrong,” Dedrick said. “We’re sort of shooting ourselves in the foot.” Doctors like Dedrick can also identify more serious medical conditions that could be interfering with sleep. One in seven Americans, when they fall asleep, have trouble keeping their airways open, shutting off their supply of oxygen. The condition, known as sleep apnea, forces the brain to wake up to re-establish airflow.
“If you have unstable airflow while you’re asleep, it becomes de facto almost impossible to get a good night’s sleep,” he said. “Because the brain, instead of totally checking out and resting, is having to wake up over and over and over again.”
The awakenings are so brief that most people are not aware of it, but they break up sleep quality.
“It’s not unusual for us to find that 200 to 300 times per night,” Dedrick said.
Doctors have come to realize that untreated sleep apnea can be lethal, often leading to heart failure and sudden death. A study published earlier this year suggested that people with severe, untreated sleep apnea have five times the risk of dying from a heart problem. And often, patients are unaware they are affected.
Marta Izo, a surgical floor nurse at St. Charles Bend who is in her 50s, said she never really felt she wasn’t getting a good night’s sleep, but went for a sleep study at the High Desert Sleep Center after her husband told her she was snoring more at night.
There, technicians wired her to track her heart rate, oxygen flow and brain waves during the night. “Evidently, I had very bad sleep apnea, my pressures were super duper high,” she said. “I never really felt like I was sleep deprived. I wasn’t falling asleep during the daytime. I wasn’t doing what typically you would think a patient would do that had severe sleep apnea.”
Izo was given a continuous positive airway pressure machine, which provides a flow of air that keeps the airway open. It took some time to get used to the machine and the noise it made. Izo had to work with technicians at the sleep center to find the right combination of machine, mask and fit. “I do think my quality of sleep is much better. I dream now, which I was never dreaming before,” she said. “I think probably mentally I’m a little bit sharper.”
As a nurse, Izo sees many patients that suffer from sleep apnea and are overweight or obese. But Izo said she’s run across just as many people with reasonable weight, just like herself, who have sleep apnea. And despite her medical training, she said she never realized just how dire the consequences of not treating sleep apnea could be. “My husband, he complained about the fact that I snored, and then he complained about the sound of the machine, I just told him what the doctor told me. ‘Would your husband rather be taking care of you after you have a stroke?’” she said. “That made me sit up and take notice. I don’t want him to have to take care of me after I have a stroke.”
It’s worth talking to your doctor if you suspect you might have a sleep problem, she said. Most health insurance plans cover the cost of such sleep studies, although most require a referral from a primary care physician. Home sleep testing is also available, but it generally records less information and focuses solely on sleep apnea. While public awareness of sleep apnea is increasing — Dedrick said referrals spiked after former professional football player Reggie White died of sleep apnea several years ago — public health experts say most people still aren’t getting potential sleep problems checked out.
Two years ago, the Institute of Medicine issued a report calling for more attention
and research into sleep disorders. The group said the nation has neither the understanding nor the capacity to fully treat the 50 million to 70 million Americans with sleep disorders. “What your grandma told you about getting a good night’s sleep, what seems to be good common sense, is now panning out in the scientific data to be far more important than we’ve ever been aware of,” Dedrick said. “It’s kind of an amazing health revolution that’s going on right now.”
17 October 2008
Nintendo Wii + Wii Sports - Good for fitness in children?
by: Karen Bennett
The Nintendo Wii it seems, puts pay to the concerns in recent years over the inactivity in children due to their interest in video games consoles. The Wii console really sets itself apart from the rest with its revolutionary motion sensitive controller, which actually requires movement in order to play the games. The Nintendo Wii comes with the game Wii Sports, which includes tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. In tennis you will be swinging the remote as if it were a tennis racket and flicking it up to toss the ball into the air with a quick swing to serve. The other Wii Sports games work in a similar way simulating controller movements for like movements onscreen. Boxing however is the only Wii Sports game that uses the nunchuk attachment and is the most physically exhausting game of them all. In order to hit your opponent in the head or body, you will have to aim high or low with your swings. There are three different activities with each game. In training mode, you will participate in random challenges, after which you will be assigned a fitness age, based on your performance. Sound familiar? The Nintendo DS game, Brain Training comes to mind...a physical version perhaps? The important thing here is that gamers are becoming more physically active without even realising it - you could say it has a 'kill two birds with one stone' effect, combining video game play with physical activity. Given this 'physical' nature of the Wii, I wouldn't be suprised if parents rushed out to buy the Nintendo Wii just to get their kids off the sofa! Another great thing about the Nintendo Wii is that it appeals not only to children and teens but to adults too, so its something the whole family can enjoy. Could the Nintendo Wii revolutionize the way we play video games in the future? It will be interesting to see what Nintendo's competitors come up with next - this could be a tough one to beat!
About The Author
Karen Bennett For more information on the Nintendo Wii and to find cheapest prices, visit my website http://www.compareconsoleprices.co.uk
The Nintendo Wii it seems, puts pay to the concerns in recent years over the inactivity in children due to their interest in video games consoles. The Wii console really sets itself apart from the rest with its revolutionary motion sensitive controller, which actually requires movement in order to play the games. The Nintendo Wii comes with the game Wii Sports, which includes tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. In tennis you will be swinging the remote as if it were a tennis racket and flicking it up to toss the ball into the air with a quick swing to serve. The other Wii Sports games work in a similar way simulating controller movements for like movements onscreen. Boxing however is the only Wii Sports game that uses the nunchuk attachment and is the most physically exhausting game of them all. In order to hit your opponent in the head or body, you will have to aim high or low with your swings. There are three different activities with each game. In training mode, you will participate in random challenges, after which you will be assigned a fitness age, based on your performance. Sound familiar? The Nintendo DS game, Brain Training comes to mind...a physical version perhaps? The important thing here is that gamers are becoming more physically active without even realising it - you could say it has a 'kill two birds with one stone' effect, combining video game play with physical activity. Given this 'physical' nature of the Wii, I wouldn't be suprised if parents rushed out to buy the Nintendo Wii just to get their kids off the sofa! Another great thing about the Nintendo Wii is that it appeals not only to children and teens but to adults too, so its something the whole family can enjoy. Could the Nintendo Wii revolutionize the way we play video games in the future? It will be interesting to see what Nintendo's competitors come up with next - this could be a tough one to beat!
About The Author
Karen Bennett For more information on the Nintendo Wii and to find cheapest prices, visit my website http://www.compareconsoleprices.co.uk
07 October 2008
The Mystery’s of the Brain
–
Interview with Dr David Loewenstein is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. He obtained his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Florida State University and did a psychology internship at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington. He is board certified in clinical neuropsychology. Dr. Loewenstein joined the faculty of the University of Miami in 1986. He is Director of Psychological Services and Neuropsychology Laboratories for the University of Miami Department of Psychiatry and is Director of Research and Neuropsychology for the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida.Dr. Loewenstein is the author of almost 90 scientific journal articles and book chapters on aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, neuroimaging and diagnostic as well as cross-cultural issues in neuropsychology.
Susie Hi David
David Hi Susie - Just got back from Washington DC from my grant reviews. Good to be home!
Susie Good to have you back!!!!!
David Thanks! How are you
Susie I am fanatic
David Great!
Susie I seem to have moved another big milestone which I am pleased about
David Tell me
Susie it seems I have hit some new neuro issues that I haven’t before and have lots of questions that I would love to get answers too but we don’t know who to ask, even my physio is struggling a little to be able to answer my questions and understand what and why things are happening because she is not a neuro therapist she is a musculoskeletal and we both would love some answers but we don’t know where to go because it seems they are profound issues that we would both like to know more about or it maybe what I am asking and wanting to know might not have answers. it is hard and bit profound to explain but when u have a period of time when not too busy maybe u might be interested and point me in directions from your own field or maybe ask someone in the brain field for me I suppose you could say I been bursting to tell you but knew you were away and very busy.
David If you can, send me the questions in an e-mail to dloewenstein@att.net and I can see if I can be helpful. If I don't know or can't research the answers perhaps I can ask others.
Susie that would be cool if u could help us as I think I’m giving my physio nightmares because I like to know what’s happening and understand what’s going on but with this we can’t. As a result she has gone off to do some reading. It might be a long email if that’s ok
David No problem. Give me a couple of days to think about the questions.
Susie Oh its ok take as long as you need it might take a while for me to get it out of head and down on paper
David No problem.
Susie But this link might give u a little insight if I can get it up as strong as my mind is if we could possibly get some answers then I believe I might be a step closer to understanding Cerebral Palsy
David That would be terrific.
Susie It’s just like watching your baby take first steps I believe I am that close to understanding it, I just can’t touch it yet
http://www.livingwithcerebralpalsy.com/blogger/2008/09/in-gym.html
Is the link
David Let me check it out for a minute....
Susie This is the follow on http://www.livingwithcerebralpalsy.com/blogger/2008/09/sunday-is-my-rest-day.html
David Looks great! Probably outside of my area of expertise...
Susie
The main question is what is connecting to allow me to be able to walk one handed that hasn’t connected before now, and what has made it possible for it to connect. This is just one area of many questions I have asked and my Physio has gone off to read up on it. I suppose to start with it’s a case of knowing the brain function of what parts of the brain what functions is what I need to look at first.
David
I think that the question is a) have existing connections been altered; b) have other pathways been activated; c) is there some compensatory mechanisms that work around direct pathways or d) is it something else that has not been considered? We often see behaviour and infer changes that may or not occur in the brain. That is why functional neuroimaging such as MRI or PET scans (Positron emmssion) tomography would be the best way to see if there are any changes in brain activation in response to treatment or different therapies.
Susie The only problem is I am not sure if I can still have MRI scans
David Is that because of the magnet?
Susie Yes and the metal in my spine
David
Well, PET does not require a magnet but it is investigational for the brain and you would have to find someone that does it. It measures changes in brain oxygen or cerebral metabolism (how the brain is using glucose).
Susie Right, it just intrigues me and as I say it might just unlock the reasons for cerebral palsy, well in my opinion anyway.
David
Without measuring the brain directly, since everyone’s' brains are wired somewhat differently and because CP has many manifestations in the brain, it would be difficult to isolate neural mechanisms. However, it something works for someone, which is very important! Just harder to understand why...
Susie yes I can understand that because the next question would be from that , would be if it works for one how easy would it be to manipulate it so that all types of CP gets results? And if it could be then we have unlocked it
David
I think one would first have to show that a treatment generalizes to several individuals with a specific type of CP, comparing it to an adequate control condition.
Susie
Yes you read my mind there because I was thinking of saying all forms - so all with Spastic Diplegia and so on
David
In a number of studies things work for a few people but do not generalize to the group as a whole. So even with one form, there may be high responders, medium responders and no responders. So the first step would be to see what the high responders have in common.
Susie because technically according to most of the books I have looked at most of them say in diplegia say only certain limbs effected now in reality it does differ
David
Yes and in ages
Susie
To see if say I had had this stimulation for want of a better word at the age of Rachel say, would the same things of happened or is it because I’m older it’s happened. Now my mind says would have been better at Rachel’s age because I would be more receptive at that age but I don’t know. As a result this leads to me asking or explaining that I felt as though my cp had gone and there is some evidence of this in me, in that I am moving better and I no loner have the spasticity etc
David
That is why it is so important to have a controlled study with pre and post measures with a control group and persons that are relatively homogeneous for a condition. Age has a tremendous effect because brain plasticity is much greater than when you are younger. When the radiologist sees the white-matter damage in Rachel, he is amazed that her cp is not worse... but she worked around the deficits by rewiring part of her brain
Susie But my Physio also say’s it is because I perceive it differently to how I did ten yrs ago when I first met her and I also agree.
