Andrew Solomon "Inspired by Melancholy: The Creative Mind and Its Pain"

Bono posted X-ray of his shattered Elbow

Bono posted a photograph of an X-ray, pictured,  on his blog,  showing the extent of his injuries 

• The U2 singer broke his elbow in a bicycle accident in New York City
• He severely fractured the bone when he crashed in Central Park last year
• Bono blogged that 'recovery has been more difficult than I thought'

The 54-year-old U2 singer suffered multiple injuries including a fractured eye socket and shoulder blade as well as a severe fracture to his left elbow after the high-speed crash in New York’s Central Park last November.

Bono posted the X-ray of his shattered elbow on his blog, saying: ‘The recovery has been more difficult than I thought. As I write this it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again.’

But last night one of America’s leading elbow specialists, Dr Robert Klapper, said: ‘Playing the guitar is absolutely the best physical therapy for this type of injury.’ However the doctor – whose patients have included Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman – added: ‘This is certainly one of the most devastating and complex elbow injuries
I’ve ever seen.’

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2895675/Now-s-broken-Bono-U2-star-reveals-X-ray-elbow-shattered-bicycle-accident.html

Enlarged Prostate

Enlarged Prostate Symptom - http://www.medicalsymptomsguide.com/enlarged-prostate-




Source:

Medical Symptoms

@MedSymptoms FOLLOWS YOU

Your guide to common medical symptoms

medicalsymptomsguide.com

What Causes Gout?

Gout is a common painful kind of arthritis caused by uric acid crystals forming in one or more joints. Uric acid is formed when the body breaks down a substance called purines. Purines are found in all of the body’s tissues and normally dissolve in the blood and pass through the kidneys into the urine and out the body. Gout occurs when there is an abnormally high amount of uric acid in the blood. Persons with gout will experience swollen, red, hot and stiff joints. High uric acid levels in the blood are referred to as hyperuricemia; most people with hyperuricemia do not develop gout. But if excess uric acid crystals form in the body, gout can develop.
The buildup of uric acid will occur if the body produces extra acid or does not eliminate enough, or, from intake of too many foods rich in purines, such as liver, dried beans, peas, anchovies, salmon, sardines, organ meats, asparagus, mushrooms and herring.

A gout attack typically begins in the big toe and persons affected usually recover within three to ten days. However, attacks will eventually last longer and occur more often. Gout can also attack ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers and elbows. Uric acid buildup can lead to kidney stones. Untreated gout can cause permanent joint and kidney damage. There are certain medicines uses to treat an acute attack of gout; these include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, such as prednisone, colchicine, which works best when taken within the first 12 hours of an acute attack

Causes of Gout

Men are at a greater risk of developing gout more often than women since uric acids increase at puberty for men whilst women are more likely to develop gout after menopause. A diet with purine rich foods will definitely increase the risk of gout as well as persons that suffer from and enzyme defect will be prone to the condition since their bodies will have difficulty in breaking down the purine. Exposure to lead and organ transplant are other known risk factors of gout.

Obesity – persons that are overweight will have more tissues available for turnover or breakdown, which leads to increased uric acid production by the body.

Excess Alcohol – alcohol can raise the levels of uric acid in the blood and increases the risk of gout. Beer is a greater risk factor amongst other liquors.

High Cholesterol – foods that are high in fat are usually high in purines. Limit fat intake by choosing leaner meats, foods prepared with less oils and lower fat dairy products.

Diabetes – has been recognized as a plausible cause of gout. Poor blood circulation associated with diabetes means the body is less able to get rid of uric acid. Therefore crystals can collect in the extremities and joints of the body, such as the toes and ankles, and cause painful outbreaks of gout

High Blood Pressure - Some of the drugs used to treat high blood pressure can precipitate a gouty attack..

Hereditary – some persons have a genetic predisposition to excessive uric acid production.

