Have you wondered if REmyelination can occur in Multiple Sclerosis? I recently attended the 2021 Annual MS Meeting where I learned newest research updates in the MS world!
• remyelination
• spasticity management
• reducing fatigue
Have you wondered if REmyelination can occur in Multiple Sclerosis? I recently attended the 2021 Annual MS Meeting where I learned newest research updates in the MS world!
• remyelination
• spasticity management
• reducing fatigue
In this video I talk about the things I struggle with on an everyday basis as an autistic adult. Even though I may look like I’m coping on the outside, my inner world is rich with noise and difficulty sometimes.
This is why you should get an autism diagnosis, and it can be essential for you!! Lots of people don’t want an autism diagnosis and I respect that’s, but for the people on the fence about it, there could be so much more benefit from having an official diagnosis of autism. I have listed 3 top reasons to seek an official diagnosis below.
1.Access Help An official autism diagnosis can allow you access to help that maybe available to you in your area like therapy and group sessions that otherwise would be restricted to official diagnosis patients.
2.Access Support Again having an official diagnosis of autism will allow you to access any areas of support form your local government or authorise. This could be medical, social or financial support for you.
3.Self Development A huge part of the diagnosis was a self accepting aspect, as lots of people who are in limbo with autism diagnosis never really accept themselves for who they are. An official diagnosis gives you a starting point to do this.
Lightweight, wearable robotic ankle assistance device invented by NAU mechanical engineer Zach Lerner CREDIT Northern Arizona University
Mechanical engineer and inventor Zach Lerner, assistant professor in Northern Arizona University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded $2.1 million by the National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.
This funding, Lerner’s largest grant as principal investigator to date, will enable him to launch a major, five-year clinical trial to test a treatment strategy for children with cerebral palsy (CP) using his patented and patent-pending inventions comprising a lightweight, wearable robotic device that provides neuromuscular training while making walking easier.
“This is far and away the most significant grant we’ve received to date in terms of duration, budget and scope,” Lerner said. “The project builds directly on the work we’ve been doing at NAU for the past five years—developing an adaptive ankle exoskeleton device that offers a lightweight, portable and effective way to improve mobility in children with CP. We completed technological evaluations and the initial clinical feasibility and pilot studies necessary to collect the preliminary data for this randomized controlled trial (RCT), which is the gold standard for clinical trials looking to establish efficacy of a new intervention relative to standard of care.”
Study to establish fundamental knowledge, guidance for clinical and at-home treatment
A child’s ability to walk effectively is essential to physical health and general well-being. Nearly 4 in 1,000 children are afflicted with CP, a neurological disorder that affects muscle control and coordination and often makes walking extremely difficult. Although most treatment strategies have proven insufficient, one of the most promising potential new treatment options is the use of battery-powered wearable robots, or exoskeletons, that provide home-based gait training and mobility assistance. These devices have the potential to revolutionize rehabilitation of patients with neuromuscular deficiencies, significantly decreasing their lifelong suffering and the resulting economic burdens placed on their families.
“There is broad clinical consensus that dysfunction of the plantar flexors, or calf muscles, is a primary contributor to slow, inefficient and crouched walking patterns in individuals with CP,” Lerner said. “Our study will focus on two hypotheses: that targeted ankle resistance training will produce larger improvements in lower-extremity motor control, gait mechanics and clinical measures of mobility compared to standard physical therapy and standard gait training, and that adaptive ankle assistance will result in significantly greater capacity and performance compared to walking with ankle foot orthoses and walking wearing just shoes.”
“The study will explore participant characteristics (for example, age, gender, GMFCS level, walking speed, spasticity rating) that are associated with the greatest improvement in outcomes following each intervention to provide guidance for future clinical and at-home implementation, establishing fundamental knowledge on the ability for adaptive ankle interventions to treat walking impairment relative to standard of care in CP.”
Lerner’s pioneering research to date, funded through a succession of grants totaling more than $4.1 million from the NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Arizona Department of Health Services and private donations through the NAU Foundation, has demonstrated an improvement in walking function similar to or greater than outcomes from invasive surgery. Lerner’s research represents a successful investment from Arizona’s Technology and Research Innovation Fund (TRIF). Because of the funding he received through TRIF, Lerner was better equipped to apply for and win these major grants.
A new systematic review has found only very low-quality evidence that substances claiming to treat or prevent alcohol-induced hangover work.
The researchers call for more rigorous scientific exploration of the effectiveness of these remedies for hangovers to provide practitioners and the public with accurate evidence-based information on which to make their decisions.
Numerous remedies claim to be effective against hangover symptoms; however, up-to-date scientific examination of the literature is lacking. To address this gap, a team of researchers from King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust conducted a systematic review to consolidate and assess the current evidence for hangover treatments.
The study, published today by the scientific journal Addiction, assessed 21 placebo-controlled randomised trials of clove extract, red ginseng, Korean pear juice, and other hangover cures. Although some studies showed statistically significant improvements in hangover symptoms, all evidence was of very low quality, usually because of methodological limitations or imprecise measurements. In addition, no two studies reported on the same hangover remedy and no results have been independently replicated.
Of the 21 included studies, eight were conducted exclusively with male participants. The studies were generally limited in their reporting of the nature and timing of alcohol challenge that was used to assess the hangover cures and there were considerable differences in the type of alcohol given and whether it was given alongside food.
Common painkillers such as paracetamol or aspirin have not been evaluated in placebo controlled randomised controlled trials for hangover
According to the researchers, future studies should be more rigorous in their methods, for example by using validated scales to assess hangover symptoms. There is also a need to improve the participation of women in hangover research.
Lead author Dr. Emmert Roberts says “Hangover symptoms can cause significant distress and affect people’s employment and academic performance. Given the continuing speculation in the media as to which hangover remedies work or not, the question around the effectiveness of substances that claim to treat or prevent a hangover appears to be one with considerable public interest. Our study has found that evidence on these hangover remedies is of very low quality and there is a need to provide more rigorous assessment. For now, the surest way of preventing hangover symptoms is to abstain from alcohol or drink in moderation.”
The hangover cures assessed in this study included Curcumin, Duolac ProAP4 (probiotics), L-cysteine, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), Rapid Recovery (L-cysteine, thiamine, pyridoxine and ascorbic acid), Loxoprofen (loxoprofen sodium), SJP-001 (naproxen and fexofenadine), Phyllpro (Phyllanthus amarus), Clovinol (extract of clove buds), Hovenia dulcis Thunb. fruit extract (HDE), Polysaccharide rich extract of Acanthopanax (PEA), Red Ginseng, Korean Pear Juice, L-ornithine, Prickly Pear, Artichoke extract, ‘Morning-Fit’ (dried yeast, thiamine nitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, and riboflavin), Propranolol, Tolfenamic acid, Chlormethiazole, and Pyritinol.