US researchers have succeeded in creating new nerve cells in the brains and spinal cords of living mammals, without the need for stem cell transplants.
They believe this could be harnessed to repair traumatic brain injuries – one of the causes of post-traumatic epilepsy.
It could also be used to regenerate cells following spinal cord damage.
The researchers, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, used a biological substance to promote gene expression in rodent brains, turning common non-neuronal cells called astrocytes into neuroblasts.
Afterwards, the mice were given valproic acid – a drug that has been used to treat epilepsy for more than 50 years – to promote the maturation of these cells into fully-fledged neurons.
“Our results indicate that the astrocytes may be ideal targets for in vivo reprogramming,” commented senior author Chun-Li Zhang.
However, the researchers stressed it is too soon to know whether the neurons created by their studies resulted in any functional improvements.
Researchers report that one change in the sequence of the BDNF gene causes some people to be more impaired by traumatic brain injury (TBI) than others with comparable wounds.
The study, described in the journal PLOS ONE, measured general intelligence in a group of 156 Vietnam War veterans who suffered penetrating head wounds during the war. All of the study subjects had damage to the prefrontal cortex, a brain region behind the forehead that is important to cognitive tasks such as planning, problem-solving, self-restraint and complex thought.
The researchers controlled for the size and location of subjects' brain injuries and other factors, such as intelligence prior to injury, which might have contributed to differences in cognitive function. (Prior to combat, the veterans had completed the Armed Forces Qualifications Test, which included measures of intelligence that provided a baseline for the new analysis.)
"We administered a large, cognitive battery of tests to investigate how they performed after their injury," said study leader Aron Barbey, a professor of speech and hearing science, of psychology and of neuroscience at the University of Illinois. "And we had a team of neurologists who helped characterize the nature and scope of the patients' brain injuries."
The researchers also collected blood for a genetic analysis, focusing on a gene known as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor).
The team found that a single polymorphism (a difference in one "letter" of the sequence) in the BDNF gene accounted for significant differences in intelligence among those with similar injuries and comparable intelligence before being injured.
"BDNF is a basic growth factor and it's related to neurogenesis, the production of new neurons," Barbey said. "What we found is that if people have a specific polymorphism in the BDNF gene, they recovered to a greater extent than those with a different variant of the gene."
The change in the gene alters the BDNF protein: The amino acid methionine (Met) is incorporated at a specific site in the protein instead of valine (Val). Since people inherit two versions of each gene, one from each parent, they have either Val/Val, Val/Met or Met/Met variants of the gene.
"The effects of this difference were large – very large," Barbey said. "If an individual had the Val/Val combination, then their performance on a battery of cognitive tests (conducted long after the injury occurred) was remarkably lower than that of individuals who had the Val/Met or Met/Met combination."
On average, those with the Val/Val polymorphism scored about eight IQ points lower on tests of general intelligence than those with the Val/Met or Met/Met variants, Barbey said. Those with the Val/Val variant also were significantly more impaired in "specific competencies for intelligence like verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory and processing speed," he said.
To test these results, the researchers did the analysis over again "in a subset of individuals who had very similar (brain injuries) to the other group," Barbey said. "We found the same kind of effects, suggesting that lesion location isn't a factor influencing the difference between the groups."
The finding opens a new avenue of exploration for treatments to aid the process of recovery from TBI, Barbey said.
By Scott Kaufman Thursday, February 27, 2014 9:29 EST
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A twenty-three year veteran of both the U.S. Army and Navy who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) says that a police officer asked him and his service dog, Bandit, to leave a Houston area restaurant because “you’re not blind.”
Aryeh Ohayon claims that Bandit is there to help him cope if “I start to go into a panic attack, or into a flashback mode.” Memories acquired during his twenty-three years of service have left Ohayon struggling with depression, in addition to PTSD.
But none of that mattered when he attempted to have dinner at a Thai Spice Buffet II, which denied him service. He called the police to inform them of the denial, and when an officer arrived, he was as unsympathetic as restaurant employees.