Medications – medicines that may cause gout include the following

• Certain diuretics (“water pills”) used to treat high blood pressure
• Niacin (a B-complex vitamin)
• Aspirin (taken in low doses)
• Cyclosporine – which is used to prevent the body from rejecting a new organ after transplant surgery
• Some drugs used to treat cancer
• Pyrazinamide, which is used to treat tuberculosis
• Levodopa

Source: http://www.medicalsymptomsguide.com/what-causes-gout.html

Achilles Tendon Pain

Having an inflamed Achilles tendon can be very painful experience, which is a condition usually referred to as Achilles tendinitis. When affected by this, patients experience sharp and stabbing pain somewhere in the upper, lower, right and left parts of the heel area. In many cases, recreational athletes easily succumb to this severe type of condition, mainly because of overuse as well as constant exposure to strenuous activities. Here is a quick look at the symptoms, diagnosis, causes and treatments for this kind of chronic pain.

Achilles Tendon Pain - http://www.medicalsymptomsguide.com/achilles-tendon-


Source: http://www.medicalsymptomsguide.com/achilles-tendon-pain.html

Medical Symptoms

@MedSymptoms FOLLOWS YOU

Your guide to common medical symptoms

medicalsymptomsguide.com

Adult ADD

Think you may have ADHD ADD? Fill out the Dr. Hallowell Adult Self-Report Scale screening tool on the Dr. Oz Website and on the Dr. Phil website.

Common Symptoms of ADD

-Easily distractible

-Low tolerance for frustration

-Low tolerance for boredom

-Impulsiveness

-Forgetfulness

-Restlessness

 The best way to think of ADD is as a collection of traits and tendencies that define a way of being in the world.

Treatment aims to transform the disorder into an asset by accenting what is useful and paring back on what's not.  Restore hope and confidence by gaining understanding of the condition.

ADHD in Adults

If you have exhibited at least twelve of the following behaviors since childhood and if these symptoms are not associated with any other medical or psychiatric condition, consider an evaluation by a team of ADHD professionals:

• A sense of underachievement, of not meeting one’s goals (regardless of how much one has actually accomplished).
• Difficulty getting organized.
• Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started.
• Many projects going simultaneously; trouble with follow through.
• A tendency to say what comes to mind without necessarily considering the timing or appropriateness of the remark.
• A frequent search for high stimulation.
• An intolerance of boredom.
• Easy distractibility; trouble focusing attention, tendency to tune out or drift away in the middle of a page or conversation, often coupled with an inability to focus at times.
• Often creative, intuitive, highly intelligent
• Trouble in going through established channels and following “proper” procedure.
• Impatient; low tolerance of frustration.
• Impulsive, either verbally or in action, as an impulsive spending of money.
• Changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans and the like; hot-tempered.
• A tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; a tendency to scan the horizon looking for something to worry about, alternating with attention to or disregard for actual dangers.
• A sense of insecurity.
• Mood swings, especially when disengaged from a person or a project.
• Physical or cognitive restlessness.
• A tendency toward addictive behavior.
• Chronic problems with self-esteem.
• Inaccurate self-observation.
• Family history of AD/HD or manic depressive illness or depression or substance abuse or other disorders of impulse control or mood.

Clinical Definition of ADHD

The following are some of the criteria for diagnosis listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for ADHD, which is the standard reference among mental health professionals. While this definition is not perfect, I include it as it is the most commonly accepted definition.
DSM-IV Criteria for ADHD
I. Either A or B:
A) Six or more of the following symptoms of inattention have been present for at least 6 months to a point that is inappropriate for developmental level:
Inattention

• Often does not give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
• Often has trouble keeping attention on tasks or play activities.
• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
• Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions).
• Often has trouble organizing activities.
• Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn’t want to do things that take a lot of mental effort for a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
• Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
• Is often easily distracted.
• Is often forgetful in daily activities.

B) Six or more of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have been present for at least 6 months to an extent that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:
Hyperactivity

• Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat when sitting still is expected.
• Often gets up from seat when remaining in seat is expected.
• Often excessively runs about or climbs when and where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may feel very restless).
• Often has trouble playing or doing leisure activities quietly.
• Is often “on the go” or often acts as if “driven by a motor”.
• Often talks excessively.

