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Musical training in childhood likely to improve memo.. aid treatment of neurological disorders, find studies – Firstpost

Posted on October 10, 2020 by Danzig

The ability to create and respond to music is said to be one of the key evolutionary developments made by humankind. Humans found meaning in music long before finding meaning in words. This is the reason why understanding the human brains connection with music has been an area of interest for scientists for centuries now. Many studies have shown that getting musical training can hone many cognitive skills and functions.

A study published in 2009 in the Journal of Neuroscience indicated that just 15 months of musical training in early childhood can improve musically relevant motor and auditory skills thanks to training-induced structural changes in the brain. Another study in BJPsych International in 2017 shows that the way music stimulates the brain can be used as a non-invasive psychotherapeutic method to treat neurological disorders like autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease. This study also suggests that music therapy can aid children with epilepsy.

Music for attention and memory

A new study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience has found new evidence to support this beneficial link between music and the human brain. The Chile-based researchers behind this study have discovered that children who are trained in music, especially those who learn to play an instrument, not only have better memory and concentration levels but also the parts of their brain related to attention, focus control and auditory encoding are more activated. This brain activation enables them to be better readers, have higher resilience towards adversity, greater creativity and therefore have a better quality of life.

The study included 40 healthy, right-handed, Spanish-speaking children aged 10-13 years, all of whom had normal hearing and normal or correct-to-normal (meaning they wear glasses or contact lenses) vision. Twenty of these children were musically trained members of youth orchestras in Santiago, Chile, with at least two years of instrumental training. These participants practiced their instruments (ranging from flutes and clarinets to violins and cellos) at least two hours per week, had orchestra rehearsals at least once a week and had started their musical training around the age of nine years.

The other 20 participants of the study were recruited from Santiagos public schools and had no musical training beyond what was given in their school. Unlike the musically-trained group, these children were unable to read or write musical scores. The attention and working memory of all participants was tested by the researchers using something called a bimodal (auditory/visual) attention and working memory (WM) task. During these tasks, the participants were exposed to visual and auditory stimuli and their brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The study found that there were two mechanisms that contributed to the marked improvements in attention and memory of the musically trained participants. First, these children had a higher activation level of the fronto-parietal control network of the brain which is linked to attention, focus and concentration mechanisms. Second, these kids also had higher activation of two other parts of the brain - left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) - which are linked with the phonological loop. The phonological loop is the component of working memory that keeps auditory information active in the consciousness, thereby helping memory recall and problem-solving abilities.

The study found that while these parts of the brain were highly activated among musically-trained participants, the same did not occur with the other children. The researchers, therefore, recommend musical training for all children to improve cognitive abilities like attention and memory. Moreover, the researchers insist that such training would not only help children develop their minds better but also bring them joy by being able to learn the universal language of music.

For more information, read our article on Tips to improve brain power.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.

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Musical training in childhood likely to improve memo.. aid treatment of neurological disorders, find studies - Firstpost

Blood Sugar Control Could Help Protect Neurologic Health in Patients with Diabetes – Endocrinology Network

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Danzig

New research from the results of a 1000-person study suggests improving blood sugar control could improve brain health for individuals with type 2 diabetes.

An analysis of data from the Look AHEAD (Action for Health In Diabetes) study, results of the study indicate improvements in glycemic control, but not weight status were linked to better subsequent cognitive performance.

"It's important to properly control your blood sugar to avoid the bad brain effects of your diabetes," saidOwen Carmichael, PhD, professor and director of Biomedical Imaging at the Louisiana State University Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in a statement. Don't think you can simply let yourself get all the way to the obese range, lose some of the weight, and everything in the brain is fine. The brain might have already turned a corner that it can't turn back from."

With an interest in how disease management might impact the cognitive function of in patients with type 2 diabetes, Carmichael and a team of colleagues hoped to design a study to describe associations between physiological markers and cognitive performance in patients with diabetes in the Look AHEAD study. A randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of intensive lifestyle intervention, the study provided data related to more than 5000 diabetic patients aged 45-76 years old.

Patients included in the study randomized to the intensive lifestyle intervention were prescribed to a daily calorie goal of 1200-1800 and a physical activity goal of more than 175 minutes per week with the aim of inducing weight loss to average more than 7% at 1-year and to be maintained over time.

As part of the ancillary studies, patients from the Look AHEAD study were invited to take part in cognitive assessments and 3920 participants provided at least 1 cognitive assessment between years 8-13 of follow-up. These assessments provided investigators information related to short-term memory, planning, impulse control, attention, ability to switch between tasks, verbal learning, and overall memory. For the purpose of the current analysis, investigators only included patients who provided 2 or 3 cognitive assessments, which yielded a cohort of 1089 individuals.

