Category Archives: Neurology

West Palm Beach, FL (PRWEB) September 26, 2012

Researchers at Prograde Nutrition have seized on a positive new discovery in the field of nutrition research. Prograde, a nutrition supplement company that focuses on scientifically proven results, has been touting a new study that shows that berries, such as strawberries and blueberries, improve brain health and cognitive function.

Berries have long been known to have a number of healthy properties. Because of their high concentration of antioxidants, berries help eliminate free radicals in the body particles that harm tissue, cause inflammation and may contribute to aging. But results published in the 2012 Annals of Neurology show that berries also help slow cognitive decline in older patients.

This was the kind of discovery that should be on the evening news, said Jayson Hunter, research director at Prograde. For many people cognitive decline is the single scariest part of aging. The idea of forgetting where you are, or even not recognizing your own children, is a terrifying prospect. Being able to use natural means to slow that process is crucial knowledge.

The reason berries fight cognitive decline appears to be related to two compounds: flavonoids, which are abundant in berries, and anthocyanins, a class of antioxidants. In a test group of more than 16,000 elderly patients the slowest cognitive decline correlated with a regular intake of strawberries and blueberries.

This is part of why we include berries in Genesis, our greens supplement, Hunter said. Greens have great health benefits on their own, but nothing that extends cognitive health like the power of berries. Ours includes the equivalent of four cups of fresh blueberries in each daily dose. No one else does that.

Prograde Genesis includes strawberries, blueberries, green coffee berries and acai among its ingredients. Genesis is designed to provide a powerhouse-health solution in a single daily supplement.

About Prograde

Prograde Nutrition was founded by fitness experts who wanted to find higher quality supplements for their clients. Prograde emphasizes careful scientific research and testing, and markets its supplements only through qualified medical and health professionals. Information can be found at http://www.getprograde.com/berries-and-cognitive-function.html.

Read more here:
Prograde Unveils Supplement to Slow Cognitive Decline

Dr. David Dorn seeing neurology patients at NUMC

NEW ULM - David Dorn, MD has begun seeing neurology patients at New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC). Dr. Dorn is a neurologist with Noran Neurological Clinic. He is board certified in Neurology.

Dr. Dorn has been with Noran Clinic for more than 30 years and treats adults only. Dr. Dorn will see patients with headaches, seizures, Parkinson's disease, MS, dementia, stroke and other neurological conditions.

Dr. Dorn completed his undergraduate degree at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. He completed his medical degree and residency through the University of Minnesota. To make an appointment with Dr. Dorn at NUMC, please call 507-217-5011.

K of C recognizes Schommer

NEW ULM - Denny Schommer, field agent with the Knights of Columbus, Jelinek Agency was recently honored as Agent of the Month for July 2012.

He has been an agent since May 2007 and serves Knights of Columbus families in New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Morgan and the surrounding area.

See more here:
Business & Professional

Insomnia is a common condition that can present independently or comorbidly with another medical or psychiatric disorder.

Treatment of chronic insomnia

Benzodiazepine-receptor agonists (BzRAs) and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) are supported by the best empirical evidence.

Benzodiazepine-receptor agonists (BzRAs) are effective in the short-term management of insomnia, but evidence of long-term efficacy is scarce. Also, most hypnotic drugs are associated with potential adverse effects.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective alternative for chronic insomnia.

CBT is more time consuming than drug management but it produces sleep improvements that are sustained over time.

However, CBT is not readily available in most clinical settings. Access and delivery can be made easier through:

- telephone consultations
- group therapy
- self-help approaches

How to succeed? Get more sleep

In this 4-minute talk, Arianna Huffington (founder of The Huffington Post) shares a small idea that can awaken much bigger ones: the power of a good night's sleep. Instead of bragging about our sleep deficits, she urges us to sleep our way to increased productivity and happiness -- and smarter decision-making.

References:

Chronic insomnia. The Lancet, Volume 379, Issue 9821, Pages 1129 - 1141, 24 March 2012.

Image source: A halo around the Moon. Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

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Public release date: 19-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 612-928-6129 American Academy of Neurology

MINNEAPOLIS A new guideline released by the American Academy of Neurology may help doctors in making the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The guideline is published in the September 19, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare, always fatal brain disorder that involves quickly progressing dementia. New cases appear in about one person per million each year worldwide and confirming the diagnosis is challenging. People with the disease can have a wide range of symptoms. Many other conditions can cause similar symptoms, and with some of these conditions the dementia can be treated.

The guideline focused only on the diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

While several tests are available to help diagnose sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a brain biopsy is the most accurate test that can be performed on a person living with the disease. Brain biopsy is potentially dangerous.

The guideline examined the diagnostic accuracy of testing for a protein called 14-3-3 in the spinal fluid. The guideline authors reviewed all of the available evidence on the test, which included samples of 1,849 people with suspected sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from nine studies.