Impulsivity

• Often blurts out answers before questions have been finished.
• Often has trouble waiting one’s turn.
• Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).
• 
  

II. Some symptoms that cause impairment were present before age 7 years.

III. Some impairment from the symptoms is present in two or more settings (e.g. at school/work and at home).

IV. There must be clear evidence of clinically significant impairment in social, school, or work functioning.

V. The symptoms do not happen only during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder. The symptoms are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g. Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dissociative Disorder, or a Personality Disorder).

American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 2000, via the CDC

Types of ADHD

There are three variations of ADHD, depending on which symptoms are strongest in an individual. These descriptions are taken from the CDC:

Predominantly Inattentive Type: It is hard for the individual to organize or finish a task, to pay attention to details, or to follow instructions or conversations. The person is easily distracted or forgets details of daily routines.

Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type:The person fidgets and talks a lot. It is hard to sit still for long (e.g., for a meal or while doing homework). Smaller children may run, jump or climb constantly. The individual feels restless and has trouble with impulsivity. Someone who is impulsive may interrupt others a lot, grab things from people, or speak at inappropriate times. It is hard for the person to wait their turn or listen to directions. A person with impulsiveness may have more accidents and injuries than others.

Combined Type: Symptoms of the above two types are equally present in the person.

Next Steps

1) Keep learning about ADHD! Some good places to start:

• Treatments for ADHD describes our recommended strategies for successfully adjusting to and coping with ADD/ADHD.
• Delivered From Distraction is one of the best introductions to ADD available
• The Top 10 questions about ADHD
• The Top 10 newest findings about ADHD
• Watch Dr. Hallowell discuss Kids and ADHD, or ADHD and education

2) If you believe that you or your child or spouse may have ADHD, get a professional diagnosis:

• The Hallowell Centers specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, for those in or near Massachusetts or New York
• For those not near a Hallowell Center, we have a page to help you find a referral to someone qualified who can diagnose ADHD
• Ask your doctor about getting tested for ADHD

3) Remember that you are not alone! There is a tremendous community to support and help you. A few places to look, depending on your needs:

• CH.A.D.D. (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder): an excellent organization dedicated to helping and connecting those with ADHD
• For those married to someone with ADHD, or are ADHD themselves, go to the Marriage Blog, which is also a community of people sharing their experiences
• National Attention Deficit Disorder Association: a non-profit organization that focuses on the needs of adults and young adults with ADHD. They sponsor an annual national conference on ADHD.

4) Book Dr. Hallowell to speak to your school or organization about ADHD

“Those of us with ADHD need your support! We are not “lazy,” “stubborn,” “willful,” “disruptive,” “impossible,” “tyrannical,” “a space shot,” “brain damaged,” or “stupid.”
- Dr. Hallowell

Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.


, Posted: 06/27/2012

Child and adult psychiatrist, bestselling author

What’s it Like to Have ADHD?

Huffington Post: 06/27/2012 11:40 am

What is it like to have ADHD? What is the feel of the syndrome? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. First of all, I resent the term. As far as I’m concerned, most people have Attention Surplus Disorder. I mean, life being what it is, who can pay attention to anything for very long? Is it really a sign of mental health to be able to balance your checkbook, sit still in your chair, and never speak out of turn? But anyway, be that as it may, there is this syndrome called ADD or ADHD, depending on what book you read. So what’s it like to have it?

Some people say the so-called syndrome doesn’t even exist, but believe me, it does. Many metaphors come to mind to describe it. It’s like driving in the rain with bad windshield wipers. Everything is smudged and blurred and you’re speeding along, and it’s really frustrating not being able to see very well. Or it’s like listening to a radio station with a lot of static and you have to strain to hear what’s going on. Or, it’s like trying to build a house of cards in a dust storm. You have to build a structure to protect yourself from the wind before you can even start on the cards.