Of the 1089 included in the study, the mean age was 58.36.7 years, 58.8% were female, and 84.5% of patients had a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater. Investigators pointed out all 1089 patients underwent at least 2 cognitive assessments and a cohort of 315 patients completed all 3 cognitive assessments.

Upon analysis, results of the study suggested greater improvements in blood sugar control were associated with increased cognitive scores. Specific associations included fasting blood glucose and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (P=.0148), fasting blood glucose and Digit Symbol Coding (P=.0360), and HbA1C and DSC (P=.0477).

However, investigators noted weight loss appeared to have mixed associations with cognitive scoresnoting greater BMI reduction and worse auditory verbal learning test scores overall (P=.0053) while greater BMI reduction and better digit symbol coding scores were observed among patients who were overweight but not obese (P=.010).

Results of the study also indicated apparent associations were strongest among patients who were overweight but not obese at baseline. Additionally, investigators pointed out associations appeared to also be stronger Amon those with a history of cardiovascular disease at baseline.

"The results were worse for people who had obesity at the beginning of the study. That's a 'too little, too late' type of message," added Carmichael, in the aforementioned statement. "People with diabetes who let their obesity go too far, for too long may be past the point of no return, cognition-wise."

This study, Long-term change in physiological markers and cognitive performance in type 2 diabetes: the Look AHEAD Study, was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

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Blood Sugar Control Could Help Protect Neurologic Health in Patients with Diabetes - Endocrinology Network

The Center For Regenerative Medicine Has Over 20 Years Experience In Neurological Diseases, More Than 50,000 Cases Treated – CBS Miami

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Danzig

The Center for Regenerative Medicine in Miami, Florida, helps patients get back to a functional level of life and activities using Regenerative medicine and autologous therapy. Since 2000, the Center has developed non-surgical and rehabilitation techniques to treat and manage various diseases related to Neurology, Ophthalmology, and Orthopedics.

The Center for Regenerative Medicine includes a team of dedicated professionals working with cutting edge medical technology. The Center has patients from around the world including celebrities, sports legends, professional athletes, amateur athletes, dancers, and more.

The Center for Regenerative Medicines core values are as follows:

The Founder/Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine is Alimorad Farshchian, MD. He is a medical doctor, medical author, and humanitarian. In 2005, Dr. Farshchian was the first doctor in the U.S.A. to perform an autologous biologics transplantation into an arthritic knee. Dr. Farshchian served as the TEAM USA Track & Field Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine consulting physician, for the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

For more information and patient testimonials, visit http://www.NeuroRegenesis.com

The Center for Regenerative Medicine in Miami, Florida concentrates on helping patients to get back to a functional level of life and their activities using Regenerative medicine.

Founded in 2000 by Dr. A.J. Farshchian, medical director of the center in order to pursue pioneering regimens in the treatment of arthritis and neurodegenerative diseases. The Center for Regenerative Medicine has over 20 years experience in Neurological diseases and more than 50,000 cases treated.

Above content provided by The Center for Regenerative Medicine.

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The Center For Regenerative Medicine Has Over 20 Years Experience In Neurological Diseases, More Than 50,000 Cases Treated - CBS Miami

Amicus Therapeutics Receives European Medicines Agency PRIME Designation for CLN6 Batten Disease Gene TherapyAdditional Phase 1/2 Data to be Presented…

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Danzig

CRANBURY, N.J., Sept. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FOLD), a global, patient-dedicated biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and delivering novel medicines for rare diseases, today announced the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted Priority Medicines (PRIME) designation to AT-GTX-501, the Companys investigational gene therapy for children living with variant late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis 6 (vLINCL6) disease, also known as CLN6 Batten disease.

The PRIME initiative provides enhanced support and increased interaction to developers of promising medicines with the goal of optimizing development plans and speeding regulatory evaluations. The goal of EMAs PRIME is to help patients benefit as early as possible from innovative new therapies that have demonstrated the potential to significantly address an unmet medical need.

The PRIME designation is based on data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating a single dose of AT-GTX-501 for the treatment of children with CLN6 Batten disease. Additional information about the trial is available at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02725580).

We are very pleased that the EMA has recognized the potential of our CLN6 gene therapy. Based on our preliminary clinical data, we believe AT-GTX-501 could potentially be a transformative treatment option for children living with CLN6 Batten disease, an ultra-rare, debilitating condition that presents in early childhood and is often associated with childhood death, said John F. Crowley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the EMA to accelerate development of this first potential treatment option for children living with CLN6 Batten disease.