David
Exactly. CP by definition is a poorly described term. It merely describes motor system impairments that result from central nervous system deficits at birth. EEG is another way I forgot to mention in looking at brain function. Structural MRI only looks at the structure of the brain... it does not measure functional connectivity.
Susie
I doubt I will never fully understand it but I would like to give it ago
David
It is a very complicated area indeed. As a scientist, I lead my whole life looking for break-troughs and if I am lucky. An experiment will yield some better understanding but never explain the whole complexity of memory disorders. However, I think that if you don't ask questions, you never get answers so I am pleased that you are investigating this! If it were memory disorders, I probably could be more helpful...
Susie
You see years ago this never crossed my mind but in last three years I have wanted to know
David
The brain is the great unsolved mystery of the universe! Keep searching... whatever you find, the journey itself is often worth it for a bright, curious mind so this then leads to the question as something connecting in the part of brain that’s responsible for learning
Susie Yes which then asks what’s made we curious all of a sudden
David
Of course motor and procedural memory is modulated by the basal ganglia system, episodic memory is mediated by the hippocampus and they all work together in complex feedback loops. It just blows my mind!
Susie
Yes so you see that cp is governed by memory isn’t it for example I am able to put one foot in front of other so to speak and somewhere my brain remembers this
David
That is procedural or motor memory. These are automatic programs modulated by the deep frontal lobe systems, most notably the basal ganglia and putamen.
Susie
But in some conditions they start off automatic and then switch off like patients with Alzheimer’s
David
But interestingly enough, Alzheimer's patients do not lose these abilities until very late in the disease. They lose short-term memory which is mediated by the hippocampus and related structures. So there are many different types of memory...
Susie
The reason is mention this is my uncle in Canada has just passed away from this
David
Very sorry to hear this...
Susie he was able to walk and then gradually because wheelchair dependant although this also interestingly wonders ok they might switch off so to speak gradually but then does this happen in older age anyway, but is maybe accelerated in people who have a underlying condition ? I suppose it works the other way?? In people who are always in a wheelchair.
David
What happens in Alzheimer's is that as the disease progresses it starts encroaching on these procedural memory structures and kills brain cells and their connections. However, the recent memory deficits precede this by as much as decades. A good model for older people in the basal ganglia system is Parkinson's Disease.
Susie
The procedural memory isn’t triggered so person isn’t able to walk because maybe the cell has already died from birth or maybe this is missing in some people in the genetic structure, like when people have a missing chromosome oh wow this is amazing stuff for me
David
In every disease, something attacks the neuron, the dendrite connections to other neurons and neurotransmitters. In some cases, the primary motor neurons are damaged and there is not motor function. In other cases, the modulating system like the basal ganglia does not properly use signals. In MS, it is actually demyelisation of the axons so the nerve impulses are not transmitted. Thus, brain dysfunction can occur because of cell damage, dedritic thinning or damage. Neurotransmitter difficulties etc. It is like a very complicated car engine. So many things can happen that will make the car fail to run 1) no gas; 2) damaged engine; 3) no starter; 4) loose wires etc.
The brain is simply the most complex and wondrous organ in the body. There is so much we have yet to understand. It is important to ask the right questions as you are...
Susie
So in CP the brain is full of loose wires and it hasn’t worked out where they are to go to
David
Could be... or damaged areas or areas that are damaged in their connectivity in some way...
Susie And it kind of wires them wrongly and sort of fuses them but in some areas they do wire properly and the motor fires up when the oxygen gets through.
David
Or the brain tries its best to rewire around the deficits to the best of its capability. The younger you are, the easier it is to rewire although plasticity can occur when one is older...
Susie So it’s a bit like a pinball machine
David
The question is that with billions of brain cells and over a trillion connections how can be best understand what happens...
Susie
In that you have the ball at the start and you pull the plunger and it fires it up and hits the sensors, So that it's like a message is getting sent and it hits the sensors the lights come on and connect And sometimes it fails and drops through the flippers
David That a good analogy. Now consider that every sensor is dependent on the integrity of every other sensor. You can have a malfunction at any point in the pathway.
Susie and sometimes if the timing is correct it flips it back and tries reconnecting the ball jams along the pathway and it needs a nudge to getting it going and that might be a hand or leg movement
David Exactly, and it can reset in some circumstances. It is like an intermittent problem. For some persons, if the primary sensors are deficient however, resetting is very difficult.
Susie Or your lungs inflating to force air back to nudge it and the harder u pull the plunger the further the ball/message goes.
David Thus, some persons may have more or less problems resetting or even setting at all relative to the extent of their problems. You can put all the gasoline that you want in a car, if it lacks certain mechanism it is not going to start no matter what you do. In certain cases you can help it to turn over.
Susie
Therefore stimulating the primary sensor
David
The messages that are sent by the brain are not only one way; they are always self-modulating and often reciprocal.
Susie
Yes and it’s the reciprocal nature that kind of stimulates the primary sensor? Because sometimes no matter how many times you use the flippers the ball still fails
David
Thus, I would expect the efficacy of any therapy to be dependent on a) the integrity structures that are involved; b) the communications between structures. You are right; there are feedback loops all along the way. Different therapies may target different structures or functional subsystems of the brain. We have long known that aspirin is effective only recently have we understood why. The only way to think about new things is to explore all the possibilities. You are very intelligent and I enjoy how you frame this.
Interview with Dr David Loewenstein is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. He obtained his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Florida State University and did a psychology internship at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington. He is board certified in clinical neuropsychology. Dr. Loewenstein joined the faculty of the University of Miami in 1986. He is Director of Psychological Services and Neuropsychology Laboratories for the University of Miami Department of Psychiatry and is Director of Research and Neuropsychology for the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida.Dr. Loewenstein is the author of almost 90 scientific journal articles and book chapters on aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, neuroimaging and diagnostic as well as cross-cultural issues in neuropsychology.
Susie Hi David
David Hi Susie - Just got back from Washington DC from my grant reviews. Good to be home!
Susie Good to have you back!!!!!
David Thanks! How are you
Susie I am fanatic
David Great!
Susie I seem to have moved another big milestone which I am pleased about
David Tell me
Susie it seems I have hit some new neuro issues that I haven’t before and have lots of questions that I would love to get answers too but we don’t know who to ask, even my physio is struggling a little to be able to answer my questions and understand what and why things are happening because she is not a neuro therapist she is a musculoskeletal and we both would love some answers but we don’t know where to go because it seems they are profound issues that we would both like to know more about or it maybe what I am asking and wanting to know might not have answers. it is hard and bit profound to explain but when u have a period of time when not too busy maybe u might be interested and point me in directions from your own field or maybe ask someone in the brain field for me I suppose you could say I been bursting to tell you but knew you were away and very busy.
David If you can, send me the questions in an e-mail to dloewenstein@att.net and I can see if I can be helpful. If I don't know or can't research the answers perhaps I can ask others.
Susie that would be cool if u could help us as I think I’m giving my physio nightmares because I like to know what’s happening and understand what’s going on but with this we can’t. As a result she has gone off to do some reading. It might be a long email if that’s ok
David No problem. Give me a couple of days to think about the questions.
Susie Oh its ok take as long as you need it might take a while for me to get it out of head and down on paper
David No problem.
Susie But this link might give u a little insight if I can get it up as strong as my mind is if we could possibly get some answers then I believe I might be a step closer to understanding Cerebral Palsy
David That would be terrific.
Susie It’s just like watching your baby take first steps I believe I am that close to understanding it, I just can’t touch it yet
http://www.livingwithcerebralpalsy.com/blogger/2008/09/in-gym.html
Is the link
David Let me check it out for a minute....
Susie This is the follow on http://www.livingwithcerebralpalsy.com/blogger/2008/09/sunday-is-my-rest-day.html
David Looks great! Probably outside of my area of expertise...
Susie
The main question is what is connecting to allow me to be able to walk one handed that hasn’t connected before now, and what has made it possible for it to connect. This is just one area of many questions I have asked and my Physio has gone off to read up on it. I suppose to start with it’s a case of knowing the brain function of what parts of the brain what functions is what I need to look at first.
David
I think that the question is a) have existing connections been altered; b) have other pathways been activated; c) is there some compensatory mechanisms that work around direct pathways or d) is it something else that has not been considered? We often see behaviour and infer changes that may or not occur in the brain. That is why functional neuroimaging such as MRI or PET scans (Positron emmssion) tomography would be the best way to see if there are any changes in brain activation in response to treatment or different therapies.
Susie The only problem is I am not sure if I can still have MRI scans
David Is that because of the magnet?
Susie Yes and the metal in my spine
David
Well, PET does not require a magnet but it is investigational for the brain and you would have to find someone that does it. It measures changes in brain oxygen or cerebral metabolism (how the brain is using glucose).
Susie Right, it just intrigues me and as I say it might just unlock the reasons for cerebral palsy, well in my opinion anyway.
David
Without measuring the brain directly, since everyone’s' brains are wired somewhat differently and because CP has many manifestations in the brain, it would be difficult to isolate neural mechanisms. However, it something works for someone, which is very important! Just harder to understand why...
Susie yes I can understand that because the next question would be from that , would be if it works for one how easy would it be to manipulate it so that all types of CP gets results? And if it could be then we have unlocked it
David
I think one would first have to show that a treatment generalizes to several individuals with a specific type of CP, comparing it to an adequate control condition.
Susie
Yes you read my mind there because I was thinking of saying all forms - so all with Spastic Diplegia and so on
David
In a number of studies things work for a few people but do not generalize to the group as a whole. So even with one form, there may be high responders, medium responders and no responders. So the first step would be to see what the high responders have in common.
Susie because technically according to most of the books I have looked at most of them say in diplegia say only certain limbs effected now in reality it does differ
David
Yes and in ages
Susie
To see if say I had had this stimulation for want of a better word at the age of Rachel say, would the same things of happened or is it because I’m older it’s happened. Now my mind says would have been better at Rachel’s age because I would be more receptive at that age but I don’t know. As a result this leads to me asking or explaining that I felt as though my cp had gone and there is some evidence of this in me, in that I am moving better and I no loner have the spasticity etc
David
That is why it is so important to have a controlled study with pre and post measures with a control group and persons that are relatively homogeneous for a condition. Age has a tremendous effect because brain plasticity is much greater than when you are younger. When the radiologist sees the white-matter damage in Rachel, he is amazed that her cp is not worse... but she worked around the deficits by rewiring part of her brain
Susie But my Physio also say’s it is because I perceive it differently to how I did ten yrs ago when I first met her and I also agree.
David
Exactly. CP by definition is a poorly described term. It merely describes motor system impairments that result from central nervous system deficits at birth. EEG is another way I forgot to mention in looking at brain function. Structural MRI only looks at the structure of the brain... it does not measure functional connectivity.
Susie
I doubt I will never fully understand it but I would like to give it ago
David
It is a very complicated area indeed. As a scientist, I lead my whole life looking for break-troughs and if I am lucky. An experiment will yield some better understanding but never explain the whole complexity of memory disorders. However, I think that if you don't ask questions, you never get answers so I am pleased that you are investigating this! If it were memory disorders, I probably could be more helpful...
Susie
You see years ago this never crossed my mind but in last three years I have wanted to know
David
The brain is the great unsolved mystery of the universe! Keep searching... whatever you find, the journey itself is often worth it for a bright, curious mind so this then leads to the question as something connecting in the part of brain that’s responsible for learning
Susie Yes which then asks what’s made we curious all of a sudden
David
Of course motor and procedural memory is modulated by the basal ganglia system, episodic memory is mediated by the hippocampus and they all work together in complex feedback loops. It just blows my mind!