In other ways it’s like being supercharged all the time. You get one idea and you have to act on it, and then, what do you know, but you’ve got another idea before you’ve finished up with the first one, and so you go for that one, but of course a third idea intercepts the second, and you just have to follow that one, and pretty soon people are calling you disorganized and impulsive and all sorts of impolite words that miss the point completely. Because you’re trying really hard. It’s just that you have all these invisible vectors pulling you this way and that, which makes it really hard to stay on task. Plus, you’re spilling over all the time. You’re drumming your fingers, tapping your feet, humming a song, looking here, looking there, stretching, doodling, and people think you’re not paying attention or that you’re not interested, but all you’re doing is spilling over so that you can pay attention. I can pay a lot better attention when I’m taking a walk or listening to music or even when I’m in a crowded, noisy room than when I’m still and surrounded by silence.

What is it like to have ADHD? Buzzing. Being here and there and everywhere. Someone once said, “Time is the thing that keeps everything from happening all at once.” Time parcels moments out into separate bits so that we can do one thing at a time. In ADHD, this does not happen. In ADHD, time collapses. Time becomes a black hole. To the person with ADHD it feels as if everything is happening all at once. This creates a sense of inner turmoil or even panic. The individual loses perspective and the ability to prioritize. He or she is always on the go, trying to keep the world from caving in on top.

Lines. I’m almost incapable of waiting in lines. I just can’t wait, you see. That’s the agony of it. Impulse leads to action. I’m very short on what you might call the intermediate reflective step between impulse and action. That’s why I, like so many people with ADHD, lack tact. Tact is entirely dependent on the ability to consider one’s words before uttering them. We ADHD types don’t do this so well.

Many of us with ADHD crave high-stimulus situations. In my case, I love casinos, the high-intensity crucible of doing psychotherapy and having lots of people around. High stim situations can get you into trouble, which is why ADHD is high among criminals and self-destructive risk-takers. It is also high among so-called Type A personalities, as well as among manic-depressives, sociopaths and drug users. But it is also high among creative and intuitive people in all fields, and among highly-energetic, highly-productive people. Which is to say there is a positive side to all this. Usually the positive doesn’t get mentioned when people speak about ADHD because there is a natural tendency to focus on what goes wrong, or at least on what has to be somehow controlled. But often once the ADHD has been diagnosed, and the individual, with the help of teachers, parents and colleagues, has learned how to cope with it, an untapped realm of the brain swims into view. Suddenly the radio station is tuned in, the windshield is clear, the sand storm has died down. And the child or adult, who had been such a problem, such a nudge, such a general pain in the neck, starts doing things he’d never been able to do before. He surprises everyone around him, and he surprises himself. I use the male pronoun, but it could just as easily be she, as we are seeing more and more ADHD among females as we are looking for it.

Often these people are highly imaginative and intuitive. They have a “feel” for things, a way of seeing right into the heart of matters while others have to reason their way along methodically. This is the person who can’t explain how he thought of the solution, or where the idea for the story came from, or why suddenly he produced such a painting, or how he knew the short cut to the answer, but all he can say is he just knew it, he could feel it. This is the man or woman who makes million-dollar deals in a catnap and pulls them off the next day. This is the child who, having been reprimanded for blurting something out, is then praised for having blurted out something brilliant. These are the people who learn and know and do and go by touch and feel.

These people can feel a lot. In places where most of us are blind they can, if not see the light, at least feel the light, and they can produce answers apparently out of the dark. It is important for others to be sensitive to this “sixth sense” many ADHD people have, and to nurture it. If the environment insists on rational, linear thinking and “good” behavior from these people all the time, then they may never develop their intuitive style to the point where they can use it profitably. It can be exasperating to listen to people talk. They can sound so vague or rambling. But if you take them seriously and grope along with them, often you will find they are on the brink of startling conclusions or surprising solutions.