Additional data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical study will be presented at the Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting in October. Regulatory interactions are ongoing and the Company expects to provide feedback on the path forward in early 2021.

In the U.S., AT-GTX-501 previously was granted Rare Pediatric Disease and Orphan Drug designations by the United States Food and Drug Administration. In the EU, the Company now holds PRIME and orphan medicinal product designations.

About AT-GTX-501AT-GTX-501 is a novel gene therapy in Phase 1/2 development for CLN6 Batten disease, a rare, fatal, inherited lysosomal disorder with no approved treatment that primarily affects the nervous system. AT-GTX-501 is dosed in a one-time intrathecal infusion to deliver a functional copy of the CLN6 gene to cells of the central nervous system. The therapy is designed to address the underlying enzyme deficiency that results in progressive cell damage and neurodevelopmental and physical decline.

About Batten DiseaseBatten disease is the common name for a broad class of rare, fatal, inherited disorders of the nervous system also known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses, or NCLs. In these disorders, a defect in a specific gene triggers a cascade of problems that interferes with a cells ability to recycle certain molecules. Each gene is called CLN (ceroid lipofuscinosis, neuronal) and given a different number designation as its subtype. There are 13 known forms of Batten disease often referred to as CLN1-8; 10-14. The various types of Batten disease have similar features and symptoms but vary in severity and age of onset.

Most forms of Batten disease/NCLs usually begin during childhood. The clinical course often involves progressive loss of independent adaptive skills such as mobility, feeding and communication. Patients may also experience vision loss, personality changes, behavioral problems, learning impairment and seizures. Patients typically experience progressive loss of motor function and eventually become wheelchair-bound, are then bedridden and die prematurely.

About Amicus TherapeuticsAmicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FOLD) is a global, patient-dedicated biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and delivering novel high-quality medicines for people living with rare metabolic diseases. With extraordinary patient focus, Amicus Therapeutics is committed to advancing and expanding a robust pipeline of cutting-edge, first- or best-in-class medicines for rare metabolic diseases. For more information please visit the companys website at http://www.amicusrx.com, and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 relating to preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates, the timing and reporting of results from preclinical studies and clinical trials and the prospects and timing of the potential regulatory approval of our product candidates. In particular, this press release relates to interim data from an ongoing Phase 1/2 study to investigate intrathecal administration of AAV-CLN6 gene therapy. The inclusion of forward-looking statements arising from this interim data, ongoing study and natural history preliminary data should not be regarded as a representation by us that any of our plans will be achieved. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this press release may turn out to be wrong and can be affected by inaccurate assumptions we might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. For example, with respect to statements regarding the goals, progress, timing, and outcomes of discussions with regulatory authorities, and in particular the potential goals, progress, timing, and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including, without limitation: the potential that results of clinical or preclinical studies indicate that the product candidates are unsafe or ineffective; the potential that it may be difficult to enroll patients in our clinical trials; the potential that regulatory authorities, including the FDA, EMA, and PMDA, may not grant or may delay approval for our product candidates; the potential that preclinical and clinical studies could be delayed because we identify serious side effects or other safety issues; and the potential that we will need additional funding to complete all of our studies. Further, the results of earlier preclinical studies and/or clinical trials may not be predictive of future results. The interim data and Phase 1/2 study discussed herein is inherently preliminary and early in the study, derived from a limited patient set, and later trial results with this patient set or others may not be consistent with these preliminary results. In addition, all forward-looking statements are subject to other risks detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and we undertake no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

CONTACTS:

Investors:Amicus TherapeuticsAndrew FaughnanDirector, Investor Relationsafaughnan@amicusrx.com(609) 662-3809

Media:Amicus TherapeuticsDiana MooreHead of Global Corporate Communicationsdmoore@amicusrx.com(609) 662-5079

FOLDG

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Amicus Therapeutics Receives European Medicines Agency PRIME Designation for CLN6 Batten Disease Gene TherapyAdditional Phase 1/2 Data to be Presented...

COVID-19 and neurological training in Europe: from early challenges to future perspectives – DocWire News

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Danzig

This article was originally published here

Neurol Sci. 2020 Sep 24. doi: 10.1007/s10072-020-04723-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The worldwide SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is dramatically affecting health systems with consequences also for neurological residency training. Here we report early experiences and challenges that European neurologists and residents faced. The breadth of the pandemic and the social restrictions induced substantial modifications in both inpatient and outpatient clinical care and academic activities as well, adversely affecting our residency training. On the other hand we see also opportunities, such as gaining more clinical and professional skills. All these drastic and sudden changes lead us to reconsider some educational aspects of our training program that need to be improved in order to better prepare the neurologists of the future to manage unexpected and large emergency situations like the one we are living in these days. A reconsideration of the neurological training program could be beneficial to guarantee high standard level of the residency training in this period and beyond.