They found that in cases where doctors strongly suspect Creutzfeldt-Jakob to be the cause of the dementia, the test can be helpful in reducing the uncertainty of the diagnosis. However, the test is not accurate enough to diagnose the disease with certainty or to rule it out completely. The test has a sensitivity of about 92 percent and a specificity of about 80 percent. Sensitivity is the percentage of patients with the disease who have a positive test result, and specificity is the percentage of patients who do not have the disease and who are correctly identified as having a negative test result.

The guideline determined that the 14-3-3 protein test can be useful when the probability of the person having Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is between 20 percent and 90 percent.

"This means that if the physician considers the likelihood of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to be extremely low or extremely high, then testing for 14-3-3 protein would not be useful regardless of the result," said guideline author Taim Muayqil, MBBS, FRCPC, of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Read the rest here:
Guideline: Test can help make diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Here are my suggestions for some of the top articles in medicine for August 2012:

More than 30% of hospital patients have test result pending/not reviewed by the time they're discharged http://goo.gl/CCBxr

Corneal snowflakes due to IgG-kappa multiple myeloma - The Lancet images http://goo.gl/FvGBM

Biliary ileus - The Lancet images http://goo.gl/Iv18H

Erectile Dysfunction (ED) as a Reliable Proxy of General Male Health Status regardless of the etiology of ED http://goo.gl/y3kjA

Higher BPA Levels, More Heart Disease? http://goo.gl/10UUi

More Self-Control as a Child, Lower BMI as Adult (study) http://goo.gl/FElcw

FDA approved the first generic version of Actos (Pioglitazone) to treat adults with type 2 diabetes http://goo.gl/kUq9k

Mississippi has the highest proportion of obese adults at 35%, and Colorado has the lowest at 21% (survey) http://goo.gl/JDD6C

"GSK drug halves attacks in hard-to-treat asthma" - anti-IL5 antibody mepolizumab for eosinophilic asthma http://goo.gl/Be6IU

New Epinephrine Auto-Injector Talks Patients Through Injection Process, has a 5-sec countdown, signaling lights http://goo.gl/rYJZI

Autoinflammatory syndromes: Fever is not always a sign of infection - CCJM http://goo.gl/uTc2X

Genetic counselors: Your partners in clinical practice - CCJM http://goo.gl/ZkJb4

Atrial fibrillation: New drugs, devices, and procedures - CCJM http://goo.gl/O0AQN

The demise of the stethoscope as a metaphor of the “hyposkillia” of our times - CCJM http://goo.gl/xu5qS -- An argument for reviving the disappearing skill of cardiac auscultation - CCJM http://goo.gl/59ikK

Dark chocolate can help decrease blood pressure by 2-3 mmHg http://goo.gl/xTnn1

Eating egg yolks as 'bad as smoking' - NHS Choices blog reviews the evidence http://goo.gl/IosBG

30% of new prescriptions never get filled. Will smart pills boost drug compliance? http://goo.gl/omhjJ

Small practices may be least able to take new Medicaid patients - NJ Medicaid physicians get paid 37% of Medicare rates http://goo.gl/g3RLN

4 ways for practices to benefit from a social media presence: Offer information beyond the appointment, Raise physician profiles, Influence online search, Marketing toolkit http://goo.gl/5mAz4

The articles were selected from my Twitter and Google Reader streams. Please feel free to send suggestions for articles to clinicalcases@gmail.com and you will receive acknowledgement in the next edition of this publication.

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Public release date: 13-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Todd Murphy murphyt@ohsu.edu 503-494-8231 Oregon Health & Science University

PORTLAND, Ore. Many people with multiple sclerosis for years have taken the natural supplement Gingko biloba, believing it helps them with cognitive problems associated with the disease.

But the science now says otherwise. A new study published in the journal Neurology says Gingko biloba does not improve cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis. The research was published in the Sept. 5, 2012, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The current study was a more extensive look at the question after a smaller 2005 pilot study suggested there might have been some cognitive benefits in MS patients using the supplement. That study found that Gingko seemed to improve attention in MS patients with cognitive impairment.

But the larger follow-up study, conducted with patients at the Portland and Seattle Veterans Affairs medical centers, found no cognitive benefits to using Gingko.

"It's important for scientists to continue to analyze what might help people with cognitive issues relating to their MS," said Jesus Lovera, M.D, the study's lead author, a former fellow at the Portland VA Medical Center and former instructor in Oregon Health & Science University's Department of Neurology, where he did much of the work on the study. Lovera is now with the Department of Neurology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

"We wanted to follow up on the earlier findings that suggested there may be some benefit. But we believe this larger study settles the question: Gingko simply doesn't improve cognitive performance with MS patients," said Lovera.

About one-half of people with MS will develop cognitive problems, and those cognitive problems can be debilitating in some people, said Dennis Bourdette, M.D., a co-author of the study, co-director of the VA MS Center of Excellence-West at the Portland VA Medical Center and chairman of the OHSU Department of Neurology. The most common problems relate to memory, attention and concentration, and information processing.

There is no known treatment that can improve cognition with MS patients which is partly why MS patients and researchers had hoped that Gingko biloba could help.

Originally posted here:
Study: Gingko biloba does not improve cognition in MS patients