Susie
Yes so you see that cp is governed by memory isn’t it for example I am able to put one foot in front of other so to speak and somewhere my brain remembers this
David
That is procedural or motor memory. These are automatic programs modulated by the deep frontal lobe systems, most notably the basal ganglia and putamen.
Susie
But in some conditions they start off automatic and then switch off like patients with Alzheimer’s
David
But interestingly enough, Alzheimer's patients do not lose these abilities until very late in the disease. They lose short-term memory which is mediated by the hippocampus and related structures. So there are many different types of memory...
Susie
The reason is mention this is my uncle in Canada has just passed away from this
David
Very sorry to hear this...
Susie he was able to walk and then gradually because wheelchair dependant although this also interestingly wonders ok they might switch off so to speak gradually but then does this happen in older age anyway, but is maybe accelerated in people who have a underlying condition ? I suppose it works the other way?? In people who are always in a wheelchair.
David
What happens in Alzheimer's is that as the disease progresses it starts encroaching on these procedural memory structures and kills brain cells and their connections. However, the recent memory deficits precede this by as much as decades. A good model for older people in the basal ganglia system is Parkinson's Disease.
Susie
The procedural memory isn’t triggered so person isn’t able to walk because maybe the cell has already died from birth or maybe this is missing in some people in the genetic structure, like when people have a missing chromosome oh wow this is amazing stuff for me
David
In every disease, something attacks the neuron, the dendrite connections to other neurons and neurotransmitters. In some cases, the primary motor neurons are damaged and there is not motor function. In other cases, the modulating system like the basal ganglia does not properly use signals. In MS, it is actually demyelisation of the axons so the nerve impulses are not transmitted. Thus, brain dysfunction can occur because of cell damage, dedritic thinning or damage. Neurotransmitter difficulties etc. It is like a very complicated car engine. So many things can happen that will make the car fail to run 1) no gas; 2) damaged engine; 3) no starter; 4) loose wires etc.
The brain is simply the most complex and wondrous organ in the body. There is so much we have yet to understand. It is important to ask the right questions as you are...
Susie
So in CP the brain is full of loose wires and it hasn’t worked out where they are to go to
David
Could be... or damaged areas or areas that are damaged in their connectivity in some way...
Susie And it kind of wires them wrongly and sort of fuses them but in some areas they do wire properly and the motor fires up when the oxygen gets through.
David
Or the brain tries its best to rewire around the deficits to the best of its capability. The younger you are, the easier it is to rewire although plasticity can occur when one is older...
Susie So it’s a bit like a pinball machine
David
The question is that with billions of brain cells and over a trillion connections how can be best understand what happens...
Susie
In that you have the ball at the start and you pull the plunger and it fires it up and hits the sensors, So that it's like a message is getting sent and it hits the sensors the lights come on and connect And sometimes it fails and drops through the flippers
David That a good analogy. Now consider that every sensor is dependent on the integrity of every other sensor. You can have a malfunction at any point in the pathway.
Susie and sometimes if the timing is correct it flips it back and tries reconnecting the ball jams along the pathway and it needs a nudge to getting it going and that might be a hand or leg movement
David Exactly, and it can reset in some circumstances. It is like an intermittent problem. For some persons, if the primary sensors are deficient however, resetting is very difficult.
Susie Or your lungs inflating to force air back to nudge it and the harder u pull the plunger the further the ball/message goes.
David Thus, some persons may have more or less problems resetting or even setting at all relative to the extent of their problems. You can put all the gasoline that you want in a car, if it lacks certain mechanism it is not going to start no matter what you do. In certain cases you can help it to turn over.
Susie
Therefore stimulating the primary sensor
David
The messages that are sent by the brain are not only one way; they are always self-modulating and often reciprocal.
Susie
Yes and it’s the reciprocal nature that kind of stimulates the primary sensor? Because sometimes no matter how many times you use the flippers the ball still fails
David
Thus, I would expect the efficacy of any therapy to be dependent on a) the integrity structures that are involved; b) the communications between structures. You are right; there are feedback loops all along the way. Different therapies may target different structures or functional subsystems of the brain. We have long known that aspirin is effective only recently have we understood why. The only way to think about new things is to explore all the possibilities. You are very intelligent and I enjoy how you frame this.
04 September 2008
My first chance and many more
Hello all.
Yesterday was my first chance to grab a mic and share my life with willing ears. I never got nervous until the car ride. My Dad and I discussed how my approach to this was going to be. I hadn't written any notes or bullet points on anything, because for some reason it just doesn't sit well with with.
My Dad warned me not to tell the crowd my entire life story, to leave room for them to buy the book after if they wanted too. When we got there, a fire began to burn in my stomach, maybe it was due to the fact that I was hungry or everything that I've been longing and hoping for was about to become real.
As I sat in the car, I examined the amount of cars and people walking in and out. Which there were many. My Dad helped me into my wheel chair an we then went into the conference hall. It was fairly big, and some people were dressed to the nines, and me in a pin stripe shirt and jeans and black shoes.
I wanted to rock the man in black look, but NE is so gosh darn hot, and I really didn't want to die early. Anyhow, when we were inside we were met by my new friend Brian. He is a very cool guy. He seated us at a table at the very front of the room.
Lunch was being served, and while we ate the good food. Brian and I talked about writing. He to is a fellow writer. He is working on his first book and I am honored to help him get his first book published.
While others were still eating, Brian and I talked about life and faith and hope. He to was a believer in Jesus. So that calmed my nerves a bit, in between the small talk. People that would chime in a say: "Hey Brian, what's the program for today?"
Brian would say: "Well we have an author here (Brandon Ryan) who wrote a book on his life". The responses would be "wow" or even a nod of approval. Before I new it, it was time to take my position in front of the podium and share myself with the sixty plus crowd.
Brian, read from a brief Biography that I sent to him as an introduction. The room was so silent, as though they were waiting for some famous musician to strike the first not on a piano, as my Dad wheeled me up there. I knew in my heart that there was no turning back.
I did what I always do. Bring it from the heart and nothing less. I started to talk about my life, what my condition was and the challenge it has made my life. I talked about the pain I've gone through, the scars on my body and the operations they were from.
I then went on to talk about life for others and how painful it can be. Babies who never get a chance to be brought into this world, people who cut, people who suffer from depression and not wanting to get out of bed every morning.
People watched and listened as though nothing else mattered, not getting back to their jobs or anything. Every one was in the moment. I openly talked about suicide and how thoughts of it were sometimes worse than actually going through with it. I even talked about how important it was to start living life.
That it wasn't about the money being made in life, we can't take anything with us when we die. Except how we lived are lives. I told the everyone how important it was to start living life today, for something more. And that if they knew of someone who was hurting or suffering, to please go and try and help them any way they could.
I ended my talk with a quote from Mother Teresa: "We are not called to do great things, only small things with great love."
Then it was time for a small question and answer session. People asked about my life and if I was on any medication. To which I replied yes, but very little, only really an anti depressant to help combat my own fight with an illness. Other questions were somewhat business related, which I didn't mind.
But the past was still yet to come. Several people approached me about how they could buy the book. I had brought a huge box full, as others made their way to my Dad to handle the money side of things. I was approached by a few people that worked in the Millard school district, they told me up front that they wanted to book me to come speak at their schools.
As some of you may or may not know, the Omaha and Millard area have been on the end of school shootings, threats and other life altering events. This clicked in my mind and I said yes to them right away.
Others came to me shook my hand and asked me to sign their books. Which I did with delight. I looked everyone in the eyes and asked them how they were doing in life. People told me that I had such a great voice and that they would help me get more events like this. Which brought me great humility and joy.
While some were talking to my Dad, I spoke with a lady (Who's name I forgot) but we had the most honest conversation in three to four minutes. She told me that she had a friend who's son committed suicide. I told her how sorry I was to hear that, and that it is horrible. She asked me if I had a business card, but I didn't because they were all gone, as always.
But she wanted her friend to contact me, because he runs and organization that deals with coping with the loss of a loved one from Suicide. So without thinking I wrote down my number to give to him. And I hope and pray he calls.
While I was still signing books and shaking hands. My Dad talked to tall man named Mike. I had no clue, what he did at all. So when my Dad and I got back into the car to drive home, he told me that Mike worked for the Millard Board Of Education. Which took me be surprise.
My Dad told how Mike told him that he was very serious about booking me for a large assemble. Which made me smile from ear to ear. I was ready to do it right then and there. Not because if being center stage or having attention, but because of the chance to be a light in the darkness.
This all means so much to me. I know this is only the start of greater things. And I cannot find the words to thank God for granting me the chance to talk about the hope that he gives everyday.
And I thank you so much for all of you who have supported me from the start, without you I wouldn't be this far. But I need all of you to get excited and on fire with me, please. Please tell your churches or venues about my story. Read it if you have not already.
I believe that lives are being changed and great things are in store for our world. So lets believe in recovery and redemption. Because its either we choose one or the other. we either choose to live or we perish. Lets choose to live.
With love,
-Brandon the writer.
Yesterday was my first chance to grab a mic and share my life with willing ears. I never got nervous until the car ride. My Dad and I discussed how my approach to this was going to be. I hadn't written any notes or bullet points on anything, because for some reason it just doesn't sit well with with.
My Dad warned me not to tell the crowd my entire life story, to leave room for them to buy the book after if they wanted too. When we got there, a fire began to burn in my stomach, maybe it was due to the fact that I was hungry or everything that I've been longing and hoping for was about to become real.
As I sat in the car, I examined the amount of cars and people walking in and out. Which there were many. My Dad helped me into my wheel chair an we then went into the conference hall. It was fairly big, and some people were dressed to the nines, and me in a pin stripe shirt and jeans and black shoes.
I wanted to rock the man in black look, but NE is so gosh darn hot, and I really didn't want to die early. Anyhow, when we were inside we were met by my new friend Brian. He is a very cool guy. He seated us at a table at the very front of the room.
Lunch was being served, and while we ate the good food. Brian and I talked about writing. He to is a fellow writer. He is working on his first book and I am honored to help him get his first book published.
While others were still eating, Brian and I talked about life and faith and hope. He to was a believer in Jesus. So that calmed my nerves a bit, in between the small talk. People that would chime in a say: "Hey Brian, what's the program for today?"
Brian would say: "Well we have an author here (Brandon Ryan) who wrote a book on his life". The responses would be "wow" or even a nod of approval. Before I new it, it was time to take my position in front of the podium and share myself with the sixty plus crowd.
Brian, read from a brief Biography that I sent to him as an introduction. The room was so silent, as though they were waiting for some famous musician to strike the first not on a piano, as my Dad wheeled me up there. I knew in my heart that there was no turning back.
I did what I always do. Bring it from the heart and nothing less. I started to talk about my life, what my condition was and the challenge it has made my life. I talked about the pain I've gone through, the scars on my body and the operations they were from.
I then went on to talk about life for others and how painful it can be. Babies who never get a chance to be brought into this world, people who cut, people who suffer from depression and not wanting to get out of bed every morning.
People watched and listened as though nothing else mattered, not getting back to their jobs or anything. Every one was in the moment. I openly talked about suicide and how thoughts of it were sometimes worse than actually going through with it. I even talked about how important it was to start living life.
That it wasn't about the money being made in life, we can't take anything with us when we die. Except how we lived are lives. I told the everyone how important it was to start living life today, for something more. And that if they knew of someone who was hurting or suffering, to please go and try and help them any way they could.
I ended my talk with a quote from Mother Teresa: "We are not called to do great things, only small things with great love."
Then it was time for a small question and answer session. People asked about my life and if I was on any medication. To which I replied yes, but very little, only really an anti depressant to help combat my own fight with an illness. Other questions were somewhat business related, which I didn't mind.
