They can be life-threatening at times, and they can certainly affect the quality of the patient’s life.

There are many neurological conditions and physiotherapy can help many of them.
Alzheimer’s disease takes away the declining years of many older people.
It is surprising to note that it can occur in people 40 years old or younger.
ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease is a disease that robs the brain and spinal cord of the ability to move.

Both of these are neurological diseases that can be helped by physiotherapy.
MS, another of the neurological conditions that affects the brain and spinal cord, can lead to a long, slow decline.

Parkinson’s disease is another of the neurological conditions of the brain.
This one can cause shaking and loss of coordination, and problems moving and walking.
Physiotherapy offers some relief to these patients.

Guillain Barre Syndrome is one of the types of neurological conditions that affect the brain and spinal cord too.

It is a case of the person’s own immune system attacking outside these areas.
It can be severe enough to require emergency hospitalization. Physiotherapy offers help with regaining strength and adapting to life with the disease.

Neurological conditions that are autoimmune diseases are difficult to treat.
Myasthenia Gravis is one such illness. It causes muscular weakness because of a lack of communication between nerves and muscles.

Like other neurological conditions, it can be very debilitating. A great amount of physiotherapy is needed to help Myasthenia Gravis patients to live with their neurological conditions.

This includes strength training, training in the use of supportive devices, and help with common tasks.

One problem physiotherapists face when working with MG patients is that too much exercise will make their condition worse and not better. Many of the patients with neurological conditions cannot carry on daily functions such as caring for themselves and their homes.

It is not uncommon for these people to be unable to work. They may even have trouble walking or getting up and down stairs at all. Difficulty swallowing or breathing; dizziness, poor balance and falls, and a total lack of endurance plague many of these patients who have neurological conditions. Medications or surgeries can help with some of their problems, but many problems are ones they will have to abide.

Physiotherapy can offer solutions that other branches of medicine cannot.
Exercises, as in most physiotherapy, include strengthening and stretching exercises.
In whatever way is possible, patients with neurological conditions need to get aerobic exercise.

Physiotherapists may be able to make a plan so that this is possible.
Part of this plan for patients with neurological conditions would include balance training and coordination training. With these two skills in place, the patient will have a more advanced ability to do aerobic and other exercises. Aquatic exercise is also used.

Patients with neurological conditions must live with many problems of lack of movement and function.

Physiotherapy can help them to overcome some of these problems.It can make their lives easier and more pleasant, besides.

I understand the mother’s desire to protect Baby RB - but doctors, after all, can be wrong, writes Liz Hunt.

By Liz HuntPublished: 6:53AM GMT 04 Nov 2009


It’s a tug-of-love case like no other. In one corner is a mother who wants her baby son to die. She believes it will save him from a life of suffering caused by a rare neuromuscular condition that means he may never move independently, and requires assistance to breathe. In the other is a father who wants the child to be given a chance, at least, of life.

In the middle sits a judge who, once lawyers, ethicists, and medics have had their say, must pronounce on Baby RB’s future. Surely Solomon had an easier decision than that faced by Mr Justice McFarlane.


For those observing this High Court drama who are swayed neither by religious belief, nor by a faith in the absolutism of medical opinion that holds Baby RB as a lost cause for whom a humane exit is the only option, it’s a tortuous intellectual and emotional debate.
I find myself ricocheting between the two positions, both of them informed by awareness of the long hours the devoted parents have spent at the child’s bedside in the 13 months since his birth. His mental development is believed to be unimpaired; the court heard yesterday claims that he responds to those around him, will wriggle his body in pleasure, and can interact with toys or when stories are read to him.

So, yes, I understand the mother’s desire to protect him. A peaceful, drug-soothed death is surely preferable to the “pitiful existence” experts say lies ahead. But how hard it is not to sympathise with the father’s refusal to deny his child an existence at all by withdrawing ventilation, as the doctors want. Doctors can, after all, be wrong.

This is not the first time that a court has been asked to decided whether a very disabled child should live or die. In 2004, in the first case of its kind, 10-month-old Charlotte Wyatt’s life was the focus of a high-profile legal battle. Born at 26 weeks, her brain was under-developed and her hearts and lungs damaged so that she had to be supplied with oxygen. Doctors wanted to let her die, rather than resuscitate her, as they had done five times previously when her breathing failed. Blind and deaf, her suffering had reached “an unbearable level”. Her chance of surviving another year was “approximately zero”.

