Recovery for Stroke Survivors With Magnetic Brain Stimulation

There is new hope for better recovery for patients who survive a debilitating stroke. Italian researchers have discovered that the use of magnets to stimulate the nerve cells of the brain can help to correct the condition known as hemispatial neglect, which prevents stroke patients from seeing or recognizing anything on one side of their body. The details of the research appear in the journal Neurology.

Previous studies have estimated that between 20 and 50 percent of patients suffer hemispatial neglect following a stroke. The condition most often occurs when stroke damaged is suffered in the right half of the brain.

In a news release, study author Giacomo Koch, MD, Ph.D., of the Santa Lucia Foundation in Rome, Italy stated, “The treatment is based on the theory that hemispatial neglect results when a stroke disrupts the balance between the two hemispheres of the brain. He went on to explaind, “A stroke on one side of the brain causes the other side to become overactive, and the circuits become overloaded.”

6:42 PM | 2 comments | Read More

Free Download | Systems Engineering to Improve Traumatic Brain Injury Care in the Military Health System: Workshop Summary

This book makes a strong case for taking advantage of the best of two disciplines - health care and operational systems engineering (a combination of science and mathematics to describe, analyze, plan, design, and integrate systems with complex interactions among people, processes, materials, equipment, and facilities) - to improve the efficiency and quality of health care delivery, as well as health care outcomes. 

Those most interested in pursuing this approach include leaders in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs, who are committed to finding ways of improving the quality of care for military personnel, veterans, and their families. Intrigued by the possibilities, DOD decided to sponsor a series of workshops to explore the potential of operational systems engineering principals and tools for military health care, beginning with the diagnosis and care of traumatic brain injury (TBI), one of the most prevalent, difficult and challenging injuries suffered by warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

9:36 PM | 0 comments | Read More