“I told him what my disabilities were,” Ohayontold KHOU11. “That’s when he said, you’re not blind, I don’t see why you need the dog.”
“It feels like your service and experience that you’ve done to defend and uphold the Constitution and protect this country have been belittled,” Ohayon said.
Last year, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a bill that made it a misdemeanor to refuse entry to service dogs, irrespective of the disability of their owners.
Houston Police claim that the officer who responded to the call contacted the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and was told that Thai Spice Buffet II was allowed to bar the door to Ohayon because it is a private establishment.
The manager of Thai Spice Buffet II told KHOU11 that she believes her employees acted appropriately, but that she would be looking into the incident.
This is but the latest in a string of refusals to allow service dogs to accompany veterans with mental disabilities like depression or PTSD. Last August, police in New Jersey kicked Jared Goering and his service dog, Gator, off the boardwalk, mockingly asking him if “all veterans get service dogs.”
Later that month, a Massachusetts establishment kicked James Glaser and his dog, Jack out, claiming that his reason for having him wasn’t “legitimate.”
Disabled vet kicked out of Houston restaurant over service dog
A U.S. Army and Navy veteran says he was told he had to leave a west Houston restaurant because of his service dog. Aryeh Ohayon says it happened Tuesday at the Thai Spice Buffet II restaurant in the 2500 block of South Voss Road. view full article
Severely brain-damaged patients have been brought 'back to life' by zapping their brain with an electrical current
Severely brain damaged patients have been brought briefly ‘back to life’ by zapping their brain with an electrical current.
Awoken from their near-coma state, some were able to move their hands or follow instructions – others were able to answer simple questions.
The remarkable discovery could lead to new treatments for people left minimally conscious by car accidents or blows to the head.
It also raises the possibility that such patients will be able to tell doctors whether they want to live or die. They could also be asked whether they feel pain.
Researcher Steven Laureys, a coma scientist, said: ‘In some cases, members of your family can be left with difficult decisions about whether to remove life support.
‘And we can’t make any decisions ethically if we’re not sure about the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic options.’
Dr Laureys, of the University of Liege in Belgium, treated 55 people with severe brain injuries.
Some were in a vegetative state, which meant they appeared awake but were unresponsive to the world around them.
Others were in a minimally conscious state, in which patients show fleeting signs of alertness but recovery is not guaranteed.
Some had been in the near coma-like conditions for years.
However, almost a third temporarily showed signs of consciousness after their brains were stimulated with a mild electric current for 20 minutes.
Dr Laureys told New Scientist magazine: ‘Two patients emerged from a minimally conscious state all together.’
When asked questions such as ‘Am I touching my nose?’, they were able to answer by nodding their head or making specific eye movements.
Others were able to follow instructions to nod or squeeze their hand.
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Researchers at the University of Liege in Belgium studied the effect electrical currents had on 55 brain-injury patients
All of the effects wore off after about two hours but Dr Laureys is now investigating the effect of stimulating the brain for longer.
It is not entirely clear how the current helps but it may boost brain activity that underlies conscious tasks but has been suppressed.
Joseph Fins, a professor of medical ethics in the US, said: ‘It is like we are opening and shutting a window for a few hours and that could be perceived as cruel.
‘But we didn’t give these people brain damage, we are trying to make it better.
‘These kind of experiments show that a window exists and now you that that you might be able to use other interventions to enhance that window.’
New Scientist says: ‘This discovery has clear medical benefits: it should help doctors make better assessments of patients’ conditions.
‘The hope is that researchers will be able to extend the stimulation, resulting in more significant brain activity and even, perhaps, a return to something resembling an acceptable quality of life.
‘Before then, there is a host of ethical issues.
‘No one has yet asked the obvious ethical questions: are you suffering? Do you want to live, or die?'
A man accused of shaking his infant son in Grand Forks and causing “significant brain injury” has been charged with child abuse, according to court records.
By: Anna Burleson and Tu-Uyen Tran, Grand Forks Herald
A man accused of shaking his infant son in Grand Forks and causing “significant brain injury” has been charged with child abuse, according to court records.