Charlotte’s parents disputed this assessment. They said their daughter enjoyed cuddles, reacted to her musical toys, and loved to be bathed. In short, they felt she had a worthwhile quality of life, and every intervention should be made to prolong it. A judge ruled in favour of the doctors and a do-not-resuscitate order was put in place. In the event, it was not needed, Charlotte survived, confounding the experts. It was a triumph over tragedy – of sorts. Her parents split up, and she is now believed to be in the care of foster parents.

There are similarities between the cases: the damning medical prognosis, the insistence that the baby’s life is not without comfort. But there is also a fundamental difference: should the judge find in favour of his mother, and of the NHS trust that cares for Baby RB, it will be the first time that a British court has ruled against the wishes of a parent (the baby’s father) whose child does not have brain damage.

This is the fulcrum on which the debate pivots. Michael McClonas, for the NHS trust, has argued that Baby RB’s “awareness” will make his plight unbearable, “not so much now, but as he gets older and catches glimpses of what others can do”. What dangerous presumption that statement contains; that a child should be helped to die because of what might lie ahead, that his very sentience might seal his fate.

To how many others might that argument have been applied: The late writer and cerebral palsy sufferer Christy Nolan? Perhaps even Professor Stephen Hawking, who developed a debilitating illness in early adulthood? I am not an advocate of life at any price, but Baby RB’s is worth more than this.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy is a condition that causes physical disability in early development. It is caused by damage to the white matter in the motor centers of the developing brain and abnormalities that disrupt the brain's abilities. Brain damage is caused by bleeding and a lack of oxygen to the brain. Perception, cognition, communication and musculoskeletal problems may also occur. Exposure to toxic substances, premature birth, low birth rate, infections during pregnancy and blood type incompatibility are some of the many risk factors for cerebral palsy. There is no cure for cerebral palsy, but treatments used early and regularly can reduce the affects of the disease. Many specialists are examining how brain cells form and make the right connections and are trying to prevent disruption of the normal development of the brain.

SYMPTOMS: Young children with cerebral palsy may not be able to crawl, walk, or sit without support or reach. Development of abnormal muscle tone or uncontrolled movements may occur. Speech problems, mental retardation, seizures, hearing loss and vision problems are also symptoms of cerebral palsy. Experts say if parents see their child develop these symptoms, they should contact their health care provider for testing.

TREATMENTS: Rehabilitation treatment involves physical activity and stretching to accomplish tasks such as walking and sitting unsupported. Occupational therapy helps address and accomplish needs in order to live the most independent life possible. Communication problems can be overcome by speech therapy. Medications such as dopaminergic drugs like Sinernet and Artane, and muscle relaxants can also be prescribed to reduce abnormal movements and help prevent seizures.

THERAPIES: Lokomat therapy uses a robotic device to help a person learn how to walk. The patient is put in a harness over a treadmill and robotic leg harnesses repeat a natural walking motion while strengthening leg muscles. Computers measure the response to the movements and also provide motivational cartoons to give the patients instruction. Before Lokomat, this therapy was done by people manually moving patients' legs. The more traditional method limited the effectiveness and duration of the therapy, but the Lokomat keeps a constant, more long-term pace. Results from a study indicated that there was an improvement in motor function and walking speed after using Lokomat therapy. Children over age 4 with neurological conditions that are evaluated by a physician are eligible for Lokomat therapy.

• First quadriplegic female to accomplish feat
• Boat's direction controlled by blowing through straws

Caroline Davies The Guardian,











Paralysed from the neck down, Hilary Lister used advanced technology allowing her to steer and control the sails by sucking and blowing through plastic straws.

Having battled the elements, exhaustion and the severe limitations of her own body, Hilary Lister, 37, sailed into Dover and the record books today as the first female quadriplegic to sail solo around Britain.

The Oxford-educated biochemist, who suffers from a rare, progressive neurological disorder that has left her paralysed from the neck down, completed the final leg of a marathon voyage undertaken in a series of 40 day-long sails.

Using advanced technology allowing her to steer and control the sails by sucking and blowing through plastic straws, she sailed alone with a support team only helping her into and out of her boat, Me Too. After being briefly becalmed in the Channel last night, she finally crossed the finishing line to cheering crowds at 6.45pm.

"It's a privilege to be back in Dover," she said from her boat at the quayside. "The killer was when the wind died just east of the entrance to the harbour but unbelievably it picked up just as I sailed in."

She said the highlight of her challenge was seeing marine wildlife at close quarters. "Just seeing whales 35ft long fully breached out of the water was incredible," she said. "Two of them jumped like dolphins, it was amazing."