But the past was still yet to come. Several people approached me about how they could buy the book. I had brought a huge box full, as others made their way to my Dad to handle the money side of things. I was approached by a few people that worked in the Millard school district, they told me up front that they wanted to book me to come speak at their schools.
As some of you may or may not know, the Omaha and Millard area have been on the end of school shootings, threats and other life altering events. This clicked in my mind and I said yes to them right away.
Others came to me shook my hand and asked me to sign their books. Which I did with delight. I looked everyone in the eyes and asked them how they were doing in life. People told me that I had such a great voice and that they would help me get more events like this. Which brought me great humility and joy.
While some were talking to my Dad, I spoke with a lady (Who's name I forgot) but we had the most honest conversation in three to four minutes. She told me that she had a friend who's son committed suicide. I told her how sorry I was to hear that, and that it is horrible. She asked me if I had a business card, but I didn't because they were all gone, as always.
But she wanted her friend to contact me, because he runs and organization that deals with coping with the loss of a loved one from Suicide. So without thinking I wrote down my number to give to him. And I hope and pray he calls.
While I was still signing books and shaking hands. My Dad talked to tall man named Mike. I had no clue, what he did at all. So when my Dad and I got back into the car to drive home, he told me that Mike worked for the Millard Board Of Education. Which took me be surprise.
My Dad told how Mike told him that he was very serious about booking me for a large assemble. Which made me smile from ear to ear. I was ready to do it right then and there. Not because if being center stage or having attention, but because of the chance to be a light in the darkness.
This all means so much to me. I know this is only the start of greater things. And I cannot find the words to thank God for granting me the chance to talk about the hope that he gives everyday.
And I thank you so much for all of you who have supported me from the start, without you I wouldn't be this far. But I need all of you to get excited and on fire with me, please. Please tell your churches or venues about my story. Read it if you have not already.
I believe that lives are being changed and great things are in store for our world. So lets believe in recovery and redemption. Because its either we choose one or the other. we either choose to live or we perish. Lets choose to live.
With love,
-Brandon the writer.
The Emotional Struggle continued.......
This is an excerpt of the book called The Emotional Struggle". by Brandon Ryan.
Copyright material through Author House publishing. 2007-2008
Throughout my childhood, I endured a great amount of physical pain. My very first operation was a rhizotomy. The purpose of that operation was to improve my posture, allowing me to sit up straight and to relieve the tightness in my leg muscles, improving plasticity. For this procedure, a surgeon makes an incision approximately six inches long over the lower area of the spinal chord. Next the nerves in the chord that causes the muscles to tighten are found and cut.
Arriving at Children’s Hospital early in the morning, I really had no idea what I was in for except a lot of pain. The hospital was cold and silent, so silent that if at any time a pin dropped to the floor, the noise could have woken the entire hospital.
From the entryway my family and I went into a giant elevator that would take us to the pre-operating room. When we arrived at our destination, we opened the brown wooden door to a world of bright colors, toys, TV, and a very, very comfortable waterbed. I remember being let down from my wheelchair, playing with the toys for a while, then going over to the nice comfortable waterbed and lying down. It was like home, but not exactly home. It was still home-like, if you know what I mean. I recall a nurse calling for me, “Brandon Ryan.” Keep in mind that I was still extremely young (six or seven years old), so I really had to go with the flow of things.
My dad picked me up and put me back into my larger-than-life wheelchair, and then we were off, following the nurse into a room that wasn’t as colorful as the room we had been in before. I remember the nurse saying to me, “I’m going to prick your finger, is that ok?” I remember nodding my head, trying not to show the fact that my heart was in my stomach.
Next, I sensed rubbing alcohol living up to its name, as the nurse applied it to my finger. I glanced at the needle the nurse had with her. As my eyes fixed onto it she said, “Oh don’t worry, it’s not a big needle. It’s just a small one,” as if that offered me any comfort.
The next thing I knew, my mom was covering my eyes saying, “Don’t look!” My entire body quivered because I knew that the “small needle” was getting closer to my finger. Then the nurse said, “OK; on the count of three. Ready?” I shook my head forcefully. The nurse counted aloud, “One, Two, Three.” Poke!
As the needle jabbed my skin, my body convulsed from the feeling. A few moments later my mom removed her hands from my eyes. The nurse used a small cotton ball to stop the bleeding and placed a bandage on my finger.
I went back to the bright-colored playroom to sit with my family, waiting for the time when I would have to be strong. I felt like I had to become a man faster than any boy. Before I knew it, my doctor’s assistant came in to get me. While his exact words do not come to mind, I understood that the time had arrived.
My family accompanied me to a different room with a single hospital bed and dim ambient lighting. The same nurse who had poked my finger (with the “small” needle) instructed me to get up on the bed. She gave me an ugly white hospital gown (I kid you not; it was ugly. Not that it matters, honestly). My mom helped me put the gown on.
Then the nurse came back, telling me to take some medicine that would “help me relax.” I don’t remember exactly how the medicine tasted, but I’m sure it was gross. I lay down a bit, with only the operation on my mind, not really knowing how much pain waited to test my endurance. All the pondering must have swept the remaining time away, because before I knew it, the time had finally come.
The nurse entered the room once again. This time she raised the sidebars on the hospital bed, almost trapping me inside. My feet were wrapped in blankets. I was wheeled down a series of hallways. And during those moments, what sticks out in my mind most is lying in that hospital bed, wailing, crying loudly as I waited outside of the operating room (OR).
Everyone was waiting for the surgeons, Dr. Hellbush and his team, to finish the preparations. For some reason—maybe it was the medicine—all that I remember is someone saying, “Brandon, calm down. Everything will be okay.” Nonetheless, I cried. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. When the operating room was ready I was wheeled in, and immediately I asked a nurse standing next to me, “Where is my doctor?” “He’ll be here soon,” she reassured. A few short minutes later, I heard a voice say, “Hi Brandon.” As I slowly rolled my head to the left, I realized that it was Dr. Esposito. I must admit, at ten years old, hearing a calming voice like his really did slow my anxious racing heart. Another nurse stood over me, holding an oxygen mask. As she placed the mask over my nose and mouth, she explained, “This will help you go to sleep.” Next, she instructed, “Count back from a hundred.” And as I did what she directed me to, I was out cold!
The operation lasted about eight hours. Of course, I was asleep for the entire duration. However, I awoke to a nurse saying, “Brandon, wake up. Brandon, can you hear me?” Her questions were rather annoying because my throat had dried to the extent that I could barely speak, let alone reply intelligently. After not eating anything for twenty-four hours, the feeling wasn’t very pleasant. Upon fully awakening, I remember being moved to ICU (The Intensive Care Unit). Once in the room, I looked to my right to see a newborn smile at me.
My dad sat next to my bed, as I lay there motionless, afraid to move. Even the slightest gesture roused my nervous system to that deep six-inch cut on my back. I don’t remember much about being in the ICU except for being tired, hungry, and eager to move to my own room where I could possibly get some rest. My dad told me that I should consider taking a nap, and only a few moments later my eye lids closed for what seemed to be several hours but was really only about five minutes. Upon waking up my dad mentioned something about eating a steak. I must say, that did sound delightful.
I knew that my hopes for my own room were fulfilled when we went back into the enormous elevator. Arriving on the correct floor, we were led down several hallways with grotesque green carpet, down another straight hallway, ending with an extremely large door, all to get to my room. As we entered, I observed how the room was wide open. It was furnished with a small TV attached near the summit of two walls, in the front corner of the room.
As I lay there, my mom opened the curtains. The sun broke through as if it had been held captive by darkness, and my eyes made their adjustments. I glanced out the window, and my gaze fixed on the most amazing store in a young kid’s life, Toys R’ US. Yes, that’s right. That was my favorite store in the whole wide world, and nothing could compare. There in that room more time elapsed (I’m not sure exactly how long). I waited, again not knowing why. Little did I know, I was waiting to encounter a physical sensation I would never forget.
The hospital bed was elevated so that I was sat up slightly. Sitting all the way upright would have increased my senses’ awareness of the cuts and changes made during the operation, which would have been too painful for me to bear. But soon I would be asked to move.
Dr Esposito came into the room and said something to the effect of, “Its time we sit you up out of bed.” That shocked me. I had just gotten out of my first operation; I was still tired and cranky because my stomach was empty; was I expected to endure more? The only thing I was allowed to consume was perhaps some 7-Up or some ice chips. But with those options, and me in my situation, I wanted every ounce I could get. I never knew 7-Up could taste so good. With my throat as dry as it was, all I wanted to do was down the entire can at once; but wisely and carefully my mom gave me small sips, one at a time. The idea of my doctor wanting to sit me up in bed so soon was clearly outrageous, at least in my mind. One would think that I needed some down time from mobility, but that wasn’t the case.
Honestly, I do not remember each person involved in moving me off and to the side of my hospital bed. I do recall it taking several nurses plus my mom and dad. The entire process hurt. All it really required was scooting me to the side of my bed and then hanging my legs over the edge.
Do you remember the fear that I described having upon going into the operation (until the very last second)? That same terrible fear came rushing over me again. It was as if I had a bounty on my head or I was on death row, something life threatening. A lump developed in my throat and my eyes started stinging as the tears formed. Then it happened. A nurse elevated my bed to the point that I was sitting upright. I could feel the insigne (area where the operation had been performed) stretch with every second of movement.
Next in the procession was a nurse who cradled her arm under mine, slowly rotating me to my right. I wore agony on my face with every passing second. Only moments later several nurses came in. Then a few more came. And before I could catch my breath, nurses were pulling me up until I sat completely straight. The tears burst from behind my eyes like a scene from Water World with Kevin Costner. I began to scream as loud as a metal-band vocalist.
I remember grabbing the nurses’ white lab coats, still screaming and crying my heart out, trying to expel the pain of the experience. The part that hurt most was when all the nurses finally managed to bring my legs over the edge. As my legs hung over, the pain intensified with each breath. It felt like having several knives dig into my back with no intention of stopping. I don’t remember much about the moments that followed that vivid and overwhelming scene.
Copyright material through Author House publishing. 2007-2008
Throughout my childhood, I endured a great amount of physical pain. My very first operation was a rhizotomy. The purpose of that operation was to improve my posture, allowing me to sit up straight and to relieve the tightness in my leg muscles, improving plasticity. For this procedure, a surgeon makes an incision approximately six inches long over the lower area of the spinal chord. Next the nerves in the chord that causes the muscles to tighten are found and cut.
Arriving at Children’s Hospital early in the morning, I really had no idea what I was in for except a lot of pain. The hospital was cold and silent, so silent that if at any time a pin dropped to the floor, the noise could have woken the entire hospital.
From the entryway my family and I went into a giant elevator that would take us to the pre-operating room. When we arrived at our destination, we opened the brown wooden door to a world of bright colors, toys, TV, and a very, very comfortable waterbed. I remember being let down from my wheelchair, playing with the toys for a while, then going over to the nice comfortable waterbed and lying down. It was like home, but not exactly home. It was still home-like, if you know what I mean. I recall a nurse calling for me, “Brandon Ryan.” Keep in mind that I was still extremely young (six or seven years old), so I really had to go with the flow of things.
My dad picked me up and put me back into my larger-than-life wheelchair, and then we were off, following the nurse into a room that wasn’t as colorful as the room we had been in before. I remember the nurse saying to me, “I’m going to prick your finger, is that ok?” I remember nodding my head, trying not to show the fact that my heart was in my stomach.
Next, I sensed rubbing alcohol living up to its name, as the nurse applied it to my finger. I glanced at the needle the nurse had with her. As my eyes fixed onto it she said, “Oh don’t worry, it’s not a big needle. It’s just a small one,” as if that offered me any comfort.
