Common Sleep Problem Linked With Memory Loss
June 12, 2008
From New York Times
The part of the brain that stores memory appears to shrink in people with sleep apnea, adding further evidence that the sleep and breathing disorder is a serious health threat.
The findings, from brain scan studies conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, show for the first time that sleep apnea is associated with tissue loss in brain regions that store memory. And while the thinking and focus problems of sleep apnea patients often are attributed to sleep deprivation, the scans show something far more insidious is occurring.
“Our findings demonstrate that impaired breathing during sleep can lead to a serious brain injury that disrupts memory and thinking,” said principal investigator Ronald Harper, professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at U.C.L.A. The data appear in the June 27 issue of the journal Neuroscience Letters.
Diet pills may harm brain development
June 5, 2008
From MSNBC News
CHICAGO – A drug from a new class of weight-loss treatments disrupted wiring needed for brain development in young mice, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, raising concerns about using such medications in children.
Mark Bear and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of a chemical that suppresses appetite by blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain, the same brain mechanisms that make people hungry when they smoke marijuana.
“I think that the cautionary note is that these mechanisms play an important role in … brain development,” said Bear, whose study appears in the journal Neuron.
Zach Dunlap Feeling Pretty Good
March 25, 2008
From the AP
Four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant, Zach Dunlap says he feels “pretty good.”
Dunlap was pronounced dead Nov. 19 at United Regional Healthcare System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His family approved having his organs harvested.
As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery.
On Monday, he and his family were in New York, appearing on NBC’s “Today.”
“I feel pretty good. but it’s just hard … just ain’t got the patience,” Dunlap told NBC.
Dunlap, 21, of Frederick, said he has no recollection of the crash.
“I remember a little bit that was about an hour before the accident happened. But then about six hours before that, I remember,” he said.
Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead.
British Brain Surgeon Uses Cordless Drill To Perform Surgery
March 18, 2008
From news.com.au
A British brain surgeon used an inexpensive cordless drill to remove a tumor from a fully conscious woman.
The operation was even caught on film and will be shown on the BBC in the United Kingdom on March 30.
Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh used a 9.6 volt Bosch drill — which cost him $65 — to perform the emergency operation on Ukranian Marian Dolishny’s head while travelling through the woman’s country.
U.K. newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported that Marsh was unable to find a suitable anesthetist — so his patient was only given a local anaesthetic to cope with the pain.
And, when the cordless drill’s battery died, Marsh was forced to finish the operation by hand to save Dolishny’s life, the newspaper said. Marsh said he kept talking to his patient throughout the surgery to make sure he wasn’t causing any brain damage.
“I’m not recommending that we should all use do-it-yourself drills in England, but it shows how with improvisation you can achieve a lot,” Marsh said. “I couldn’t bear to stand by and do nothing. A Ukrainian doctor told me I couldn’t do anything to help but I wasn’t prepared to accept that.”