Lister, from Canterbury, Kent, suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy and can only move her head, eyes and mouth. Tempted in her darkest moments to end the physical pain she suffers daily and the frustration at being imprisoned in her body, she has said "sailing saved my life".

"I'm so relieved to be home but looking forward to the next challenge," she said before a bottle of celebratory champagne was opened. "One thing I've learnt is that you can't predict the future, we couldn't even predict tomorrow's weather so I'm not ruling anything out or anything in."

In 2005 she made history by becoming the first quadriplegic to sail solo across the Channel. Her voyage around Britain began in Dover in June last year when she sailed the length of the south coast. But she was forced to halt the attempt at Newlyn, Cornwall, last August due to weather and technical difficulties.

Plans to resume in Plymouth in early May were delayed after she suffered breathing difficulties while preparing. She was taken to hospital and placed under observation, but eventually set off at dawn on 21 May.

Since then she has attempted to sail on four days each week. The series of sails took her along the east coast of Ireland, and then down the east coast of Scotland and England. "In terms of experiences … we had some incredible receptions from people who had waited hours to watch us come in," she said as she arrived in Ramsgate ahead of the final 15-mile leg to Dover.

She added: "I'm probably fitter than when I left and almost certainly in better health. Sailing makes me happy, it gives me a reason to get up in the morning – but at the same time I am absolutely kippered."

She experienced the first signs of disease as shooting pains in her legs as a teenager. Determined to be a biochemist, she pressed on to study at Jesus College, Oxford.

But the disease did eventually deprive her of an academic career, as well as a secondary career as a clarinet teacher.

By the time she married her husband, Clifford, in 1999 she had begun to lose the use of her hands and arms.

Confined to her house and a wheelchair, she was introduced to sailing by a friend in 2003.

Her "sip and puff" system uses three straws that are connected to sensitive pressure switches to change the boat's direction, control the sails and the boom.

She hopes to have raised £30,000 from her voyage for her charity, Hilary's Dream Trust, which assists disabled and disadvantaged adults who want to sail.



Sip and puff control


This is the first time the "sip and puff" system had been tested in such challenging conditions, according to Lister's team. Her boat, Me Too, is an Artemis 20: a six-metre carbon fibre keelboat, designed by Rogers Yacht Design under commission by Chichester-based Vizual Marine.

She controls the boat using the "sip and puff" system, developed by Steve Alvey of Calgary, Canada.

The system uses three straws which are connected to sensitive pressure switches. A computer is mounted in front of Hilary.

A gentle sip on one straw will cause the boat to go to starboard, while a puff will take the boat to port. The second straw controls the winch motor for both sails in a similar fashion. The third straw allows her to control her Raymarine autopilot, to trim one sail relative to the other and raise or lower the height of the boom.