The next thing I knew, my mom was covering my eyes saying, “Don’t look!” My entire body quivered because I knew that the “small needle” was getting closer to my finger. Then the nurse said, “OK; on the count of three. Ready?” I shook my head forcefully. The nurse counted aloud, “One, Two, Three.” Poke!
As the needle jabbed my skin, my body convulsed from the feeling. A few moments later my mom removed her hands from my eyes. The nurse used a small cotton ball to stop the bleeding and placed a bandage on my finger.
I went back to the bright-colored playroom to sit with my family, waiting for the time when I would have to be strong. I felt like I had to become a man faster than any boy. Before I knew it, my doctor’s assistant came in to get me. While his exact words do not come to mind, I understood that the time had arrived.
My family accompanied me to a different room with a single hospital bed and dim ambient lighting. The same nurse who had poked my finger (with the “small” needle) instructed me to get up on the bed. She gave me an ugly white hospital gown (I kid you not; it was ugly. Not that it matters, honestly). My mom helped me put the gown on.
Then the nurse came back, telling me to take some medicine that would “help me relax.” I don’t remember exactly how the medicine tasted, but I’m sure it was gross. I lay down a bit, with only the operation on my mind, not really knowing how much pain waited to test my endurance. All the pondering must have swept the remaining time away, because before I knew it, the time had finally come.
The nurse entered the room once again. This time she raised the sidebars on the hospital bed, almost trapping me inside. My feet were wrapped in blankets. I was wheeled down a series of hallways. And during those moments, what sticks out in my mind most is lying in that hospital bed, wailing, crying loudly as I waited outside of the operating room (OR).
Everyone was waiting for the surgeons, Dr. Hellbush and his team, to finish the preparations. For some reason—maybe it was the medicine—all that I remember is someone saying, “Brandon, calm down. Everything will be okay.” Nonetheless, I cried. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. When the operating room was ready I was wheeled in, and immediately I asked a nurse standing next to me, “Where is my doctor?” “He’ll be here soon,” she reassured. A few short minutes later, I heard a voice say, “Hi Brandon.” As I slowly rolled my head to the left, I realized that it was Dr. Esposito. I must admit, at ten years old, hearing a calming voice like his really did slow my anxious racing heart. Another nurse stood over me, holding an oxygen mask. As she placed the mask over my nose and mouth, she explained, “This will help you go to sleep.” Next, she instructed, “Count back from a hundred.” And as I did what she directed me to, I was out cold!
The operation lasted about eight hours. Of course, I was asleep for the entire duration. However, I awoke to a nurse saying, “Brandon, wake up. Brandon, can you hear me?” Her questions were rather annoying because my throat had dried to the extent that I could barely speak, let alone reply intelligently. After not eating anything for twenty-four hours, the feeling wasn’t very pleasant. Upon fully awakening, I remember being moved to ICU (The Intensive Care Unit). Once in the room, I looked to my right to see a newborn smile at me.
My dad sat next to my bed, as I lay there motionless, afraid to move. Even the slightest gesture roused my nervous system to that deep six-inch cut on my back. I don’t remember much about being in the ICU except for being tired, hungry, and eager to move to my own room where I could possibly get some rest. My dad told me that I should consider taking a nap, and only a few moments later my eye lids closed for what seemed to be several hours but was really only about five minutes. Upon waking up my dad mentioned something about eating a steak. I must say, that did sound delightful.
I knew that my hopes for my own room were fulfilled when we went back into the enormous elevator. Arriving on the correct floor, we were led down several hallways with grotesque green carpet, down another straight hallway, ending with an extremely large door, all to get to my room. As we entered, I observed how the room was wide open. It was furnished with a small TV attached near the summit of two walls, in the front corner of the room.
As I lay there, my mom opened the curtains. The sun broke through as if it had been held captive by darkness, and my eyes made their adjustments. I glanced out the window, and my gaze fixed on the most amazing store in a young kid’s life, Toys R’ US. Yes, that’s right. That was my favorite store in the whole wide world, and nothing could compare. There in that room more time elapsed (I’m not sure exactly how long). I waited, again not knowing why. Little did I know, I was waiting to encounter a physical sensation I would never forget.
The hospital bed was elevated so that I was sat up slightly. Sitting all the way upright would have increased my senses’ awareness of the cuts and changes made during the operation, which would have been too painful for me to bear. But soon I would be asked to move.
Dr Esposito came into the room and said something to the effect of, “Its time we sit you up out of bed.” That shocked me. I had just gotten out of my first operation; I was still tired and cranky because my stomach was empty; was I expected to endure more? The only thing I was allowed to consume was perhaps some 7-Up or some ice chips. But with those options, and me in my situation, I wanted every ounce I could get. I never knew 7-Up could taste so good. With my throat as dry as it was, all I wanted to do was down the entire can at once; but wisely and carefully my mom gave me small sips, one at a time. The idea of my doctor wanting to sit me up in bed so soon was clearly outrageous, at least in my mind. One would think that I needed some down time from mobility, but that wasn’t the case.
Honestly, I do not remember each person involved in moving me off and to the side of my hospital bed. I do recall it taking several nurses plus my mom and dad. The entire process hurt. All it really required was scooting me to the side of my bed and then hanging my legs over the edge.
Do you remember the fear that I described having upon going into the operation (until the very last second)? That same terrible fear came rushing over me again. It was as if I had a bounty on my head or I was on death row, something life threatening. A lump developed in my throat and my eyes started stinging as the tears formed. Then it happened. A nurse elevated my bed to the point that I was sitting upright. I could feel the insigne (area where the operation had been performed) stretch with every second of movement.
Next in the procession was a nurse who cradled her arm under mine, slowly rotating me to my right. I wore agony on my face with every passing second. Only moments later several nurses came in. Then a few more came. And before I could catch my breath, nurses were pulling me up until I sat completely straight. The tears burst from behind my eyes like a scene from Water World with Kevin Costner. I began to scream as loud as a metal-band vocalist.
I remember grabbing the nurses’ white lab coats, still screaming and crying my heart out, trying to expel the pain of the experience. The part that hurt most was when all the nurses finally managed to bring my legs over the edge. As my legs hung over, the pain intensified with each breath. It felt like having several knives dig into my back with no intention of stopping. I don’t remember much about the moments that followed that vivid and overwhelming scene.
Hospital
This is an excerpt of the book called The Emotional Struggle". by Brandon Ryan. Copyright material through Author House publishing. 2007-2008
Brandon Lee Ryan, have been through many of life’s hardest struggles. Born with Cerebral Palsy, the uphill battle started early. September 18, 1984 was the day my mother gave birth to her first and only boy. I breathed my first free breath in a hospital at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan. I was transferred soon after to Saginaw General Hospital. The initial problem that Dr. Chai-Yakarn Soontharotoke encountered was as follows:
“Brandon is three and one half months old according to gestational age. He was born thirty-one weeks gestation, suffering from severe respiratory distress with respiratory failure that required mechanical respiratory support. There was evidence of prenatal hypoxia. During the neonatal course he was found to have evidence of intraventricular hemorrhage with mild-to-moderate dilatation of the ventricle.”
You don’t need to know Latin or even human anatomy to interpret that my health was in question; the words severe, distress, and failure should at least serve as situation clues. Let me translate.
So after turning technical jargon into laymen’s terms, we can conclude that I was born prematurely. And one of the affects was excessive internal bleeding. Not fun stuff. Kimberly Ryan, my mother, was twenty-seven when I was born. She had previously given birth to my sister Jessica. Jessica is now twenty-seven years old and married to her husband Nic.
My mother vowed to be a stay-at-home mom and proceeded to offer daycare to other children as well. My dad served twenty-one years in the United States Air Force and taught Martial Arts in his spare time. His spare time became the foundation for my life, as I’ll explain further in the story.
The affects of Cerebral Palsy drastically limited my range of motion. Growing up my disability made my body very stiff, which resulted in an all out war for whoever was dressing me. The stiffness often made it hard for them to slide my right arm through any form of T-shirt. To counteract my spastic tendencies, I was medicated with Valium. The doctors’ main purpose with the prescription was to relax my body so that everyday activities such as getting dressed would not be as difficult.
Going through kindergarten and grade school was awkward. Not only did I have to deal with other kids my age, as every child does, but there weren’t many kids that looked like me externally. There were probably two other kids around that had various physical aliments worse than mine.
It was easy to be around others who were physically challenged. When we occupied the same space, in those moments, we were on the same level. Our frequencies traveled with equal wavelengths, and seemed to meet in the middle.
I remember being bound to a wheelchair during school hours for part of my childhood. At the start of each school day, we had a regular morning routine. The mornings that everyone loved were, of course, the regular ones. I’d get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and go sit in front of the TV. Most days it was The Power Rangers and I. The bus came around 7:45 AM.
I can’t quite remember my elementary school bus driver’s name, perhaps Debbie. Either way, she would lower down a really nifty lift that always caught my attention as it unfolded. She would press a switch and the lift would slowly lower. As it hit the ground, it made a crunchy, skin crawling sound. The bus was number twelve. This bus also shaped the memories of my childhood.
The wheelchair was larger than I was, perhaps even five times my size. I couldn’t see over it, because the back piece towered over my head. In order for me to see over it, I had to pull myself up. I couldn’t reach the wheels because they were small and too far from my elevated hands. Living in and out of this wheel chair was a blessing and a curse all rolled into one: a blessing because when the time came for everyone to be seated at their desks, I already had mine, and a curse because when recess came, every kid in the class pelted out to the playground while I remained strapped to my chair, watching my classmates enjoy the freedom of running like chickens with their heads cut off. They played soccer, climbed monkey bars, and slid down the slides at full speed. I sat.
Do I seem bitter or even a bit jealous? Indeed I was, not only of their activities, but also their attire. While kids were wearing normal shoes and socks, I was wearing Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AFO’s). Each AFO covered my ankle and calf, positioning my foot forward. While they might seem beneficial to the common eye, they weren’t entirely. They often left welts on my feet. The AFO’s were made in such a way that two metal screws were positioned next to my ankle. I remember sitting in class sometimes, just begging the teacher or my assistant to take my braces off for maybe five minutes. But because my doctor said so, I had to wear them, even if that meant intense discomfort.
When school was over, the bus driver delivered to my parents. And first thing, my mom or dad would lift me out of that larger-than-life wheelchair and place me onto the nice comfortable couch in our living room. Then, it was off with my braces, which felt like heaven on foot, as the soothing air wisped over my sweaty hurting feet.
Brandon Lee Ryan, have been through many of life’s hardest struggles. Born with Cerebral Palsy, the uphill battle started early. September 18, 1984 was the day my mother gave birth to her first and only boy. I breathed my first free breath in a hospital at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan. I was transferred soon after to Saginaw General Hospital. The initial problem that Dr. Chai-Yakarn Soontharotoke encountered was as follows:
“Brandon is three and one half months old according to gestational age. He was born thirty-one weeks gestation, suffering from severe respiratory distress with respiratory failure that required mechanical respiratory support. There was evidence of prenatal hypoxia. During the neonatal course he was found to have evidence of intraventricular hemorrhage with mild-to-moderate dilatation of the ventricle.”
You don’t need to know Latin or even human anatomy to interpret that my health was in question; the words severe, distress, and failure should at least serve as situation clues. Let me translate.
So after turning technical jargon into laymen’s terms, we can conclude that I was born prematurely. And one of the affects was excessive internal bleeding. Not fun stuff. Kimberly Ryan, my mother, was twenty-seven when I was born. She had previously given birth to my sister Jessica. Jessica is now twenty-seven years old and married to her husband Nic.
My mother vowed to be a stay-at-home mom and proceeded to offer daycare to other children as well. My dad served twenty-one years in the United States Air Force and taught Martial Arts in his spare time. His spare time became the foundation for my life, as I’ll explain further in the story.