What I am saying is that their cognitive style is qualitatively different from most people’s, and what may seem impaired, with patience and encouragement may become gifted. The thing to remember is that if the diagnosis can be made, then most of the bad stuff associated with ADHD can be avoided or contained. The diagnosis can be liberating, particularly for people who have been stuck with labels like “lazy,” “stubborn,” “willful,” “disruptive,” “impossible,” “tyrannical,” “a space shot,” “brain damaged,” “stupid,” or just plain “bad.” Making the diagnosis of ADHD can take the case from the court of moral judgment to the clinic of neuropsychiatric treatment.

What is the treatment all about? Anything that turns down the noise. Just making the diagnosis helps turn down the noise of guilt and self-recrimination. Building certain kinds of structure into one’s life can help a lot. Working in small spurts rather than long hauls. Breaking tasks down into smaller tasks. Making lists. Getting help where you need it. Maybe applying external limits on your impulses. Or getting enough exercise to work off some of the noise inside. Finding support. Getting someone in your corner to coach you, to keep you on track. Medication can help a great deal too, but it is far from the whole solution. The good news is that treatment can really help.

We who have ADHD need your help and understanding. We may make mess-piles wherever we go, but with your help, those mess-piles can be turned into realms of reason and art. So, if you know someone like me who’s acting up and daydreaming and forgetting this or that and just not getting with the program, consider ADHD before he starts believing all the bad things people are saying about him and it’s too late.



Source: http://www.drhallowell.com/add-adhd/


Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwxCuIYJyBc&feature=youtu.be

http://www.drhallowell.com/whats-it-like-to-have-adhd/

Self-acceptance Quotes

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” – Mark Twain

The curious paradox is that qwhen I accept myself just as I am then I can change.  - Carl Rogers

If you begin to understand qwhat you are qwithout trying to change it, then what you are undegoes a transformation.

The first step toward change is awareness.  The second step is acceptance.  - Nathaniel Brandon

Stop hating yourself for everything you are not. Start loving yourself for everything you are.

To be beautiful means to be yourself.  You don't need to be accepted by others: You need to accept yourself.

Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.  - Lisa M. Hayes

No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance. - Robert Holden
 

When people are not accepting toward themselves they are often obsessed with acceptance by others.  - Nathaniel Brandon

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.”
― Lao Tzu

“Peace comes from within.  Do not seek it without.” 
― Gautama Buddha

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit”
― E.E. Cummings

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” 
― C.G. Jung



“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” 
― Dalai Lama XIV


“It's not worth our while to let our imperfections disturb us always.” 
― Henry David Thoreau

“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” 
― Brené Brown   

“If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.” 

― Jiddu Krishnamurti

“I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” 

― Brené Brown

“At 30 a man should know himself like the palm of his hand, know the exact number of his defects and qualities, know how far he can go, foretell his failures - be what he is. And, above all, accept these things.” 

― Albert Camus

"Self-acceptance means living the life you choose to live without worrying what others think about you. It doesn’t matter what someone else thinks about you. What matters is what you think about yourself. Life is about choices—your life choices, not someone else’s choice about how you should live.” 

― Sadiqua Hamdan, Happy Am I. Holy Am I. Healthy Am I.

“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” 
― Max Ehrmann, Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life


“There comes a time in each life like a point of fulcrum. At that time you must accept yourself. It is not any more what you will become. It is what you are and always will be. You are too young to know this. You are still becoming. Not being.” 
― John Fowles, The Magus



“What is freedom? It consists in two things: to know each his own limitations and accept them – that is the same thing as to know oneself, and accept oneself as one is, without fear, or envy, or distaste; and to recognise and accept the conditions under which one lives, also without fear or envy, or distaste. When you do this, you shall be free.” 
― Ann Bridge, Illyrian Spring
 

Cause of ALS is found

Cause of ALS is found, Northwestern team says
Breakthrough in Lou Gehrig's disease could lead to treatment
August 22, 2011|William Mullen, Tribune reporter


Researchers at Northwestern University say they have discovered a common cause behind the mysterious and deadly affliction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, that could open the door to an effective treatment.

Dr. Teepu Siddique, a neuroscientist with Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine whose pioneering work on ALS over more than a quarter-century fueled the research team's work, said the key to the breakthrough is the discovery of an underlying disease process for all types of ALS.