By Peggy Ussery
Published: June 3, 2009
It started with stiffness in her neck. Over time, Jane Murphy noticed her chin was hanging low to her chest.
Doctors put her on arthritis medicines and recommended heat treatment. The pain spread and she began using her hand to keep her head up straight. The symptoms spread from her neck to her eyelids and then to her face.
“I was on so much medicine, I wanted to sleep all the time,” Murphy said.
The ball of Tim Hornsby’s foot began to swell. He noticed his toe was falling asleep regularly. He began dragging his foot. Hornsby thought it might be related to an old back injury. Doctors ruled out stroke and Parkinson’s disease.
Today, the once active engineer uses a walker for support. His toes curl up under the constant muscle contraction. His legs lock up without warning, causing Hornsby to fall on more than one occasion — he even broke his nose once on a night stand.
“You lose a lot of dignity,” Hornsby said. “I’ve always been one that’s done anything, and to have to ask people to do things for you ...”
The pain near the front of Chrissi Brannon’s ears spread to her teeth. For five years she saw dentists, oral surgeons, neurologists and ear, nose and throat specialists. She had root canals on all her back teeth. There were doctors and others who thought the 31-year-old was drug-seeking. Her chin started to pucker out uncontrollably.
Brannon’s left shoulder began to hurt; then, her right shoulder. The pain, fatigue and depression consumed her. Last year, the wife and mother of two gave up a career she loved as a pharmaceutical representative.
“I was a go-getter,” Brannon said. “I worked all the time.”
Murphy, Hornsby and Brannon each have a neurological movement disorder called dystonia. It’s the third most common neurological disorder in the U.S., but most people have never heard of it.
Dystonia is in the same family of neurological disorders as Parkinson’s disease. While Parkinson’s eventually destroys its victim’s brain, dystonia takes the body. It’s a debilitating condition that, while not fatal, forces muscles into a constant and painful contraction, sometimes disabling patients. The muscle contraction is so intense it’s compared to 18 hours of working out. It may hit one area of the body — legs, arms, neck, face, eyes — or attack the entire body, known as generalized dystonia. It can even effect hearing and speech, and severe cases of dystonia in the neck or vocal cords can actually impair breathing.
Hornsby, who lives in Headland, attends support group meetings in Birmingham. But he, Murphy and Brannon — who both live in Newville — hope to get enough interest to establish a Wiregrass support group. They figure there are others locally also dealing with the condition.
“I just know there are so many people out there with pain,” Brannon said.
Why and how dystonia happens is unknown. There are theories. It could be genetic. It may come on after a trauma, especially a physical trauma. Some people may be predisposed to it. Stress can aggravate symptoms.
Some people have only mild symptoms, while others live in agony. There is no cure.
A common treatment for dystonia is botox injections given every few months to paralyze the muscles and stop the involuntary movements. Medications can help, and in severe cases deep brain stimulation surgery can relieve symptoms.
“I had problems and didn’t know what the problems were,” Hornsby said. “They weren’t consistent.”
Unlike many people who spend years trying to get a diagnosis, Hornsby received a diagnosis within only a few months of seeking help in 2006. However, he saw eight doctors first. Within a year of his diagnosis, his symptoms had spread from one foot to the other.
When he and his wife, Virginia, received the news, they turned to the Internet for information. What they read was disheartening.
“Emotions for me and Virginia went from rock bottom to everywhere,” Hornsby said.
He was able to walk his daughter, Rebecca, down the aisle when she got married, but he can’t get out and walk with his grandson. He’s able to keep his job with the Alabama Department of Transportation in Troy because Virginia works in the same office and drives them both. But he’s no longer able to do field work.
“I have to depend on people I trust to get out and do things work-related,” he said. “But I’ve got some good people.”
Murphy saw 21 doctors before her diagnosis in the 1980s at the age of 48. Now 70 years old, Murphy has lived with dystonia for 22 years.
“We went to doctor after doctor ...,” Murphy said. “Nobody had heard of my ailment.”
Murphy has three kinds of dystonia in her neck, eyes and face. Her facial dystonia has gone into remission. She uses a back support to help her sit up straight in church and wears dark glasses to protect her sensitive eyes.
Brannon was 31 when her symptoms first occurred in 2001. She was diagnosed in 2006. Her dystonia affects her neck, face, back and hands. The pain and the fatigue has caused her to miss a lot with her children, ages 12 and 3. But her husband, Tom, has been supportive.
“If I have a day that’s pain-free, it’s few and far between,” she said.
Brannon now worries about the numbness she’s starting to feel in her toes.
“It’s getting worse, I can tell ...,” she said. “I’m hoping for the best, hoping to keep mine under control. Mine is moving, and that’s scary.”
Brannon is not alone in her fear.
“There’s that little bit of uncertainty,” Hornsby said. “Where is it going next and when?”——————————-Want to know more?If you or someone you know is interested in starting a local dystonia support group, e-mail DothanDystoniaSupportGroup@gmail.com
Understanding DystoniaThis week is Dystonia Awareness Week. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley signed a proclamation to support raising awareness about the condition. Here is some information about the different forms of the condition from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation:
Laryngeal dystonia/spasmodic dystonia - Affects muscles of the vocal cords, making it difficult to speak.
Blepharospasm - Affects the eyelids, causing them to blink uncontrollably or remain closed.
Cranial dystonia - Affects face, jaw and tongue. Causes grimacing, tongue protrusion and jaw closure or opening.
Cervical dystonia/spasmodic torticollis - Affects neck and shoulder muscles, turning the head to the side or forcing the head back or forward. A tremor may be present.
Hand dystonia/writer’s cramp - Causes fingers to curl and the hand and forearm to cramp. Occurs when a person attempts to use the hand for writing, playing a musical instrument or other activities.
Generalized dystonia - Affects many parts of the body simultaneously. Causes cramping and twisting in the feet, limbs and torso.

A line of toys designed by Brown and RISD students in a 2006 course targets children with neuromuscular diseases and impaired motor skills.
Ask a child if he would rather do physical therapy or play with a remote control car and the answer will be obvious. But now researchers at Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design have designed a way for him to do both, by creating toys specially developed for children with neuromuscular diseases.