The affects of Cerebral Palsy drastically limited my range of motion. Growing up my disability made my body very stiff, which resulted in an all out war for whoever was dressing me. The stiffness often made it hard for them to slide my right arm through any form of T-shirt. To counteract my spastic tendencies, I was medicated with Valium. The doctors’ main purpose with the prescription was to relax my body so that everyday activities such as getting dressed would not be as difficult.
Going through kindergarten and grade school was awkward. Not only did I have to deal with other kids my age, as every child does, but there weren’t many kids that looked like me externally. There were probably two other kids around that had various physical aliments worse than mine.
It was easy to be around others who were physically challenged. When we occupied the same space, in those moments, we were on the same level. Our frequencies traveled with equal wavelengths, and seemed to meet in the middle.
I remember being bound to a wheelchair during school hours for part of my childhood. At the start of each school day, we had a regular morning routine. The mornings that everyone loved were, of course, the regular ones. I’d get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and go sit in front of the TV. Most days it was The Power Rangers and I. The bus came around 7:45 AM.
I can’t quite remember my elementary school bus driver’s name, perhaps Debbie. Either way, she would lower down a really nifty lift that always caught my attention as it unfolded. She would press a switch and the lift would slowly lower. As it hit the ground, it made a crunchy, skin crawling sound. The bus was number twelve. This bus also shaped the memories of my childhood.
The wheelchair was larger than I was, perhaps even five times my size. I couldn’t see over it, because the back piece towered over my head. In order for me to see over it, I had to pull myself up. I couldn’t reach the wheels because they were small and too far from my elevated hands. Living in and out of this wheel chair was a blessing and a curse all rolled into one: a blessing because when the time came for everyone to be seated at their desks, I already had mine, and a curse because when recess came, every kid in the class pelted out to the playground while I remained strapped to my chair, watching my classmates enjoy the freedom of running like chickens with their heads cut off. They played soccer, climbed monkey bars, and slid down the slides at full speed. I sat.
Do I seem bitter or even a bit jealous? Indeed I was, not only of their activities, but also their attire. While kids were wearing normal shoes and socks, I was wearing Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AFO’s). Each AFO covered my ankle and calf, positioning my foot forward. While they might seem beneficial to the common eye, they weren’t entirely. They often left welts on my feet. The AFO’s were made in such a way that two metal screws were positioned next to my ankle. I remember sitting in class sometimes, just begging the teacher or my assistant to take my braces off for maybe five minutes. But because my doctor said so, I had to wear them, even if that meant intense discomfort.
When school was over, the bus driver delivered to my parents. And first thing, my mom or dad would lift me out of that larger-than-life wheelchair and place me onto the nice comfortable couch in our living room. Then, it was off with my braces, which felt like heaven on foot, as the soothing air wisped over my sweaty hurting feet.
31 August 2008
Portable Wheelchair Helps Improve Quality Of Life
by Jeff Glasser
A portable wheelchair may vastly improve a person’s quality of life, in the important role that mobility plays in the lives of many of those with physical handicaps. Allowing them to get out and about with the need for someone else to move them around, a portable wheelchair can give them the independence they need and desire to help them live with more freedom. Nearly every government building and places of business with the passage of the American Disability Act, have made wheelchair access a requirement and is offering the benefits to those unable to walk on their own.
In the not-so-distant past, wheelchairs were large and bulky, restricting their use to the person’s home or medical facility in which they were confined. Their freedom to move about was restricted by the size of these unwieldy contraptions and being able to get out of the confines of their home was vastly limited. With the introduction of the portable wheelchair, their freedom to enjoy a better life was increased.
Many of the folding models can be stored in the trunk of most vehicles and are light enough for the average person to lift. The handicapped person can use their wheelchair to get into a vehicle and again when they arrive at their destination. Most major companies also offer the free use of their own portable wheelchair, ending the need for many to take their own with them.
Helping The Handicapped Improve Their Mobility
With the use of a portable wheelchair, many patients find that getting in and out of their own home more like a barrier to the outside world. Even those with a ramp on their homes to get outside may be stymied in using their portable wheelchair at their location. If they use a van, listing it in and out of the cargo area can be a weighty proposition unless the vehicle is equipped with a portable wheelchair ramp.
Their ability to be used in more than one vehicle is one of many advantages of these devices. Some vehicles are equipped with permanent ramps to allow portable wheelchair users to get in and out of their own vehicles, but if they must ride with someone else, they may not have that option. The use of a portable wheelchair will remain restricted to areas in which they can be operated with ease, but in today’s handicapped-friendly environment, their use is becoming more readily accepted.
About the Author:
In the crucial role that getting around plays in the lives of many of those with physical handicaps, a Portable Wheelchair may vastly enhance a person’s quality of life. Browse http://www.wheelchairs.jsgenterprises.com for more articles.
A portable wheelchair may vastly improve a person’s quality of life, in the important role that mobility plays in the lives of many of those with physical handicaps. Allowing them to get out and about with the need for someone else to move them around, a portable wheelchair can give them the independence they need and desire to help them live with more freedom. Nearly every government building and places of business with the passage of the American Disability Act, have made wheelchair access a requirement and is offering the benefits to those unable to walk on their own.
In the not-so-distant past, wheelchairs were large and bulky, restricting their use to the person’s home or medical facility in which they were confined. Their freedom to move about was restricted by the size of these unwieldy contraptions and being able to get out of the confines of their home was vastly limited. With the introduction of the portable wheelchair, their freedom to enjoy a better life was increased.
Many of the folding models can be stored in the trunk of most vehicles and are light enough for the average person to lift. The handicapped person can use their wheelchair to get into a vehicle and again when they arrive at their destination. Most major companies also offer the free use of their own portable wheelchair, ending the need for many to take their own with them.
Helping The Handicapped Improve Their Mobility
With the use of a portable wheelchair, many patients find that getting in and out of their own home more like a barrier to the outside world. Even those with a ramp on their homes to get outside may be stymied in using their portable wheelchair at their location. If they use a van, listing it in and out of the cargo area can be a weighty proposition unless the vehicle is equipped with a portable wheelchair ramp.
Their ability to be used in more than one vehicle is one of many advantages of these devices. Some vehicles are equipped with permanent ramps to allow portable wheelchair users to get in and out of their own vehicles, but if they must ride with someone else, they may not have that option. The use of a portable wheelchair will remain restricted to areas in which they can be operated with ease, but in today’s handicapped-friendly environment, their use is becoming more readily accepted.
About the Author:
In the crucial role that getting around plays in the lives of many of those with physical handicaps, a Portable Wheelchair may vastly enhance a person’s quality of life. Browse http://www.wheelchairs.jsgenterprises.com for more articles.
19 August 2008
Interview with Author Brandon Ryan
I recently had the chance to interview the Author of The Emotional Struggle recently, and I knew it was going to be an interesting interview in terms of both Brandon and I have similar disabilities and I was intrigued to find out just where he gets his inspiration from to write the profound things he does and below is what we talked about:
Hello Brandon, its nice in meet you and a honour for me to interview you about your emotional struggle I understand you were born with Cerebral Palsy and I know that can effect people in different ways, did you ever feel different to your classmates when you were growing up ?
Brandon yes I did. Its tough when your confide to a wheel chair, watching others run and play and jump. Sometimes you have an entire table to yourself. And kids smile at you, but don't come and sit by you. Please understand that I am not trying to hand anyone a sob story, but rather expose them to life beyond them to life through another's eyes and get them to look at their own lives and struggles.
If so how did you deal with that?
Brandon Honestly, when your young. all you can do is mask the hurt. sure you can do other things. but it does not compare to being able to interact with others your age. and even so in today's world, not having a disability can be hard.
How did /does your parents and family live with your disability ?
Brandon They motivate me to give my all in what I do, they do the best they can everyday to care for me and love me. I oh them a lot, but never will be able to re-pay them.
If you had chance to change your life would you change anything ?
Brandon No, what I went through both past and present has made me who I am today. My life is my life. We all get dealt a certain hand of cards in life. and we can either do what we can with them or we can lay day and die. the choice is ours everyday. When did you realise that you could achieve things? Thats a hard question... As far as myself believing I could achieve anything. It wasn't really towards the end of my school years. When I met my friend Garret, he really showed me what it was like to care for another human being. He loved me without condition, and I believe when a person has this. Something changes inside the soul, not sure exactly what. But it happens. The world is a huge place and it can make one feel small and insignificant. Its hard for people in our generation, everyone feels the need to fit a certain mold or image and when that happens they can achieve anything. And that is not true, never has been and it never will be. The ability to achieve things comes from within yourself, and what this happens. We find truth. We then find out what were made of.
When did you first start writing and what was the first thing your wrote about?
Brandon I started writing my senior year of High School. My english teacher, Mr. Kritina introduced me to poetry and writing and expressing what was inside me. At that time I had a lot of despair and pain inside me that I was not sure what to do with me you know? So the paper was there, I grabbed a pen and started writing everything down that was inside. Good or bad Mr. Kritina believed in me and saw something in me that really saved my life.
Does the books you read inspire you to write or do you get inspiration from another source?
Brandon Yes and Yes. Many of the authors I read today inspire me. They teach me how to be a better writer. I have much respect for Patty Kirk who just released her first book called "Confessions of a Amateur Believer". She writes with such beauty. And other sources of inspiration come from music, music feeds certain moods that mike my chapters and blogs come out the way they do.
What made you write a book?
Brandon My mom, HAHAHA! She bugged me about it until one day I was like "Okay, here goes!" Also... You know I really felt like there was not enough being done for some people today who don't feel like life is worth living. I mean, I don't have the answers for everyones pain. But I would like to think that everyone has a voice, and if we don't use it are lives are meaningless you know? Even if my story is not sold in most bookstores is traveled throughout the world. And I believe with all my heart, that The Emotional Struggle is a book that people will keep finding out about for years to come.
Do you have plans for another book?
Brandon Yes I do, that is a question that is asked pretty much everyday. I know a lot of people think my first book is great, but I'm striving for better. More bold, honest, beautiful and poetic. Who knows, maybe the next book will be on a major publishing label and maybe even come out in the next year and a half. (smiles)
What does your family think of your book?
Brandon They love it, although my Mom has not read it yet. She'll need a big box of clean-exes to read it on her own. HAHA
Is writing your ideal profession?
Brandon Actually yes, I love it. For me its a way to release my soul to a world that needs great books. In honesty, if and when I meet a special women and get married. I want the books that I write to be something that my kids could look at and read as a way for me to teach them to live great lives. And the money has been good, that helps!
If you where given a word say “inspiration “ you be able to write something?
Brandon write of the top of my head? No, I'd need to reflect and ponder. Inspiration is a word that everyone uses. And for me, I want to write fresh words for all who are willing to listen.
What does having cerebral palsy mean to you?
Brandon HAHA, I have never been asked that before. But I guess that there is a first time for everything. CP is something that people can't control, of course I didn't ask to have this condition. But my parents believe that if I didn't have CP they would have to bail me out of jail or something... Being that I am very well skilled in Martial Arts, I'd be the hero and save people who got picked on by others. But this is what I was given, and God has really gave me a sense that he has been with me since the very start of time and he held me together when I seem the most broken. So, I'm afraid I don't have a clear answer for your question. I just know that this is the life I was given, and each day is a gift and life is stronger than death, and life is not life is not limited by condition.
Well Brandon, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview and I would like to wish you all the best in the future.
Hello Brandon, its nice in meet you and a honour for me to interview you about your emotional struggle I understand you were born with Cerebral Palsy and I know that can effect people in different ways, did you ever feel different to your classmates when you were growing up ?
