Alzheimer's Disease Drug Treats Traumatic Brain Injury

ScienceDaily (July 14, 2009) — The destructive cellular pathways activated in Alzheimer's disease are also triggered following traumatic brain injury, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). They say this finding suggests that novel therapy might successfully target both conditions.

For the full article go to: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090712145226.htm

Conceptualizing Brain Injury as a Chronic Disease

The purpose of this paper is to encourage the classification of a TBI not as an event, not as the final outcome, but rather as the beginning of a disease process. The paper presents the scientific data supporting the fact that neither an acute TBI nor a chronic TBI is a static process—that aTBI impacts multiple organ systems, is disease causative and disease accelerative, and as such,should be paid for and managed on a par with other diseases.

For a pdf of this article, go to:

http://www.biausa.org/elements/pdfs/position_chronic_disease_mar_2009.pdf

Brain's Organization Switches As Children Become Adults

ScienceDaily (May 14, 2009) — Any child confronting an outraged parent demanding to know "What were you thinking?" now has a new response: "Scientists have discovered that my brain is organized differently than yours."

For the full article, go to:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090515093228.htm

Just published - A review of Childhood Disruptive Behaviour Disorders

Behavioral patterns that may eventually lead to a diagnosis of Disruptive Behavioral Disorder can often be detected in the first 2 years of life.  This study looks at risk factors that can be identified in the mother during pregnancy (or even earlier) and shortly after the child’s birth, and also looks at various intervention programs geared toward prevention or minimization of symptoms.  FREE FULL TEXT available at:

http://publications.cpa-apc.org/media.php?mid=780&xwm=true

Memory Loss Linked To Common Sleep Disorder

ScienceDaily (June 13, 2008) — For the first time, UCLA researchers have discovered that people with sleep apnea show tissue loss in brain regions that help store memory. Reported in the June 27 edition of the journal Neuroscience Letters, the findings emphasize the importance of early detection of the disorder, which afflicts an estimated 20 million Americans.

For the full article, go to:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611071037.htm

Latest Publication in "The Clinical Neuropsychologist"

LEUKOARAIOSIS SEVERITY AND LIST-LEARNING IN DEMENTIA

Catherine C. Price, Kelly Davis Garrett, Angela L. Jefferson, Stephanie Cosentino, Jared J. Tanner, Dana L. Penney, Rodney Swenson, Brianne Magourik Bettcher, Tania Giovannetti and David J. Libon

Is Alzheimer’s Disease a Natural Brain-Cell-Removal Process Gone Awry?

A protein closely associated with Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to a neuronal pruning process used in normal brain development. The researchers who reported this discovery, in the Feb. 19 issue of Nature, suggest that this early developmental process, when somehow reactivated later in life, represents the long-sought cause of Alzheimer’s.

For the full article, go to:

http://www.dana.org/news/features/detail.aspx?id=21212

Sleep May Help Clear Brain For New Learning

(Apr. 3, 2009) — A new theory about sleep's benefits for the brain gets a boost from fruit flies in the journal Science. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found evidence that sleep, already recognized as a promoter of long-term memories, also helps clear room in the brain for new learning.

For the full article, go to:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402143503.htm

Dr. Meidinger Elected Board Member for the North Dakota Autism Center

Dr. Amy Meidinger was appointed to the Board of the North Dakota Autism Center effective April, 2009. 

On April 15, 2009 the North Dakota Autism Center (NDAC) celebrated their opening by having a ribbon cutting ceremony with many members of the Fargo Chamber of Commerce in attendance, as well as many  of the dedicated volunteers who have been critical in getting the Center off the ground.  The NDAC is a non-profit organization dedicated to behavioral treatment of autism spectrum disorders.  The NDAC has the state's only Board Certified Behavior Analyst on staff.  The opening of the ND Autism Center marks a tremendous milestone in the provision of services to children in this region who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.  Check out the NDAC website at:

http://ndautismcenter.org

Methamphetamine Enters Brain Quickly And Lingers

ScienceDaily (Oct. 16, 2008) — Using positron emission tomography (PET) to track tracer doses of methamphetamine in humans’ brains, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory find that the addictive and long-lasting effects of this increasingly prevalent drug can be explained in part by its pharmacokinetics — the rate at which it enters and clears the brain, and its distribution.

For the full article, go to:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081014111303.htm