PMID:32970238 | DOI:10.1007/s10072-020-04723-9

UNITY Biotechnology Announces Actions to Focus on Senolytic Programs in Ophthalmology and Neurology – Yahoo Finance

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Danzig

- Corporate restructuring to extend cash runway through mid-2022 and key milestones -

- UBX1325 to enter clinical development in patients with diabetic macular edema -

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNITY Biotechnology (UNITY) [NASDAQ:UBX], a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to extend healthspan by slowing, halting or reversing diseases of aging, today announced it has initiated a restructuring to align its resources on cellular senescence programs in ophthalmology and neurology while further extending operating capital. UNITY will advance UBX1325 to Phase 1 clinical development in patients with diabetic macular edema, and expects to dose the first patient in the second half of 2020, consistent with prior guidance.

UNITY has prioritized its portfolio and aligned resources to deliver on key development milestones and drive innovation:

Revised Financial Guidance

UNITY will reduce its workforce by approximately 30% to optimize capital allocation and align with key strategic priorities, resulting in an estimated 75 full-time employees by the end of the year. These steps to focus resources are expected to extend the cash runway through mid-2022, with current cash and cash equivalents projected to fund UNITY through key clinical data readouts for UBX1325 and IND-enabling studies for UBX1967.

"UNITY is a pioneer in the development of therapeutics targeting senescent cells at the crux of many age-related diseases, and we will continue to build on this scientific foundation as we advance our pipeline," said Anirvan Ghosh, Ph.D., chief executive officer of UNITY. "At UNITY, we have an extraordinary team that has contributed greatly to the advancement of this field, and we are deeply grateful for the contributions that all of our employees have made. Moving forward we will have a leaner and more agile team, which is well-resourced to advance our pipeline programs to key milestones."

Dr. Ghosh added: We are excited about advancing UNITYs lead ophthalmology program, UBX1325, into clinical studies in patients with diabetic macular edema, an indication with a well-defined development path and objective endpoints. In addition, I see significant opportunities emerging from programs in our preclinical pipeline targeting ophthalmologic and neurologic disease. I look forward to using my experience leading drug discovery and development programs in these areas to advance the development of a new class of high efficacy therapies.

About UNITYUNITY is developing a new class of therapeutics to slow, halt or reverse diseases of aging. UNITY's current focus is on creating medicines to selectively eliminate or modulate senescent cells and thereby provide transformative benefit in age-related ophthalmologic and neurologic diseases. More information is available atwww.unitybiotechnology.comor follow us onTwitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements including statements related to UNITYs understanding of cellular senescence and the role it plays in diseases of aging, the potential for UNITY to develop therapeutics to extend healthspan, including for ophthalmologic and neurologic disease, the potential for UNITY to successfully commence and complete clinical studies of UBX1325 for diabetic macular edema and other ophthalmological diseases, the expected timing of initial results of the Phase 1 study of UBX1325 in diabetic macular edema, the expected size of UNITYs workforce following the restructuring, the impact of the workforce reduction on UNITYs business, and UNITYs expectations regarding the sufficiency of its cash runway. These statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including the risk that the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic may continue to negatively impact the development of preclinical and clinical drug candidates, including delaying or disrupting the enrollment of patients in clinical trials. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of the Company in general, see UNITYs most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 31, 2020, as well as other documents that may be filed by UNITY from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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UNITY Biotechnology Announces Actions to Focus on Senolytic Programs in Ophthalmology and Neurology - Yahoo Finance

Stroke patients with COVID-19 have increased inflammation, stroke severity and death – The Mix

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Danzig

This study of ischemic stroke patients is the first to associate the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in patients with COVID-19 and ischemic stroke and stroke severity.

Chen Lin, M.D.,assistant professor in the UAB Department of NeurologyStroke patients who also have COVID-19 showed increased systemic inflammation, a more serious stroke severity and a much higher rate of death, compared to stroke patients who did not have COVID-19, according to University of Alabama at Birmingham research led by Chen Lin, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAB Department of Neurology.

The research, published in the journal Brain, Behavior & Immunity Health, is a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study of 60 ischemic stroke patients admitted to UAB Hospital between late March and early May 2020. Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel for the brain is blocked by a clot, depriving some brain tissue of oxygen. All patients were tested for COVID-19 at admission.