Brandon yes I did. Its tough when your confide to a wheel chair, watching others run and play and jump. Sometimes you have an entire table to yourself. And kids smile at you, but don't come and sit by you. Please understand that I am not trying to hand anyone a sob story, but rather expose them to life beyond them to life through another's eyes and get them to look at their own lives and struggles.
If so how did you deal with that?
Brandon Honestly, when your young. all you can do is mask the hurt. sure you can do other things. but it does not compare to being able to interact with others your age. and even so in today's world, not having a disability can be hard.
How did /does your parents and family live with your disability ?
Brandon They motivate me to give my all in what I do, they do the best they can everyday to care for me and love me. I oh them a lot, but never will be able to re-pay them.
If you had chance to change your life would you change anything ?
Brandon No, what I went through both past and present has made me who I am today. My life is my life. We all get dealt a certain hand of cards in life. and we can either do what we can with them or we can lay day and die. the choice is ours everyday. When did you realise that you could achieve things? Thats a hard question... As far as myself believing I could achieve anything. It wasn't really towards the end of my school years. When I met my friend Garret, he really showed me what it was like to care for another human being. He loved me without condition, and I believe when a person has this. Something changes inside the soul, not sure exactly what. But it happens. The world is a huge place and it can make one feel small and insignificant. Its hard for people in our generation, everyone feels the need to fit a certain mold or image and when that happens they can achieve anything. And that is not true, never has been and it never will be. The ability to achieve things comes from within yourself, and what this happens. We find truth. We then find out what were made of.
When did you first start writing and what was the first thing your wrote about?
Brandon I started writing my senior year of High School. My english teacher, Mr. Kritina introduced me to poetry and writing and expressing what was inside me. At that time I had a lot of despair and pain inside me that I was not sure what to do with me you know? So the paper was there, I grabbed a pen and started writing everything down that was inside. Good or bad Mr. Kritina believed in me and saw something in me that really saved my life.
Does the books you read inspire you to write or do you get inspiration from another source?
Brandon Yes and Yes. Many of the authors I read today inspire me. They teach me how to be a better writer. I have much respect for Patty Kirk who just released her first book called "Confessions of a Amateur Believer". She writes with such beauty. And other sources of inspiration come from music, music feeds certain moods that mike my chapters and blogs come out the way they do.
What made you write a book?
Brandon My mom, HAHAHA! She bugged me about it until one day I was like "Okay, here goes!" Also... You know I really felt like there was not enough being done for some people today who don't feel like life is worth living. I mean, I don't have the answers for everyones pain. But I would like to think that everyone has a voice, and if we don't use it are lives are meaningless you know? Even if my story is not sold in most bookstores is traveled throughout the world. And I believe with all my heart, that The Emotional Struggle is a book that people will keep finding out about for years to come.
Do you have plans for another book?
Brandon Yes I do, that is a question that is asked pretty much everyday. I know a lot of people think my first book is great, but I'm striving for better. More bold, honest, beautiful and poetic. Who knows, maybe the next book will be on a major publishing label and maybe even come out in the next year and a half. (smiles)
What does your family think of your book?
Brandon They love it, although my Mom has not read it yet. She'll need a big box of clean-exes to read it on her own. HAHA
Is writing your ideal profession?
Brandon Actually yes, I love it. For me its a way to release my soul to a world that needs great books. In honesty, if and when I meet a special women and get married. I want the books that I write to be something that my kids could look at and read as a way for me to teach them to live great lives. And the money has been good, that helps!
If you where given a word say “inspiration “ you be able to write something?
Brandon write of the top of my head? No, I'd need to reflect and ponder. Inspiration is a word that everyone uses. And for me, I want to write fresh words for all who are willing to listen.
What does having cerebral palsy mean to you?
Brandon HAHA, I have never been asked that before. But I guess that there is a first time for everything. CP is something that people can't control, of course I didn't ask to have this condition. But my parents believe that if I didn't have CP they would have to bail me out of jail or something... Being that I am very well skilled in Martial Arts, I'd be the hero and save people who got picked on by others. But this is what I was given, and God has really gave me a sense that he has been with me since the very start of time and he held me together when I seem the most broken. So, I'm afraid I don't have a clear answer for your question. I just know that this is the life I was given, and each day is a gift and life is stronger than death, and life is not life is not limited by condition.
Well Brandon, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview and I would like to wish you all the best in the future.
02 August 2008
The Pied Piper’s Taps
Al Gilbert, the legendary “Pied Piper of Dance,” was born, Allesandro Zicari, on July 12, 1921. Al came from a generation in time, when people valued one another and truly cared. During that time, people really seemed to genuinely treasure one anothers friendships and supported their endeavors. This was in an age and era without technology. Thus, people reached out more to one another. They talked, were friendly, and neighborly, and they built relationships and bonded. They tried to make life easier, more palatable, and they freely and without reservation lend a helping hand. People, of this era also assisted by helping unconditionally to those that were less fortunate.
Al Gilbert, affectionately known as “Uncle Al, Star Maker, Dance Educator, and “teachers’ teacher” career lasted well over 60 years. He was a no-nonsense instructor who inspired and motivated all. He was internationally known, and could simplify steps in a way no one else could. “At a time when nothing like it existed, Music works website says it best…Al’s revolutionary vision to create instructional dance material for dance instructors and their students generated a trend that changed the entire dance industry.” Al codified syllabi for tap and jazz and made a long, lasting impact on the dance world. From the earliest days, when he worked side by side with his brothers, on the back street-corners of Rochester, New York, Al Gilbert made dance even more accessible without even realizing it.
It was 1954, a beautiful spring day, in the state of California. My mother was driving down the street, Pico Blvd. in the city of Los Angeles, with me by her side, in our 1952, two tone, blue hardtop, Chevy. Momentarily, she looked up, and spotted a sign. It read “…Al Gilberts Theatrical Dance Studio. Being the progressive thinker and person that she was, she turned the corner, parked the car, took me by my little hand, and walked into his front doors to talk with him. That was well over 45 years ago. It was a very magical moment as he greeted us both. After seconds of entering his door, my mother and I both knew. It was my privilege to be his friend, his student, and become a teacher, who has carried on his precious legacy to our disabled community in so many ways.
There is not much talk or literature on Allesando Zicari, and how Al gave of himself and his time unconditionally to the disabled world. So I will. He helped all that came to him. Even those disabled girlfriends, who I went to school with; whom my mother personally recommended.
Al Gilbert, dance teacher, poet, author, and humanitarian, proposed to come to my handicapped elementary school and give of himself and his talents unreservedly. He was enthusiastic and eager to teach other disabled children, and give his time to our community. Although, even the master in taps that he was- because he did not have a college teaching degree, he was blocked by “the experts.” Time and time again he “proved it could be done” while the experts said it couldn’t! He was a leader in his own right, and made an impact on everyone’s life he touched.
Including mine! I remember that day well. I remember vividly. I was a young toddler, only three and a half years old. And, to remember so vividly, after so many years is truly a blessing. I remember how he unconditionally loved, me, and how he gently took me under his wing and nurtured me. I remember how he taught me to dance, and how he would look down at me with his smile. His kind and mild temperament along with his encouraging words, taught me how to hop, skip, jump and run. He also taught me to point and flex my toes, and gain movement in my ankle that I may never have developed if it weren’t for him. No therapist ever gave to me like he gave of himself. Because of his teachings, and his techniques; my once twisted body, straightened out, along with my left leg. Now, not only did my dragged foot and flopped, out to the side gate, correct itself- But I was able to hang my full length brace up in my closet never to wear it again at the age of 11 years old. His unwavering dedication and devotion week after week, year after year, recital after recital of lessons taken with and without my brace proved to dramatically change me and my physical being.
Gently but firmly, I remember him reminding me to bend my knees; while doing shuffles, shuffle hops, or shuffle bal-changes. I can recall him clearly telling me to turn my knee out for better positioning, and I can remember hearing his voice on his tap technique records. Al gave me a ballet bar too, along with a book about a little girl who had week legs, who got strong again through dance- only to become a ballerina. On another trip, he came back with symbols. His unwavering unique, and loving approach towards me, tried every way possible to motivate and encourage.
Every chance I could while at home, I would practice after all my other therapies lessons were done and completed. So, with discipline, a willingness, and an open –mind, I would put my record player on, only to hear Al’s soothing, voice instructing me as he always did.
I also can remember him making my lessons fun, calling my mother up to have her bring me into his studio for extra lessons, without any charge. He use to say to my mama… “…that Karen’s smile was payment in full… that that was all he needed.” On another occasion, he even began piano lessons. He made this fun as well, as his playful side would come to check up on me and the piano teacher every chance he could. Never once did he let on it was to make my left fingers and hand stronger.
I remember the closeness we had, and how our friendship grew and developed over decades and time. I trusted him, I respected him and his word, and I talked to him like he was my daddy, when I lost my own. He became the temperate figure I looked up to for strength and endurance. He became the rock and pillar in my minds eye to endue all. He gave me a quiet love, acceptance and devotion for not only dance, movement, and rhythm, but he bestowed upon me a burning desire and passion which could not be denied. His love and enthusiasm for music, rhythm, and man-kind was passed on, body, mind, and soul. I knew what I wanted to become, and I was going to become it. I was going to follow Al Gilbert’s footsteps even though I had Cerebral Palsy. I was blessed with the same gift, as Al… I was born to dance just like all the other students before and after me that he endowed with his skill and talent.
Al Gilbert, affectionately known as “Uncle Al, Star Maker, Dance Educator, and “teachers’ teacher” career lasted well over 60 years. He was a no-nonsense instructor who inspired and motivated all. He was internationally known, and could simplify steps in a way no one else could. “At a time when nothing like it existed, Music works website says it best…Al’s revolutionary vision to create instructional dance material for dance instructors and their students generated a trend that changed the entire dance industry.” Al codified syllabi for tap and jazz and made a long, lasting impact on the dance world. From the earliest days, when he worked side by side with his brothers, on the back street-corners of Rochester, New York, Al Gilbert made dance even more accessible without even realizing it.
It was 1954, a beautiful spring day, in the state of California. My mother was driving down the street, Pico Blvd. in the city of Los Angeles, with me by her side, in our 1952, two tone, blue hardtop, Chevy. Momentarily, she looked up, and spotted a sign. It read “…Al Gilberts Theatrical Dance Studio. Being the progressive thinker and person that she was, she turned the corner, parked the car, took me by my little hand, and walked into his front doors to talk with him. That was well over 45 years ago. It was a very magical moment as he greeted us both. After seconds of entering his door, my mother and I both knew. It was my privilege to be his friend, his student, and become a teacher, who has carried on his precious legacy to our disabled community in so many ways.
There is not much talk or literature on Allesando Zicari, and how Al gave of himself and his time unconditionally to the disabled world. So I will. He helped all that came to him. Even those disabled girlfriends, who I went to school with; whom my mother personally recommended.
Al Gilbert, dance teacher, poet, author, and humanitarian, proposed to come to my handicapped elementary school and give of himself and his talents unreservedly. He was enthusiastic and eager to teach other disabled children, and give his time to our community. Although, even the master in taps that he was- because he did not have a college teaching degree, he was blocked by “the experts.” Time and time again he “proved it could be done” while the experts said it couldn’t! He was a leader in his own right, and made an impact on everyone’s life he touched.