The discovery provides an opening to finding treatments for ALS and could also pay dividends by showing the way to treatments for other, more common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's, Siddique said.

The Northwestern team identified the breakdown of cellular recycling systems in the neurons of the spinal cord and brain of ALS patients that results in the nervous system slowly losing its ability to carry brain signals to the body's muscular system.
Without those signals, patients gradually are deprived of the ability to move, talk, swallow and breathe.

"This is the first time we could connect (ALS) to a clear-cut biomedical mechanism," Siddique said. "It has really made the direction we have to take very clear and sharp. We can now test for drugs that would regulate this protein pathway or optimize it, so it functions as it should in a normal state."

The announcement of the breakthrough is in Monday's issue of the research journal Nature. The paper lists 23 contributing scientists, including the lead authors, Northwestern neurological researchers Han-Xiang Deng and Wenjie Chen, and Siddique as senior author.

ALS afflicts about 30,000 Americans. With no known treatment for the paralysis, 50 percent of all ALS patients die within three years.

It is particularly tragic because it often strikes people who are very physically active. In 1941, New York Yankee baseball superstar Lou Gehrig died at 37 of the disease that now carries his name.

Amelie Gubitz, a research program director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, said the Northwestern research is a big step forward in efforts worldwide to conquer ALS.

"You need to understand at the cellular level what is going wrong," said Gubitz. "Then you can begin to design drugs.
"ALS is a complicated problem, and Dr. Siddique's research adds a big piece to the puzzle that gives us important new insights."

A variety of proteins perform different functions within cells, and Deng and Chen led research that discovered a key protein, ubiquilin2, in the ALS mystery.


Ubiquilin2 in spinal and brain system cells is supposed to repair or dispose of other proteins as they become damaged. The researchers discovered a breakdown of this function in ALS patients.
When Ubiquilin2 is unable to remove or repair damaged proteins, the damaged proteins begin to pile up in the cells, eventually blocking normal transmission of brain signals in the spinal cord and brain, leading to paralysis.

There are three forms of ALS: 

1) "familial," which is hereditary and passed through genes; 

2) nonhereditary, which is called "sporadic"; and 

3) ALS that targets the brain, called "ALS/dementia."

Siddique was part of a study that made a breakthrough in ALS in the early 1990s, discovering the "familial" gene that causes the disease within some families. 

That breakthrough came after he began an ongoing study 25 years ago of an East Coast family that has lost more than 20 members to ALS.

Joanne Saltzman, a 72-year-old member of that family, recalled last week how she first learned of ALS when she was a small girl and her father, a naval veteran, was dying of the disease. Her grandfather died of it, too, as did four of her father's seven brothers.

Subsequently, one of Saltzman's sisters and many of her cousins died from ALS. It killed her 51-year-old son last October, she said in a phone interview, and in February her 52-year-old niece died of it.

"I am so excited by their new findings," Saltzman said of the Northwestern study. "Dr. Siddique has been studying our family for 25 years, and it is so encouraging for our remaining family."

"I told Dr. Siddique's office, if I could cut off my arm and send it to them I would if it would help them in the research," she said. "I would do anything. It is so important to me to be able to find some kind of cure for this awful disease."

wmullen@tribune.com

Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-08-22/news/ct-met-northwestern-als-breakthrough-20110822_1_als-patients-proteins-northwestern-research

Bringing back a Wandering Attention - William James

 William James was interested in mindfulness and attention:  


 “The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. No one is compos sui [master of himself] if he have it not. An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence.”



William James, Psychology: Briefer Course, p. 424 (Harper Torchbooks, 1961)

The Plastic Brain

Read this quote about how Merzenich thinks about his brain's decline.

"I want to put my brain to the best possible use as long as it is possible."

"Science tells us that a key to sustaining and growing our neurological abilities is seriousness of purpose.  I am old enough to have retired, but shall not withdraw to a life of comfort and ease because I know that the brain slowly dies when nothing that it does matters to it. ... understand that what sustains your brain sustains you.  You need to continue to work at things that support your brain's health now, and continue to work in ways that support it out to the end of your time on Earth."