The UAB researchers mined electronic medical records of confirmed stroke cases for information on age, gender and race; clinical variables; laboratory data, including complete blood counts, blood chemistry and coagulation tests; and outcomes, including death, length of hospital stay and condition at discharge.

The ratio of the number of neutrophils to the number of lymphocytes, or the NLR, as calculated from blood count data, served as an index of the systemic inflammatory response. While other researchers have associated NLR with COVID-19 disease severity, refractory disease and even as an independent factor for mortality, our study is the first to associate the NLR in patients with COVID-19 and ischemic stroke and stroke severity, Lin said.

Of the 60 hospitalized patients with acute systemic stroke, nine were positive for a COVID-19 infection.

The UAB research had four major findings. First, patients who were positive for COVID-19 presented with a more severe neurological deficit at admission, as measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, or NIHSS, score, which averaged 18.4. Second, all patients with an NIHSS score higher than 4 including uninfected patients had a significantly higher NLR than those with lower scores. The NIHSS is used to predict lesion size and gauge stroke severity.

Third, patients with COVID-19 had an increased inflammatory response, including significantly higher neutrophil counts, lower lymphocyte counts and an increased NLR, compared with uninfected patients. Finally, stroke patients with COVID-19 had a significantly higher mortality rate 44.4 percent, versus 7.6 percent for uninfected stroke patients.

Two other studies this year have reported clinical and laboratory differences in ischemic stroke patients with and without COVID-19, Lin says, but neither addressed racial differences or NLR differences between groups.

Diana M. Lin, UAB Department of PathologyWe have reported the first experience within the Stroke Belt of the Southern United States, which has the highest proportion of African American stroke patients, said Lin, who is also the director of the Stroke Recovery Clinic in the UAB Division of Cerebrovascular Disease. In the UAB study, African Americans comprised 55.6 percent of those who had COVID-19 and stroke and 37.7 percent of those with only stroke.

Interestingly, in our patients with stroke and COVID-19, the neutrophil and lymphocyte levels were only borderline high and low, respectively, Lin said, yet the NLR was almost twice as high as in patients without COVID-19. This potentially indicates that the systemic inflammatory response triggered by COVID-19 can cascade from multiple components.

Co-authors with Lin for the study, Racial differences and an increased systemic inflammatory response are seen in patients with COVID-19 and ischemic stroke, are Yurany A. Arevalo, UAB Department of Neurology; Hely D. Nanavati, Department of Epidemiology, UAB School of Public Health; and Diana M. Lin, UAB Department of Pathology.

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Stroke patients with COVID-19 have increased inflammation, stroke severity and death - The Mix

Pediatric Neurology Device Market Detailed analysis of current Industry figures with forecasts growth by 2026 | Elana, Inova Healthcare System,…

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Danzig

Pediatric Neurology Device Market Scenario 2020-2026:

The Global Pediatric Neurology Device market exhibits comprehensive information that is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists during the decade 2014-2026. On the basis of historical data, Pediatric Neurology Device market report provides key segments and their sub-segments, revenue and demand & supply data. Considering technological breakthroughs of the market Pediatric Neurology Device industry is likely to appear as a commendable platform for emerging Pediatric Neurology Device market investors.

This Pediatric Neurology Device Market Report covers the manufacturers data, including shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution, etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better.

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The complete value chain and downstream and upstream essentials are scrutinized in this report. Essential trends like globalization, growth progress boost fragmentation regulation & ecological concerns. This Market report covers technical data, manufacturing plants analysis, and raw material sources analysis of Pediatric Neurology Device Industry as well as explains which product has the highest penetration, their profit margins, and R&D status. The report makes future projections based on the analysis of the subdivision of the market which includes the global market size by product category, end-user application, and various regions.

Topmost Leading Manufacturer Covered in this report:Elana, Inova Healthcare System, Medtronic, The Nemours Foundation, Stryker, Boston Scientific, B.Braun Melsungen, Integra LifeSciences, St. Jude Medical

Product Segment Analysis: Neurosurgery Devices, Neurostimulator, Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Management Devices

Application Segment Analysis:

HospitalsHealthcare CentersNeurological Research Centers

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Regional Analysis For Pediatric Neurology DeviceMarket

North America(the United States, Canada, and Mexico)Europe(Germany, France, UK, Russia, and Italy)Asia-Pacific(China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia)South America(Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, etc.)The Middle East and Africa(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa)

Market Synopsis:The market research report consists of extensive primary research, as well as an in-depth analysis of the qualitative and quantitative aspects by various industry specialists and professionals, to gain a deeper insight into the market and the overall landscape.

