Stiff-Person Syndrome Part 2 of 5

Although the specific prevalence of Stiff-Person Syndrome or SPS is unknown, it may occur in fewer than 1 in 1,000,000 persons. It is sometimes referred to as an orphan disease, one of those conditions that occurs so rarely that there are insignificant funds available to support research. Largely as a result of donations, NORD or the National Organization for Rare Disorders awarded a small research grant for SPS in 2010. Likely involving an autoimmune process, there is no clear racial or ethnic predisposition, although the disease may be more common in women than in men. According to www.hopkinsmedicine.org, the ratio is two women for every man effected. Interestingly, SPS has not been described in members of the same family and there is no known genetic predisposition. The link below is to Shane's new website:  http://www.run-to-live.com/

Stiff-Person Syndrome, 1 of 5

Do you feel stiff from time to time? We all do! Not everyone has Stiff-Person Syndrome or SPS, however. No, it’s not a joke. SPS really does exist! Also known as stiff-man syndrome and Moersch-Woltman condition, reportedly it was described first by Moersch and Woltman at Mayo clinic in 1956. On a recent airline flight to Australia I sat next to Kati and her boyfriend Shane, who was diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome in 2007. We chatted a bit about the impact SPS has had on his life and how he developed and embarked on his own rehabilitation program, which has kept him out of a wheelchair and that actually may have saved his life.  A very rare disease of the nervous system, SPS may begin very subtly during a period of emotional stress and likely involves an autoimmune process. SPS is characterized by progressively severe muscle stiffness typically in the spine and lower extremities. Most patients experience painful episodic muscle spasms that are triggered by sudden stimuli. Shane stumbled across the recognition that when he experienced muscle spasms, exercise helped reduce his pain. As you may imagine, that has changed the way he relates to and manages SPS.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Today we pause to reflect on the 96 years of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. I recall standing in the unbelievably small cell on Robben Island where Mandela spent so many solitary years. From the 17^th to the 20^th centuries, Robben Island served as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment. Today it is a World Heritage Site and museum, a poignant reminder  of the price paid for freedom. Looking toward shore from the island, I could glimpse Table Mountain in the distance. So near and yet so far. Although not much of a souvenir collector, I brought back two copies of the key to Mandela's prison cell: One for me and one for Dr. Sharlet Briggs. I agree. There likely will not be another Nelson Mandela, no other brain that could accomplish what he managed to accomplish and in the way he accomplished it. I have a favorite quote of his, also:  “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Gender and Map Reading, #2

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used a special brain-scanning technique called diffusion tensor imaging, which can measure the flow of water along a nerve pathway. According to Professor Verma, this technique established the level of connectivity between nearly 100 regions of the brain, creating a neural map of the brain called the “connectome.” It allows scientists to determine whether one area of the brain is physically connected to another area of the brain, which allows them to compare similarities and differences between two populations. Conclusions are that there are differences in the way nerves connect when comparing male brains with female brains. It appears that a type of hardwiring occurs during adolescence, a time when many of the so-called secondary sexual characteristics such as facial hair in men and breasts in women develop. Researchers believe that these hardwiring differences play an important role in understanding the reason males are generally better at spatial tasks involving muscle control, while females are generally better at verbal tasks involving memory and intutition.

Gender and Map Reading, #1

For several years now research studies related to gender differences have provided interesting tidbits on how male and female brains differ. For example, common wisdom has been that the male brain seems to be better at map reading. There are always exceptions because each brain is so individualized. Some women are better at map-reading than some men, but the generalization is in favor of the male brain. Women, on the other hand, appear to be better at recalling the content of conversations. A pioneering study at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has shown for the first time that the brains of men and women are wired up differently. Turns out that many of the connections in a typical male brain run between the front and the back of the same side of the brain, whereas in a typical female brain the connections are more likely to run from side to side between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This goes along with earlier studies that indicated the Corpus Callosum, the largest band of horizontal connecting fibers in the brain, tends to be larger in the female brain.

Sleep Deprivation #6

Missing out on sleep can damage both your physical and emotional health. Jane  Brody, writer of a "Well" blog in the New York Times, has some suggestions.
1.  Engaging in physical activity (exercise) during the day can help you to fall asleep later on in the day. Because physical activity can increase your alertness, however, avoid exercising within 2-3 hours of  bedtime.
2. Managing anxiety and negative stress can help improve your sleep. Try taking a bath, relaxing your muscles, or meditating just before going to bed.
3. Making healthy choices about food and beverages can help improve the quality of your sleep. Avoid eating a big meal, drinking alcohol , or ingesting caffeine just before going to bed.
4. Consulting with your physician about prescription and over-the-counter drugs can result in medication changes that could improve your quality of sleep.
Each brain has an optimum sleep requirement. Make it a priority to figure out what your brain needs and then figure out how to give it what it needs.

Where Did The Sound Originate?

Can you tell where a sound is coming from? Identifying where a sound originated from isn't always an easy task, and it may become even more difficult as people age or develop hearing problems. New research published in the Journal of Neuroscience has found that a small group of neurons in the inferior colliculus (IC) are key to performing this task. The higher-level areas of the brain that actually determine what direction a sound comes from can't actually use the sound to solve the problem. Instead, these areas have to rely on how the sound was represented in electrical activity in lower-level auditory areas of the brain. In this work, the researchers recorded neural activity from the inferior colliculus in animals as they listened to sounds coming from various directions. The researchers found that they could figure out what direction the sound was coming from based on the pattern of activity from a collection of less than a hundred IC neurons. 
http://www.masseyeandear.org/news/press_releases/recent/decoding_sounds_source/