The toys, originally designed by students in a joint Brown-RISD course, are meant to complement the benefits of physical therapy for children with Cerebral Palsy, said Professor of Orthopaedics Joseph Crisco of the Warren Alpert Medical School.

By using the toys, the children effectively “have therapy for a much longer period of time,” Crisco said, adding that the key of the project is to disguise therapy as play.

The development of the toys resulted from a collaboration between Crisco, Clinical Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurosciences Karen Kerman ’78, RISD Associate Professor of Industrial Design Khipra Nichols and students in Crisco’s course, “Toys for Rehabilitation.”

Crisco said he and his colleagues came up with the initial concept for the product in the fall of 2006. His students designed the actual toys throughout the fall semester. The students worked on several different concepts, including specially designed walking shoes to help children with climbing disabilities and remote-controlled toys for children with hemiplegia, he said.

According to Crisco, many children with neuromuscular diseases are unable to use the same toys as their friends and siblings because these toys frequently require the use of fine motor skills, such as pulling a trigger or pressing a button. To overcome this problem, Crisco’s students pulled out the wires of common toys and redesigned them to be controlled through movements of the wrist or arm.

The result is similar in concept to the Nintendo Wii remote, Crisco said, except that the new toys respond only to movements made by the forearm — which is enclosed in a brace — rather than to full-body and arm movement.

As the goal of the project was to use the toys for “targeted joint therapy,” Crisco said, the designers did not want the toys to respond if the child were “standing on (his) head.”

The researchers’ goal is to send the toys home with the children to augment their other therapy, Crisco said, adding that the toys have data logging capabilities which can tell doctors how much the children have been using them.

In 2008, the group received a grant to develop prototypes of the toy controllers and began conducting a small pilot study. Now the researchers are applying for funding from the National Institutes of Health to upgrade the toys to commercial quality.

If the researchers get funding, Crisco said he would like to involve students in further developing the toys and researching their effectiveness.

Wales is the only country in the UK where people with neuromuscular conditions cannot access the help of specialised advisors.
In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland - but not Wales - patients receive help in accessing medical and social services through family care advisors.
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign claim this is not the only aspect of care in Wales which falls short.

Dr Mark Rogers, a consultant clinical geneticist at University Hospital of Wales (UHW), Cardiff, told BBC Wales' The Politics Show there is not even a recognised source of funding for neuromuscular services in Wales.

Nick Jones, of Wrexham, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, one of a number of life-limiting diseases which weaken and/or waste muscles. He has been waiting more than a year for a wheelchair which fits his legs. With a family care advisor to help attain health and social services, things might be different.

Mr Jones said: "There are people out there who need help and it's helpful to have somebody on the end of the phone who you can get hold of as quickly as you can and they're always there to help you out when you need something sorting, you know?

It's there in other parts of the country, it's just in Wales it still seems to be in the dark ages, if you get what I mean

Nick Jones
"Because otherwise you're just isolated and there's not much you can do really and that makes living with the condition a bit more stressful."
Forty miles across the English border in Warrington, the situation is very different for another young man with the same condition.
Andrew Duffy and his mother, Anne, greatly appreciate the work their family care advisor has done for them.

For example, she acted as an advocate in persuading their local authority to help provide alterations to their home to accommodate Andrew's condition.
Mrs Duffy said: "When you've got what you assume is a healthy four-year old and you're told he won't be walking by the time he's between the ages of eight and 11, and then you realise that you're going to have to change your home and your whole lifestyle, it's reassuring that there's going to be somebody there along the way who can tell you what you need and also do things like liaise with social services."

It is argued that the non-availability of family care advisors is only one aspect of how care for people with neuromuscular conditions falls short in Wales.

Andrew Duffy appreciates the work his family care advisor has done

According to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, Wales provides only a fifth of clinical activity by specialist doctors, nurses and physiotherapists compared to England and Scotland.
Mr Jones said: "It's there in other parts of the country, it's just in Wales it still seems to be in the dark ages if you get what I mean.

"The level of care you get in Wales is just not up to scratch at all really. It's just not worth it."
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign's director of policy, Robert Meadowcroft, said services for people with neuromuscular conditions in Wales had declined over the past 10 years.
He said: "In specialist posts, people have retired or moved on - they've not been replaced.
"The rather larger worry is they're going to decline further, we believe, in the next two years unless action is taken."

Funding
Perhaps the major difficulty facing specialists like UHW Consultant Clinical Geneticist Dr Mark Rogers is that Wales has no properly defined funding mechanism to provide for the 3,000 or so people here with neuromuscular conditions.

Local Health Boards can turn away funding bids arguing they're too "specialised".
But since such conditions, though rare, haven't actually been classed as "specialised" the all-Wales specialised commissioning body Health Commission Wales is not bound to fund them.
Dr Rogers said: "There's no specific funding earmarked that I'm aware of in Wales at all for neuromuscular services as a whole.
"It's felt that they sort of come within possibly neurology, possibly other (areas).
"There isn't somebody who I can go to and say "please will you consider this bid for some money?".
"It's not even a case of them rejecting the bid. It's a case of I can't even go anywhere."

'Review'
Health Minister Edwina Hart declined to be interviewed.
A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said: "We are committed to ensuring people have prompt access to safe and sustainable high quality and well co-ordinated neuromuscular disease specialist services, including those for muscular dystrophy, as locally as possible.
"The implementation of the outcome of the independent review of Adult Neuroscience Services will improve the provision of services over time".

By Jessica J. Burchard
The Winchester Star


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winchester — The best option for Bonnie Justice’s early-onset Parkinson’s disease may be a two-part brain surgery and a dopamine receptor implant.

On Monday, the 48-year-old from Berryville will travel to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for a consultation.

“Pretty much the only option for me is surgery,” she said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Justice was diagnosed with the disease nine years ago. It has no cure.

While she has few treatment options now, that may change.

On March 9, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to expand guidelines for embryonic stem cell research and provide federal funding.

The order gives federal officials 120 days to issue new guidelines that will make a far wider range of experiments eligible for federal funding.

Meanwhile, Justice continues to take prescription medication daily. The medicine upsets her stomach, though, and does not completely alleviate her symptoms.

Early-onset Parkinson’s is a degenerative neurological disease that causes the neurons in the brain to break down, particularly the dopamine-secreting cells. Dopamine is a neuro-transmitter that sends signals controlling bodily movements.

Symptoms include muscle stiffness and weakness, difficulty swallowing and speaking, and, in some cases, tremors on one side of the body.

Early-onset Parkinson’s is classified as any instance of the disease that is diagnosed in someone under 60.

Promising research

Mariecken Fowler, a neurologist at Winchester Medical Center specializing in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, said no current medical treatment can stop or reverse the damage done by neurological diseases.

“It’s the death of the cells that is causing the problems,” she said.

Fowler said the brain is unable to produce replacement cells for those destroyed, and scar tissue covers the areas damaged by the diseases.

The scar tissue means that patients are unable to regain any of their bodily functions and will continue to deteriorate.

Such a breakdown is common in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, and other neurological disorders.

Fowler and other neurologists are optimistic about the use of embryonic stem cell research to possibly reverse and cure these diseases.

Embryonic stem cells are prized in the scientific community because they can transform into any type of cell in the human body.

If scientists could control the metamorphosis, they might be able to create replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases and conditions, from diabetes and Parkinson’s to paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries.

Fowler said scientists inject genetic material into the center of embryonic stem cells to dictate what the cells will eventually become. For example, DNA from a spinal cord would create a spinal cord cell.

The cells contain the same DNA as the person who receives them, which means the patient is not in danger of having her body reject the new cells, as can happen with other treatments.

Two sides to the issue

Although Justice considers brain surgery to be the most effective way to cure her Parkinson’s symptoms, she is optimistic about embryonic stem cell research.

“I think it will give a lot of people hope,” she said. “A lot of people have been frustrated by the lack of research being done.”

One such person is Rick Loughborough, who was diagnosed in November with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — by neurologist Paul Lyons at WMC.

“It pains me that we could have been eight years closer to a cure for my disease and others if we had had access to embryonic stem cell research,” he said in a phone interview Thursday from his home in Upperville.

During President George W. Bush’s two terms in office, his administration chose to curtail embryonic stem cell research, which limited federal funding to a small number of stem cell “lines,” or groups, that were obtained and stored before Aug. 9, 2001.

Loughborough, 44, has felt his body yielding to ALS since last summer. He is now unable to walk and uses an electric wheelchair to move around his home.

He can no longer work, and spends most of his time in his home, entertaining guests and watching television.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This leads to a failure of the brain to control body movements.

The disease has no cure. People with ALS typically live for three to five years after being diagnosed.

Loughborough said people who have not personally experienced or seen someone with a debilitating neurological disease cannot fully understand the need for embryonic stem cell research.

“I think it’s very hard to have a moral high ground on this or other issues during a crisis situation,” he said. “I think if they’re living with the issue themselves, then they can see both sides of the issue.”

“A human life”

Some people consider research on embryonic stem cells to be a sin.

“I think [the research] demoralizes the people of the United States,” said Pastor Ken H. Smith of the Open Doors Baptist Church in Clear Brook. “We need to understand that the embryo is a human life.”

He and many other religious people say they believe the idea of using cells from a human embryo for scientific research goes against biblical teachings that argue life begins at conception.

Even the thought that embryonic stem cell research might save lives and end suffering does not sway Smith.

“If you have to take a life to save a life, what are you gaining?” he asked. “I don’t think the sacrificing of an unborn [child] is worth the adding of a few years of life for someone else.”

Fowler understands concerns about using embryonic stem cells for research, but takes a more scientific view of the research.

“I understand that there are a lot of definitions of when life begins,” she said. “These balls of cells are from fertility clinics where [the frozen embryos] were going to be destroyed.”

The embryos are left over from in vitro fertilization — a process in a laboratory in which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside of the womb. A woman usually has six to eight of her eggs removed and fertilized, but does not need all of them to become pregnant.

A variety of debates

Shenandoah University philosophy professor Barry Penn Hollar said the source of the embryos should be scrutinized in the stem cell research debate.

“This stem cell discussion raises a lot more discussion than what it looks like,” he said. “It raises issues of parenting, sexuality, and moral limits on how we reproduce.”

Despite the controversy surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, Justice is optimistic.

“I’m excited at the promise of more research.”

The Associated Press contributed some information for this report.

...www.parkinsons.org
www.alsa.org
www.aan.com

Physiotherapy Neurological Conditions and Pediatric Disorders

13.12.2008 Author: Louis Soul Posted in Health & Fitness

by Louis Soul

Neurological conditions that are autoimmune diseases are difficult to treat. Myasthenia Gravis is one such illness. It causes muscular weakness because of a lack of communication between nerves and muscles. Like other neurological conditions, it can be very debilitating.

MS, one of the neurological conditions that affects the brain and spinal cord, can lead to a long, slow decline. Parkinson’s disease is another of the neurological conditions of the brain. This one can cause shaking and loss of coordination, and problems moving and walking. Physiotherapy offers some relief to these patients.
Many of the patients with neurological conditions cannot carry on daily functions such as caring for themselves and their homes. It is not uncommon for these people to be unable to work. They may even have trouble walking or getting up and down stairs at all.

Life after physiotherapy may be a more cautious affair than is was before. One may have to think before acting. No matter what one does, it is possible that a return to physiotherapy will take place. The best thing to do is to do your best to make all the right moves after physiotherapy.

Pediatric Disorders Help
Torticollis is a type of pediatric disorders of the neck. There is a problem with one of the muscles of the neck so that the one is not able to hold his head up straight. The head will be tilted to one side. This chin will jut out on the opposite side of the neck. Physiotherapy can stretch this muscle so that the child can hold his head more normally.

Spinal cord injuries as pediatric disorders are difficult to treat. Children often do not want to do the work that is required to stay ahead of the deterioration that can be caused by this condition. Physiotherapy personnel are challenged to keep the child’s spirits up as they teach them how to exercise with and without special equipment.

Traumatic injuries require a certain amount of psychological training, as the subject of the accident or other ordeal may bring on such distress that the child does not want to work. A good physiotherapist will be able to work with such a child. Traumatic injuries can also be severe enough that the physiotherapist plans a lengthy course of therapy to overcome them. Pediatric disorders like this require patience from everyone involved.


About the Author:
Diabetes Information Guide supplies more accurate reviews, visit this link: How to mantain yourself if you diabetics. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

Friends in need break taboo's

An open day at a Liverpool centre will help us understand how people overcome brain injuries and neurological conditions to live full and rewarding lives. David Charters reports

ON A morning when the sky promises sleet, three women meet under comforting lights in the cafe of a building off the main street for a nice cuppa and a chat about all the usual things.

You know, Christmas shopping, silly celebrities on TV, the weather; yes, the eternal weather – and how one of them began suffering from serious epileptic seizures after her beautiful baby sister died and how the second was almost killed by a hit-and-run driver, who left her bleeding on the Tarmac.

The third just listens, occasionally squeezing the arm of one of the others, the way that women do when they are offering encouragement to a friend telling a story.