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At last, the study gives out details about the major challenges that are going to impact market growth. They also report provides comprehensive details about the business opportunities to key stakeholders to grow their business and raise revenues in the precise verticals. The report will aid the companys existing or intend to join in this market to analyze the various aspects of this domain before investing or expanding their business in the Pediatric Neurology Device markets.

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Pediatric Neurology Device Market Detailed analysis of current Industry figures with forecasts growth by 2026 | Elana, Inova Healthcare System,...

Most Seizure Medications Carry a Life-and-Death Warning Heres the Problem – SciTechDaily

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Danzig

Most seizure medications carry a life-and-death warning: Taking this drug may increase suicide risk. Now researchers, includingMichael Sperling, MD, a professor in the department of Neurology and Director of the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory and the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Thomas Jefferson University, have discovered that the warning does not apply to many antiseizure drugs.

A new analysis, initiated by Pavel Klein, MD, a neurologist at the Mid-Atlantic Epilepsy and Sleep Center in Bethesda revealed no evidence for increased suicide risk from recently developed antiseizure medications. Despite the lack of data, all anti-seizure medications carry the warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The findings, reported today (August 2, 2021) in JAMA Neurology,call on the FDA to change its approach for applying class warnings to medication.

The approach the FDA has taken is concerning for doctors and patients alike because its not evidence based, says Dr. Sperling.

In 2008, the FDA analyzed results from nearly 200 clinical trials that assessed the efficacy of many drugs including 11 anti-seizure medications. The analysis revealed that compared with placebo, anti-seizure medications nearly doubled suicide risk among patients being treated for epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, and other diseases including chronic pain. The FDA concluded that anti-seizure medications increase suicide risk.

However, subsequent analyses did not find the same results. Yet, as a result of the FDA study, all anti-seizure medications approved since 2008 carry a warning for suicidality.

The warning affected the way new drugs are developed, which then impacted patient treatment. Trials of anti-seizure drugs since the warning came out have been careful to assess suicidality, but have also excluded people with histories of suicidal ideation. This means that trial results are difficult to extrapolate to patient treatment.

Now when a patient with epilepsy and a history of suicidal ideation comes into my office, I know nothing about whether any drug that I could prescribe is particularly risky to that individual or not, Dr. Sperling said.

Another concern is that patients may be reluctant to start or keep taking anti-seizure medications because of the warning. For patients with epilepsy, however, not taking their medications could mean more seizures, and a risk of dying from increased seizures.

Drs. Klein and Sperling wanted to find out if the warning actually applied to drugs approved since the FDAs study in 2008.

The researchers reviewed all randomized, placebo-controlled phase II and III clinical trials of the five new antiseizures medicationseslicarbazepine, perampanel, brivaracetam, cannabidiol (epidiolex) and cenobamateapproved by the FDA since 2008 that assessed suicidality. In total, they evaluated the results of 17 studies involving nearly 6000 patients.

They found no evidence for increased risk of suicidal thinking or behavior in the five drugs. Suicidal thinking or behavior occurred in 12 of the 4000 actively-treated patients in the trial (0.3%) and seven out of nearly 2000 placebo-treated patients (0.35%).

Our findings indicate the nonspecific suicide warning for all epilepsy drugs is simply not justifiable, says Dr. Sperling. The results are not surprising. Different drugs affect cells in different ways. So theres no reason to expect that every drug would increase suicide risk for every patient.

Although he acknowledges that some patients with epilepsy have pre-existing depression and perhaps are at greater risk for suicidal ideation, most do not.

Theres no reason to think that somebody with no history of depression and no risk for it would necessarily be at an increased risk for suicidality, he adds.

As some of the same brain chemistry that underlies epilepsy may be at play in depression, Dr. Sperling advises patients to pay attention to how they are feeling and to let their doctors know if they are having suicidal thoughts.

Patients and doctors must balance risks. The risk of epilepsy and seizures that are not controlled is greater than the risk of suicidality from anti-seizure medications that the FDA has highlighted, he says.

Dr. Sperling hopes that the evidence speaks for itself and that the FDA will reconsider their blanket-warnings on classes of drugs. Without the evidence to support it, the net effect of such class risk on drugs have consequences that may be worse if patients are afraid to take their medication, he says.

Reference: Suicidality risk of newer anti-seizure medications: a meta-analysis by Klein, P., Devinsky, O., French, J., Harden C., Krauss, G., McCarter, R., and Sperling. M., 2 August 2021, JAMA Neurology.DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.2480

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Most Seizure Medications Carry a Life-and-Death Warning Heres the Problem - SciTechDaily

Surgical Table Market Research Report by Technology, by Surgery Type, by Material, by End-use – Global Forecast to 2025 – Cumulative Impact of…

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Danzig

New York, Sept. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Surgical Table Market Research Report by Technology, by Surgery Type, by Material, by End-use - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05968803/?utm_source=GNW

The Global Surgical Table Market is expected to grow from USD 921.67 Million in 2019 to USD 1,592.67 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.54%.

