Neurological Conditions

Mrs Balasubramaniam has been looking after her husband, 83, who has Parkinson’s Disease, for more than a decade. She shares symptoms, treatments and caregiving tips.   When was your husband diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease? My husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease about 10 to 12 years back, but he probably had symptoms much before that were not very noticeable, such as mild abnormality of gait or sticking out his tongue occasionally. What were the early…

Each day, 46 people die in America after overdosing on prescription painkillers.  In 2012 alone, the CDC says 259 million prescriptions were written for painkillers, enough to supply every American adult with a bottle of pills. "Opioids are essential medicines for end-of-life care or when used short term for acute pain, but this vast overprescribing of opioids is mainly for conditions where use of opioids are probably not safe or effective, like low back pain with a normal spine,…

Crushing tiredness that doesn’t diminish with rest, CFS can wreck lives. It’s also hard to diagnose, so patients may be seen as hypochondriacs. By Dr Shital Raval.  Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex disorder characterised by extreme fatigue that is unexplained by any underlying medical condition. The fatigue does not improve with rest and tends to worsen with physical activity or mental exertion.  CFS affects more women than men and is seen mostly between the…

The latest innovation, described in the journal Science, is an implant that moves with the body and provides both chemical and electrical stimulation. When it was tested on paralysed rats, they moved again. One of the scientists, Prof Stephanie Lacour, told the BBC: "The implant is soft but also fully elastic to accommodate the movement of the nervous system.  "The brain pulsates with blood so it moves a lot, the spinal cord expands and retracts many times a day, think about bending…

Scientists to launch £5m study that explores links between immune disorders and mental illness – and could lead to new treatments “Yet they became depressed as soon as they were given interferon and it triggered inflammation. This suggests strongly that the immune system talks to the brain in some way and that inflammation in the body can cause depression. It is possible that the reverse is true and that the brain somehow affects the immune system but that link requires further research.” …

An inspiring interview of Avinash Godbole who learnt to paint with his left hand, after a paralyzing stroke. Understand what he did to prevent his next stroke Symptoms of stroke are complex.  Understand the importance of acting quickly and following FAST FAST - Face, Arm, Speech, Time Is the Face uneven   Is the Arm hanging down or Leg not working as expected Is the Speech slurred Time - rush to a hospital quickly - within 4.5 hours Watch the video http://youtu.be/HjhYh1WLmIU

Key Findings : Trans fat consumption is linked to declining memory in young to middle-aged men. Men under 45 years old who ate higher amounts of trans fats, had significantly reduced ability to recall words.  “From a health standpoint, trans fat consumption has been linked to higher body weight, more aggression and heart disease. As I tell patients, while trans fats increase the shelf life of foods, they reduce the shelf life of people” said…

What is migraine Migraine is a chronic type of headache that occurs in episodes and affects the day to day activities of an individual. It usually affects one side of the head. Between migraine episodes, the patient is absolutely free of pain. Migraine is the most common neurological condition in the developed world. A migraine attack can come with an aura, which means a sense of warning, or without an aura.  Migraines are three times more common in women than men.     …

Murlidhar Ahire lies lifeless in the bedroom of his Vikhroli apartment while his younger son, Tushar tells us he was an active 69-year-old until two months ago. The retired Air India employee has been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD), a rare neurological brain disorder that almost always ends in death.  The bigger challenge for family and doctors battling CJD is that in about 85 per cent cases, it occurs as a sporadic disease with no recognisable pattern of transmission.…

On a warm summer's day in Wroclaw, Poland, Darek Fidyka walked across a bridge, using only a frame for support. This had been his dream for four years, after he was paralysed in a knife attack. Now, after a transplant of cells taken from his nasal cavity, it had become reality. He is the world's first patient to receive the groundbreaking treatment. Behind those few steps lay the extraordinary efforts of a group of scientists, surgeons and fundraisers in Britain and Poland. Dr Tabakow…