Robert Allen Duckstad, 25, made an initial appearance Wednesday before state district Judge Sonja Clapp in Grand Forks. If convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
The alleged incident happened on June 13 after Duckstad had come home from an overnight shift around 7:30 a.m. feeling “tired, frustrated and stressed,” according to a police complaint.
He tried to change his three-month-old son’s diaper, but the boy was being fussy. Investigators said Duckstad told them he shook his son once, but the boy would not stop crying. The crying stopped after Duckstad shook the boy two more times.
His son seemed “out of it and sleepy” so he put the boy in a child swing and went to bed, according to the complaint.
Duckstad’s wife returned home around 1:45 p.m. By 4 p.m. she realized something was wrong because the boy didn’t respond to his name and appeared “pale,” the complaint said. That’s when she took him to Altru Hospital where the boy was diagnosed with brain hemorrhage. He was taken to Amplatz Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis for treatment.
$75,000 bond
In his Wednesday court hearing, which he attended via video from jail, he angered Judge Clapp with his evasive answers. When asked where he lived, Duckstad just stared at the camera and said “other places.” After the judge snapped at him, he said he has lived with family in the Twin Cities.
Court records list his home ZIP code in Windom in southwest Minnesota.
Because of the potential stiff penalty and Duckstad’s minimal ties to Grand Forks, the judge posted a $75,000 bond, which must be paid in full if he is to go free. He remains in jail in Grand Forks.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 24.
- See more at: http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/22860/group/News/#sthash.95uYUafT.dpuf
How common is it to have a diagnosis of both Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? This is a key question currently being considered in the mental health community. Studies show anywhere from 26% – 57% of comorbidity of these two disorders. “These findings further suggest that this particular personality disorder may be a variant of PTSD; however, it is not known how prevalent PTSD is in the other personality disorders” (PsychiatryOnline, American Journal of Psychiatry). A rationale behind the comorbidity rate is that PTSD can develop after experiencing a traumatic event that leaves one feeling unsafe or threatened. BPD develops partly from genetic predisposition along with an invalidating environment. Often, trauma occurs in this invalidating environment, which thereby causes the connection between the two disorders.
When we hear about someone experiencing trauma, we don’t always judge how intense or for how long the trauma was endured; yet this is very helpful to know so that we can gauge the severity in light of the duration. Was this a onetime event or an ongoing experience? According to Out of the Fog , an online resource, “C-PTSD (Complex-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) results more from chronic repetitive stress from which there is little chance of escape.” This will most likely impact the type of treatment that’s most fitting and the approach to take.
Here are a couple of examples to assist with the differences between PTSD and C-PTSD:
“…a soldier returning from intense battle may be likely to show PTSD symptoms, but a kidnapped prisoner of war who was held for several years may show additional symptoms of C-PTSD. Similarly, a child who witnesses a friend’s death in an accident may exhibit some symptoms of PTSD, but a child who grows up in an abusive home may exhibit the additional C-PTSD characteristics…”
The “Complex” component of C-PTSD acknowledges the layers of persistent abuse or trauma that someone has experienced. The continued exposure of traumatic events or abuse is what may differentiate PTSD from C-PTSD.
There is also a large and intricate overlap in the symptoms experienced in both BPD and PTSD. Some of these are increased anxiety, emotional arousal or dysregulation, suicidal thoughts and feelings, feelings of guilt, shame or self-blame, or avoidance and numbing. When an individual suffers from both diagnoses at a time, it may be difficult to know where these symptoms originate.
A helpful stance to take can be to focus on treating the symptoms rather than the diagnosis. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, can offer great assistance with the symptoms stated above. The skills learned through DBT can assist in managing the strong emotions common with these diagnoses.
Please note the importance of being in a place where you are ready to work on trauma recovery. A round of DBT therapy and or Skills Group would be preferable to try first to acquire skills to handle working on trauma. This is something to be discussed between you and your therapist.
A great article on this topic has been shared by Debbie Corso at HealingFromBPD.org.