Market Segmentation & Coverage:This research report categorizes the Surgical Table to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

Based on Technology, the Surgical Table Market studied across Electric, Hydraulic, and Manual.

Based on Surgery Type, the Surgical Table Market studied across Bariatric Surgical Table, General Surgical Table, Neurology Surgical Table, Orthopaedic Surgical Table, Specialty Surgical Table, and Urology Surgical Table.

Based on Material, the Surgical Table Market studied across Composite and Metal.

Based on End-use, the Surgical Table Market studied across Ambulatory Surgical Centers and Hospitals.

Based on Geography, the Surgical Table Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

Company Usability Profiles:The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Surgical Table Market including AGA Sanittsartikel GmbH, ALVO Limited Liability Company Sp. k., Amtai Medical Equipment Inc, Berchtold GmbH & Co. KG, BRUMABA GmbH & Co. KG, Denyers International PTY, Eschmann Holdings Ltd, Getinge AB, Heal Force Bio-meditech Holdings Limited, Hill-Rom Holdings Inc, Infinium Medical, Lojer Oy, Merivaara Corp., Mizuho Medical Co. Ltd, Narang Medical Limited, S I Surgical Private Limited, Skytron LLC, Staan Bio-Med Engineering Private Limited, Steris PLC, and Stille AB.

FPNV Positioning Matrix:The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Surgical Table Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Competitive Strategic Window:The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.

Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments

The report answers questions such as:1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Surgical Table Market?2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Surgical Table Market during the forecast period?3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Surgical Table Market?4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Surgical Table Market?5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Surgical Table Market?6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Surgical Table Market?Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05968803/?utm_source=GNW

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Surgical Table Market Research Report by Technology, by Surgery Type, by Material, by End-use - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of...

PharmaTher Signs Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement for Patented Ketamine Formulation Targeting Mental Health, Neurological and Pain Disorders -…

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Danzig

TORONTO, Jan. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Newscope Capital Corporation (CSE: PHRM) (OTCQB: PHRRF), who through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PharmaTher Inc. (PharmaTher), is a specialty life sciences company focused on the research and development of psychedelic pharmaceuticals, is pleased to announce that PharmaTher has entered into an Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement (the Agreement) with the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) for the development and commercialization of a patented combination formulation of FDA-approved ketamine and betaine (KETABET) as a potential next-generation ketamine treatment for mental health, neurological and pain disorders.

KETABET has shown in clinical research to enhance the antidepressant effect while having the potential to significantly reduce the known negative side effects of ketamine.1 Side effects such as hallucinations, confusion, memory loss and abuse liability compromise the compliance and potential therapeutic value of ketamine.

Through a proprietary microneedle (MN) patch, KETABET aims to empower patients to dose their medication remotely, safely and conveniently rather than being under supervision by a healthcare provider at a certified medical office. KETABET MN patch has the potential to incorporate anti-tampering and anti-abuse features because of the combined presence of ketamine and betaine and the delivery format of the product that would parallel the approach used for the tamper-resistant transdermal fentanyl patch.

PharmaTher will seek FDA approval to conduct a Phase II clinical study for KETABET targeting the more than 300 million people who suffer from major depressive disorder and 100 million people who are resistant to available treatments worldwide.

We believe KETABET has the potential to change the way mental health, neurological and pain disorders will be treated for the hundreds of millions of people globally who are suffering from these debilitating conditions, said Fabio Chianelli, CEO of PharmaTher. We are pursuing the clinical development of KETABET to overcome the current limitations of ketamine and to unlock the known potential therapeutic value of ketamine for FDA approval.

Currently, pharmaceutical companies are developing new types of antidepressants. Approved antidepressants have significant limitations, including delayed response rates and unwanted side effects causing poor patient compliance and low remission rates.

Ketamine was approved by the FDA in 1970 and is clinically used for analgesia, sedation, and anesthetic induction.

Ketamine is emerging as a viable treatment option for depression. Recent clinical studies have shown that low dose ketamine produces a rapid-acting and sustained antidepressant effect in major depressive disorder2, bipolar depression3, depression with suicidal ideation4 and post-traumatic stress disorder5. Despite this, the potential for abuse and misuse of ketamine and the adverse mental effects of ketamine use such as dissociative, hallucinogenic, and amnesic effects6 leads to its limited clinical use and discontinuation.