- Dr. Michael Merzenich 

www.soft-wired.com/ref/32

 

Brain Plasticity sites:

www.brainhq.com

 

www.onthebrain.com

 

www.positscience.com

Drug pruning extra synapses in brain can treat autism

Autistic children have an excessive amount of synapses, or brain connections between neurons, which doesn’t alter as it should with age, US scientists have revealed. This could help develop a drug normalizing their number even after diagnosis.

The results of the research, carried out by US neuroscientists at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), were published in the online issue of the Neuron journal on Thursday.

A main feature of autistic disorder is poor social interaction, along with communication difficulties and repetitive behavior. 

The brains of autistic people contain abnormal amounts of ‘synapses’ – connections between neurons through which information flows. The study hypothesizes that these excessive amount of signals correlate with brain dysfunction.


If a child’s development progresses normally, the process of synapse formation gradually slows down. 

It is highly active during infancy, but it becomes balanced through a process called ‘autophagy’, or pruning of unnecessary cells. 

Synapses are also formed in the cortex region of the brain, which is where autistic behaviors derive, should any abnormalities occur during early brain development. 

In other words, if synapses are not pruned, autism can occur.

“While people usually think of learning as requiring formation of new synapses“, the study’s senior investigator, David Sulzer, PhD, Professor of Neurobiology in the Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Pharmacology at CUMC said, “the removal of inappropriate synapses may be just as important.”

In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell (Image from wikipedia.org)

To analyze and compare the number of synapses in human brains co-author Guomei Tang, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at CUMC examined the brains of children and adolescents – with and without autism – who had died from other causes. Twenty-six brains from autistic kids and teens from the age of two to twenty were compared with twenty-two brains from those without autism.

Measurement of synapse density in each brain revealed an astonishing difference between the groups. The density reduced by almost 50 percent by late childhood in the control group, but autistic brains showed a drop of only 16%.

What is more, the brains of kids, who suffered from autism, contained neurons that consisted of old and damaged components – a fact that displays the vital necessity of autophagy, the ‘clean up’ process of a cell recycling its own parts.

“It’s the first time that anyone has looked for, and seen, a lack of pruning during development of children with autism,” Dr. Sulzer said, “although lower numbers of synapses in some brain areas have been detected in brains from older patients and in mice with autistic-like behaviors.”

Tests on mice and a protein called mTOR were carried out. If the protein was overactive, brain cells couldn’t clean and recycle themselves properly, and this led to excess synapses in the mice’s brains.
But there is a drug that suppresses mTOR: Rapamycin restores normal autophagy, and in the case of the mice reversed autistic trends in behavior. It also worked in cases when the mice had already developed abnormal behavior. It suggests the promise of treating people successfully after the disorder has been diagnosed.

“What’s remarkable about the findings,” said Dr. Sulzer, “is that hundreds of genes have been linked to autism, but almost all of our human subjects had overactive mTOR and decreased autophagy, and all appear to have a lack of normal synaptic pruning.”

Use of drug can chemically increase the activity of autophagy (Image from youtube.com video)

However, it doesn’t mean that a perfect cure has been found.

Scientists warn of the negative side effects of Rapamycin, a drug that is able to suppress the immune system.
“We don’t know if it’s this particular flavor of autism,” Dr. Boulanger, a molecular biologist at Princeton who didn’t participate in the research, told the New York Times.

“This drug has really horrible side effects, and you don’t want to give it to everybody.”
The drug may only be good for lab mice, but the study itself shows future research strategy into autism has a new path to follow.


Currently, autistic disorders (ASD) are considered to be incurable and of genetic origin. One in 68 children in the US is diagnosed with ASD as of 2014, yet the direct cause of autism still remains unknown.




Link: http://rt.com/news/182360-children-brain-autism-drug/
Drug pruning extra synapses in brain can treat autism – study — RT News: