Epilepsy, a much-misunderstood disease

Jyoti Shelar, Mumbai Mirror, Mar 25, 2011, 12.45pm IST March 26 is marked as the day for busting myths about epilepsy, a much-misunderstood disease. Ever since Lance Armstrong went global with his fight against cancer and gave the disease a yellow elastic wristband to symbolise with, all other diseases worth their germs have a colour associated with the fight against them. Epilepsy has been vested with the colour purple in order to educate and create awareness about the much-misunderstood disease. Mumbai-based neurologist Dr Janak Nathan has been handed the reins for the job. Purple day, as it's called, will be organised on March 26th, when the doctor and his team of volunteers will take to Mumbai's streets, talking and educating people about the disease. Started in 2008 by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan in Nova Scotia, Canada, who also suffered from the disease, Purple day is the Epilepsy Association's effort to take this fight global. "The colour purple is associated with isolation and solitude. Due to myths and superstitions associated with the disease, many patients are isolated from society. The day will help in making people aware about the disease," says Nathan. Read the rest of the article here.

Potential Dangers Faced By Narcoleptics Who Smoke Cigarettes Considered

ScienceDaily (June 11, 2008) — A research abstract that will be presented on June 9 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), provides the first description of nicotine use by narcolepsy patients. Because people with narcolepsy can fall asleep suddenly and without warning, even while eating, walking or driving, those who smoke nicotine in bed are at a high risk of burning either themselves or the objects around them, or starting a fire, if they fall asleep. Further, the excessive sleepiness brought on by their narcolepsy may also complicate any attempt by them to quit the habit of nicotine use.

The study, authored by Lois Krahn, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., focused on unpublished data from a community-based study of narcolepsy, followed by a questionnaire distributed at last year's Narcolepsy Network national meeting to obtain more information. According to the results, in the community-based study, 62.5 percent of narcolepsy patients were past or present smokers. Seventeen questionnaires were completed, in which 47 percent of respondents were past or present nicotine users. All respondents identified nicotine as an effective in decreasing sleepiness. Thirty-seven percent fell asleep while smoking. Twenty-five percent smoked in bed. Burns were reported by 75 percent involving clothing, furniture or carpet. One respondent started a fire. One substituted nicotine patches for cigarettes years ago to continue a "powerful" means to decrease cataplexy. All tried to quit smoking, but described having difficulty because sleepiness worsened without nicotine.

Read the rest of the article here.

Female, Male Youth Report Different Concussion Symptoms

Female athletes who sustain a concussion report different symptoms than their male counterparts, according to research performed at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education. Sue Saliba, an assistant professor of kinesiology in the Curry School, and Leah Frommer, now an assistant athletic trainer at the University of California at Santa Barbara, conducted the study while Frommer was a graduate student at U.Va. Frommer graduated from Curry in 2006 with a master's degree in athletic training and sports medicine.

The research revealed that in addition to headache, high school girl athletes were more likely to complain of neurological symptoms like sensitivity to light or sleeplessness. Their male peers, conversely, are more likely to report neuro-cognitive issues, like loss of memory or balance control. "We found a difference in the symptom type, and that's never been documented before," Saliba said. However, there was no difference in the students' recovery time. There are more than 1.6 million sport-related concussions reported each year in the United States. More than 5 percent of participants in high school contact sports are affected by concussions.

Their paper, "Sex Differences in Concussion Symptoms of High School Athletes," was published in the January/February issue of the Journal for Athletic Trainers. Read the rest of the article here.

A parent's guide to Section 504 in public schools

This important civil rights law can provide educational benefits to kids with learning disabilities and/or AD/HD in public schools.

By Mary Durheim

Section 504 — just what exactly is it? You've probably heard about it, but every school district addresses Section 504 in a different manner. Some districts have even been heard to say, “We don’t do that in this district.” But in fact, compliance to Section 504, which is a federal statute, is not optional. This article attempts to answer basic questions pertaining to the implementation of Section 504 in public school systems.

What is Section 504?

Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based upon disability. Section 504 is an anti-discrimination, civil rights statute that requires the needs of students with disabilities to be met as adequately as the needs of the non-disabled are met.

Section 504 states that: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 706(8) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance...” [29 U.S.C. §794(a), 34 C.F.R. §104.4(a)].

Who is covered under Section 504?

To be covered under Section 504, a student must be “qualified ” (which roughly equates to being between 3 and 22 years of age, depending on the program, as well as state and federal law, and must have a disability) [34 C.F.R. §104.3(k)(2)].

Who is an “individual with a disability”?

As defined by federal law: “An individual with a disability means any person who: (i) has a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity; (ii) has a record of such an impairment; or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment” [34 C.F.R. §104.3(j)(1)].

What is an “impairment” as used under the Section 504 definition?

An impairment as used in Section 504 may include any disability, long-term illness, or various disorder that “substantially” reduces or lessens a student’s ability to access learning in the educational setting because of a learning-, behavior- or health-related condition. [“It should be emphasized that a physical or mental impairment does not constitute a disability for purposes of Section 504 unless its severity is such that it results in a substantial limitation of one or more major life activities” (Appendix A to Part 104, #3)].

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/legal-rights/868-section-504.gs?page=1

Sleep Machismo: Viewing lack of sleep as a virtue.

March 29, 2011, 1:30 pm

Writing for USA Today’s Your Life, Dr. Qanta Ahmed spotlighted the term “sleep machismo“”

Americans, in general, are sleep deprived; as their doctors, those in my profession are often no different. Ours is a culture which values “Sleep Machismo,” a term coined by leading chronobiologist Dr. Charles Czeisler in his sentient article in the Harvard Business Review some years ago. I direct every patient who comes to see me to read this important paper; his ideas are that important. Sleep Machismo means valuing sleep loss over sleep, placing all activities above the basic human need of sleep and celebrating the machismo of the sleep-deprived. Americans perceive sleep as an expendable luxury, rather than a biological necessity. Day after day, week after week, we choose to defer bedtime in the interests of a favorite TV show, reading one more article, answering one more e-mail, or catching up on the phone. All the while, we are accumulating sleep debt — a debt which, like financial debt, incurs steep penalties. In 2006, Czeisler argued that “contemporary work and social culture glorifies sleeplessness in the way we once glorified people who could hold their liquor.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Implantable device for sleep apnea studied

March 29, 2011 By Katy Cosse

The National Institutes of Health estimates one in 10 adults over 65 (a total of 18 million Americans) suffers from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder in which obstruction in the upper airway can lead to interrupted breathing and sleep. In OSA, the tongue and other tissues of the throat obstruct the airway during sleep, blocking breathing for sometimes up to a minute. These events can occur multiple times throughout the night and severe OSA has been linked with increased risks for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and accidents resulting from daytime drowsiness. This spring, two UC researchers are collaborating in an international, multi-center trial on an investigational device for treatment of OSA. The STAR (Stimulation Therapy for Apnea Reduction) trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy in patients with moderate to severe OSA. The UAS therapy, manufactured by Inspire Medical Systems, is an implantable device designed to prevent airway obstruction during sleep. The device, implanted near the clavicle, is connected to a stimulation lead positioned near the airway. There, the lead delivers timed, mild stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve on each breathing cycle.

Read the rest of the article here.

Advanced sensors provide new look at how seizures begin By James M. Connolly Tuesday, March 29, 2011 Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brown University used sensors, advanced recording techniques and new data handling techniques to track the activity of individual neurons during a seizure. The researchers concluded that different groups of neurons play different roles at different times during a seizure, which is contrary to the commonly-held view that seizures are characterized by massively synchronized activity. The research is being published in Nature Neuroscience, according to a press release from MGH. “Our findings suggest that different groups of neurons play distinct roles at different stages of seizures,” said the paper’s senior author Sydney Cash of the MGH Department of Neurology, in the press release. “They also indicate that it may be possible to predict impending seizures, and that clinical interventions to prevent or stop them probably should target those specific groups of neurons.” Read the rest of the article here.