And “friend” is the right word here on Norton Street, just off Liverpool’s London Road, where the traffic of the day is passing in grey anonymity. This is the headquarters of Neurosupport, a charity established to provide non-clinical help to people with neurological conditions including the diseases known as Alzheimer’s, Huntingdon’s and Parkinson’s, strokes, migraine, epilepsy, brain tumours and brain injury, as well as anything affecting the nervous system.

There is still a taboo in some circles about mentioning that something has happened to the “brain”, as though its existence is unconnected to the rest of the person; so we use expressions like “a problem upstairs”, while nodding sagely, instead of addressing the facts.

But, on Tuesday, Neurosupport is holding an open day to enable the public to find out more about its work. Exhibits will include a short film, photographs, paintings and poems, all done by people associated with the centre, many of whom have neurological conditions.

And there, sitting in the comfortable lounge with their cups of tea, are Dorothy (Dot) McCarthy, 51, a clerical officer with a housing trust, who is married to Peter, a JCB driver, with whom she has a daughter, Louise, 29; Natalie Shaw, 26, a part-time assistant at Debenham’s store; and Maureen Kelly, 55, the centre’s manager and a mother of two.

The mood is convivial, but Dot is about to tell a harrowing story. Her language is vivid, but it needs to be if you are to understand just a little of what she has experienced and how, as a result of that, spells of day-dreaming grew into full epileptic fits (grand mal).

At the time, Dot was nine and living in council flats in Leasowe, Wirral. One day she was returning home from the local school. She squeezed through railings to take a short-cut home and saw blood on the concrete beneath the window of their flat. Dot’s little sister, Suzanne, two, had fallen from the window.

Her body had been taken back to the flat. “But my mum was coming down the stairs with what looked like a bundle of rags when I arrived. It was my sister,” recalls Dot.

Within seconds, a happy and loving family had been cast into the deepest grieving – the parents, Billy Lines, a building worker, and his wife, Betty, as well as Dot’s five other brothers and sisters. “I used to have little day-dreams, but they never put that down to anything at the time, until I had the full seizure when I was nine,” says Dot. “My behaviour changed, but in those days they didn’t associate behavioural patterns with epilepsy. I was just a naughty child.”

As a result of this, the authorities sent Dot to a boarding school in Somerset, and then another one in Wales.

She was very unhappy and badly treated at both. Dot says that it wasn’t until she was 13 that her parents learned the full extent of her epilepsy, though unsympathetic staff at the boarding schools had referred to her as being “zombie-like”.

As standards of treatment and diagnosis improved, Dot, who later passed GCSEs in sociology, psychology, English Literature and English Language, was treated with drugs to control her condition. But she developed TB and required drugs for that. The doctors decided that these should not be mixed with her epilepsy drugs, which were stopped altogether. For 24 years, the fits stopped.

“And then, for some unknown reason, I had five fits and had to be sent to hospital,” says Dot, who now lives in Moreton, Wirral. “They started happening again after that and I was put back on medication.”

As part of her treatment, Dot started coming to Nerosupport. At the centre, clients can attend courses appropriate to their own condition, particularly “confidence building”, which is crucially important to recovery. They are also linked to sympathetic employers. More than that, it is just a good place for people to meet and talk.

“I have had help in work regarding my epilepsy, basically showing them that because I have a condition, it doesn’t mean that I can’t do a good job,” Dot says.

She was referred to the centre by the Epilepsy Society. “The main thing for me has been understanding that I have a condition and not an illness,” she says. “When I was little, I was told that because I was ill, I had to go away. I was just a naughty girl, who was bad-tempered, but now I have been re-educated. I know that I am like everybody else.

“Suzanne’s death was so traumatic. We were all very affected by it. How else could you have been? T he people here listen to me and talk to me and they have explained what could have happened to me, to help me come to terms with it. It has been like learning all over again.”

The condition is under control again, though Dot still receives the auras, the sensations of deja vu and a sickly taste in her mouth, which can be the prelude to an attack.

She attended the centre twice a week, as did hit-and-run victim Natalie, who received multiple head and body injuries after enjoying a Mother’s Day celebration in the city centre in 2003. These injuries were so serious that there were fears she would die, but after specialist treatment she slowly recovered.

Before the accident, Natalie, from the Vauxhall neighbourhood of Liverpool, was an enthusiastic amateur song-and-dance performer, who had been studying for a career in business, administration and marketing.

She was referred to the centre two years ago. “All the staff here are great. I get on with them all,” she says. “The people at Debenhams have also been great. The confidence-building and just coming here has really helped me.”

Three women finish their tea. They have different needs and ambitions, but each has a life to enjoy. Soon they will meet again, as friends do.