Including mine! I remember that day well. I remember vividly. I was a young toddler, only three and a half years old. And, to remember so vividly, after so many years is truly a blessing. I remember how he unconditionally loved, me, and how he gently took me under his wing and nurtured me. I remember how he taught me to dance, and how he would look down at me with his smile. His kind and mild temperament along with his encouraging words, taught me how to hop, skip, jump and run. He also taught me to point and flex my toes, and gain movement in my ankle that I may never have developed if it weren’t for him. No therapist ever gave to me like he gave of himself. Because of his teachings, and his techniques; my once twisted body, straightened out, along with my left leg. Now, not only did my dragged foot and flopped, out to the side gate, correct itself- But I was able to hang my full length brace up in my closet never to wear it again at the age of 11 years old. His unwavering dedication and devotion week after week, year after year, recital after recital of lessons taken with and without my brace proved to dramatically change me and my physical being.
Gently but firmly, I remember him reminding me to bend my knees; while doing shuffles, shuffle hops, or shuffle bal-changes. I can recall him clearly telling me to turn my knee out for better positioning, and I can remember hearing his voice on his tap technique records. Al gave me a ballet bar too, along with a book about a little girl who had week legs, who got strong again through dance- only to become a ballerina. On another trip, he came back with symbols. His unwavering unique, and loving approach towards me, tried every way possible to motivate and encourage.
Every chance I could while at home, I would practice after all my other therapies lessons were done and completed. So, with discipline, a willingness, and an open –mind, I would put my record player on, only to hear Al’s soothing, voice instructing me as he always did.
I also can remember him making my lessons fun, calling my mother up to have her bring me into his studio for extra lessons, without any charge. He use to say to my mama… “…that Karen’s smile was payment in full… that that was all he needed.” On another occasion, he even began piano lessons. He made this fun as well, as his playful side would come to check up on me and the piano teacher every chance he could. Never once did he let on it was to make my left fingers and hand stronger.
I remember the closeness we had, and how our friendship grew and developed over decades and time. I trusted him, I respected him and his word, and I talked to him like he was my daddy, when I lost my own. He became the temperate figure I looked up to for strength and endurance. He became the rock and pillar in my minds eye to endue all. He gave me a quiet love, acceptance and devotion for not only dance, movement, and rhythm, but he bestowed upon me a burning desire and passion which could not be denied. His love and enthusiasm for music, rhythm, and man-kind was passed on, body, mind, and soul. I knew what I wanted to become, and I was going to become it. I was going to follow Al Gilbert’s footsteps even though I had Cerebral Palsy. I was blessed with the same gift, as Al… I was born to dance just like all the other students before and after me that he endowed with his skill and talent.
Pondering the Past, and Guiding Individuals Towards Their Future
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Thank you for inviting me to your school today, and to share with you a part of who I am. This afternoon, I will not only read to you a piece of my autobiographical book,” The Broken Hoof,” but we will move together in rhythm, while teaching, and, I will empower you with some videos of where I have come from and what gifts I’d like to give to all of you. I’d liked to help you learn that “Anything is Possible” if you put your mind towards it.
You are all sitting here before me now, because deep, down inside of your own heart, you believe in yourselves like no one else does or ever has. You believe in your own individuals gifts and talents. And you believe that you are very special, in a very unique way. Each and every one of you, just like me, I’m sure, has had to overcome challenges and extreme difficulties. We all have these difficulties and obstacles, however, not all of us have the courage and strength, to face up to them, accept them, learn from them, grow from them, and change our attitudes in a positive way, while becoming willing to do what ever it takes to reach the goal we desire so badly.
Today, we will find new techniques; new approaches, and new ways to bring about these changes within ourselves, our attitudes, our beliefs, and our lives. We will begin right where we are now. And we will do it with unconditional acceptance and kindness. We will learn to be gentle with ourselves and our feelings. And, we will learn to accomplish our challenges one at a time. Today we will have some fun exploring ourselves with some of these methods.
We as individuals, have the power to change, along with change the world around us, but only if we have that willingness. This willingness within, will take us on marvelous journeys, but only if we trust this power of belief, then and only then will our accomplishments be unlimited.
When I was your age, the young people who surrounded my world, were all disabled. Why, you might be asking yourself? Well, I’ll tell you. When I was five months old, I got very sick. It left me with the paralysis you see today on my left arm and leg. I could not go to a regular school, because I could not learn like other children my own age. I had a learning disability called dyslexia. This learning problem made it very, very, hard for me to read, write, and do math like the other children in my classes. Thus, I had to go to a school that had children with Cerebral Palsy, like me, polio, multiple sclerosis, down syndrome, and other disabilities.
These were the only young people that I knew. So I had to create different ways to learn. I had to motivate myself, and tell myself that I could pass a test. I had to learn to be open minded. I had to learn to believe in myself, and to believe that no matter what my outer appearances looked like, I could change it. I would keep telling myself that I could change my life and the world immediately around me.
The difference in having a disability now, verses when I was a child, was that the educational system did not have the laws that you have today. I was pushed into classes where I was not learning like the other children around me. And when my mother got the first special education teacher, by talking to the principal, I was put in a classroom, behind a screen, to figure things out for myself, while sitting all alone for hours at a time, to fend for myself.
Finding my dance teacher, Al Gilbert, changed my life completely. Through his caring, gentle, and poised composure, I learned by example what it took to give it to myself, and then, eventually to all of you. Everyone of you here today, are here because you want to be here, you want to change and make your life better, and, you want to find and develop your gifts and share them with the world. This is and can be possible. It is all encompassing.
I would like to share a little bit of the journey I took to try to change some of the attitudes about what people with my disability were able to do. I spent a lot of time trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle called learning. Just as dance had made my body and spirit strong, now I was on a quest to find the tools which would unlock the door for me. Inadvertently, I helped unlock the doors for all disabled people.
I understood intuitively, that I would some day have to ultimately care for myself completely. To do that, I needed a good job. To get that job, I needed a higher education. And, I needed to learn all the things I never learned in 12 years of my fundamental schooling. The people, who were supposed to be helping me, sadly didn’t see thing the same way I did. They felt I should settle for something less than I believed I was capable of. To make a long story short, I fought and won the first Civil Rights Case in California, this guaranteed my right to earn an Associate of Arts degree in English and dance. While I was at college, I found helpers who understood my desire to learn all the things I never learned before.
This now led me to succeed in many different areas. I became an adaptive fitness instructor, an advocate, a published author, and a public speaker. My book, which I am going to read from shortly, was published in 2006, but took over twenty years to complete. And, in its infancy, it won second place in the Kaleidoscope Literary Prose Fiction Art award of 1983. I know every one of you has something to offer and give to the rest of the world. It is all about unlocking it. My hope is that my story and my visit here with you today, is the key that unlocks a door of deep desires for you. My other hope is that you find the power within yourself to succeed and the ability to be positive in every way. I hope that by me speaking here today helps you to find the area, the talent, and the gift you so joyously feel within your heart to give and share with the world.
A Long time ago, I found a poem by a famous British amputee; William E. Henley. He lost both his legs at the age of 12. When I first read these words, in college, these words from Maya Angelou sung sweetly in my spirit. Angelou first sees this as a mark of paternalistic contempt. She is held by a white superintendent in school who has just told her class, to be content to be athletes and cotton pickers. She turns it into an anthem or song of praises for our people and hers. It goes like this… “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll. I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.
I leave you with these sweet empowering words- take them home with you today to conquer and triumph! Make a positive mark on this world and leave a path behind you that no one else has ever left before.
Thank you for allowing me to share this with you, today. I will now answer any questions that you may have or that cross your mind.
You are all sitting here before me now, because deep, down inside of your own heart, you believe in yourselves like no one else does or ever has. You believe in your own individuals gifts and talents. And you believe that you are very special, in a very unique way. Each and every one of you, just like me, I’m sure, has had to overcome challenges and extreme difficulties. We all have these difficulties and obstacles, however, not all of us have the courage and strength, to face up to them, accept them, learn from them, grow from them, and change our attitudes in a positive way, while becoming willing to do what ever it takes to reach the goal we desire so badly.
Today, we will find new techniques; new approaches, and new ways to bring about these changes within ourselves, our attitudes, our beliefs, and our lives. We will begin right where we are now. And we will do it with unconditional acceptance and kindness. We will learn to be gentle with ourselves and our feelings. And, we will learn to accomplish our challenges one at a time. Today we will have some fun exploring ourselves with some of these methods.
We as individuals, have the power to change, along with change the world around us, but only if we have that willingness. This willingness within, will take us on marvelous journeys, but only if we trust this power of belief, then and only then will our accomplishments be unlimited.
When I was your age, the young people who surrounded my world, were all disabled. Why, you might be asking yourself? Well, I’ll tell you. When I was five months old, I got very sick. It left me with the paralysis you see today on my left arm and leg. I could not go to a regular school, because I could not learn like other children my own age. I had a learning disability called dyslexia. This learning problem made it very, very, hard for me to read, write, and do math like the other children in my classes. Thus, I had to go to a school that had children with Cerebral Palsy, like me, polio, multiple sclerosis, down syndrome, and other disabilities.
These were the only young people that I knew. So I had to create different ways to learn. I had to motivate myself, and tell myself that I could pass a test. I had to learn to be open minded. I had to learn to believe in myself, and to believe that no matter what my outer appearances looked like, I could change it. I would keep telling myself that I could change my life and the world immediately around me.
The difference in having a disability now, verses when I was a child, was that the educational system did not have the laws that you have today. I was pushed into classes where I was not learning like the other children around me. And when my mother got the first special education teacher, by talking to the principal, I was put in a classroom, behind a screen, to figure things out for myself, while sitting all alone for hours at a time, to fend for myself.
Finding my dance teacher, Al Gilbert, changed my life completely. Through his caring, gentle, and poised composure, I learned by example what it took to give it to myself, and then, eventually to all of you. Everyone of you here today, are here because you want to be here, you want to change and make your life better, and, you want to find and develop your gifts and share them with the world. This is and can be possible. It is all encompassing.
I would like to share a little bit of the journey I took to try to change some of the attitudes about what people with my disability were able to do. I spent a lot of time trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle called learning. Just as dance had made my body and spirit strong, now I was on a quest to find the tools which would unlock the door for me. Inadvertently, I helped unlock the doors for all disabled people.
I understood intuitively, that I would some day have to ultimately care for myself completely. To do that, I needed a good job. To get that job, I needed a higher education. And, I needed to learn all the things I never learned in 12 years of my fundamental schooling. The people, who were supposed to be helping me, sadly didn’t see thing the same way I did. They felt I should settle for something less than I believed I was capable of. To make a long story short, I fought and won the first Civil Rights Case in California, this guaranteed my right to earn an Associate of Arts degree in English and dance. While I was at college, I found helpers who understood my desire to learn all the things I never learned before.
This now led me to succeed in many different areas. I became an adaptive fitness instructor, an advocate, a published author, and a public speaker. My book, which I am going to read from shortly, was published in 2006, but took over twenty years to complete. And, in its infancy, it won second place in the Kaleidoscope Literary Prose Fiction Art award of 1983. I know every one of you has something to offer and give to the rest of the world. It is all about unlocking it. My hope is that my story and my visit here with you today, is the key that unlocks a door of deep desires for you. My other hope is that you find the power within yourself to succeed and the ability to be positive in every way. I hope that by me speaking here today helps you to find the area, the talent, and the gift you so joyously feel within your heart to give and share with the world.
A Long time ago, I found a poem by a famous British amputee; William E. Henley. He lost both his legs at the age of 12. When I first read these words, in college, these words from Maya Angelou sung sweetly in my spirit. Angelou first sees this as a mark of paternalistic contempt. She is held by a white superintendent in school who has just told her class, to be content to be athletes and cotton pickers. She turns it into an anthem or song of praises for our people and hers. It goes like this… “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll. I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.
I leave you with these sweet empowering words- take them home with you today to conquer and triumph! Make a positive mark on this world and leave a path behind you that no one else has ever left before.
Thank you for allowing me to share this with you, today. I will now answer any questions that you may have or that cross your mind.
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