The FDA granted Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy designations for SPRAVATO (esketamine) nasal spray. In March 2019, the FDA approved SPRAVATO, in conjunction with an oral antidepressant, for treatment-resistant depression to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. According to the FDA, because of the risk of serious adverse outcomes resulting from sedation and dissociation caused by Spravato administration, and the potential for abuse and misuse of the drug, it is only available through a restricted distribution system, under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy.7 The estimated annual cost per patient for SPRAVATO could cost up to $49 thousand with limited reimbursement, whereas intravenous ketamine could cost up to $5,000 per patient annually without any reimbursement. Both require numerous administration sessions in a certified medical office under medical supervision by a health care provider.

COMPASS Pathways plc is developing COMP360 psilocybin therapy to be administered in conjunction with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression. In 2019, Compass Pathways plc completed a Phase I clinical trial and is currently evaluating COMP360 in a Phase IIb trial. The therapy protocol for COMP360, which would last approximately six to eight hours, includes the presence of a therapist and assisting therapist throughout the treatment session.8

PharmaTher aims to develop KETABET in a proprietary microneedle patch for FDA approval in certain mental health, neurological and pain disorders and provide the patient with a potentially convenient, safe and effective ketamine treatment through the combination of two FDA-approved drugs, ketamine and betaine.

Betaine anhydrous (CYSTADANE) was approved by the FDA in 1996 for the treatment of homocystinuria to decrease elevated homocysteine blood concentrations.

There is growing evidence that betaine plays a critical role in regulating brain functions and has an antidepressant-like effect.9 Betaine has been reported to prevent seizures in rodents10, to improve symptoms of Rett syndrome11, and to delay the onset of neurologic impairment due to vitamin B12 deficiency12 clinically. Furthermore, betaine attenuates memory deficits induced by homocysteine.13

Based on preclinical studies that supported the granted patent and patent applications of KETABET, the combination of ketamine and betaine produced more robust antidepressant-like responses than their individual effects and that the combination blocked the psychotomimetic effects of ketamine.1 This suggests that betaine can be considered as an add-on therapy to ketamine or as a fixed-dose combination therapy for treatment-resistant depression, treatment-resistant bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and chronic pain.

Under the terms of the Agreement, PharmaTher gained exclusive worldwide development and commercial rights to an intellectual property portfolio consisting of a granted patent (Taiwan patent: I648049) and patent applications (International Publication Number: WO2017205666A1) titled, Method and composition for decreasing the psychotomimetic side effect and addictive disorder of ketamine in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Canada, Israel and China.

Consistent with industry standards, PharmaTher paid a one-time fee for entering into the Agreement, and all other future payments will be based on clinical trial and revenue milestones reached by PharmaTher.

About The National Health Research Institutes

The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) is a non-profit foundation established in 1995 by the government of Taiwan. Being an autonomous research organization under the supervision of the Department of Health, the NHRI is dedicated to the enhancement of medical research and the improvement of health care in this country. Scientists at the NHRI conduct mission-oriented medical research and investigate many aspects of the basic biomedical sciences, as well as specific diseases. These range from the common problems such as aging, cancer, infectious diseases, mental disorders, occupational diseases, to health policy. For more information about the NHRI visit http://www.nhri.edu.tw.

About PharmaTher Inc.

PharmaTher Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newscope Capital Corporation (CSE: PHRM) (OTCQB: PHRRF), is a specialty life sciences company focused on the research and development of psychedelic pharmaceuticals, such as ketamine and psilocybin, for FDA approval to treat mental health, neurological and pain disorders.

Learn more at:PharmaTher.comand follow us on Twitter,LinkedIn andFacebook.

For more information, please contact:

Fabio ChianelliChief Executive OfficerPharmaTher Inc.Tel: 1-888-846-3171Email: info@pharmather.comWebsite: http://www.pharmather.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider have reviewed or accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated, potential and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on theNewscope Capital Corporations (the Company)current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Forward-looking information in this press release includes information with respect to development and commercialization of a patented combination formulation of FDA-approved ketamine and betaine (KETABET) as a potential next-generation ketamine treatment for mental health, neurological and pain disorders, KETABET aims to empower patients to dose their medication remotely, safely and conveniently rather than being under supervision by a healthcare provider at a certified medical office, KETABET MN patch has the potential to incorporate anti-tampering and anti-abuse features, seek FDA approval to conduct a Phase II clinical study, intellectual property portfolio,psychedelic pharmaceuticals,psilocybin andketamine programs and product developments.Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by the Company at the date of the information and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption Risk Factors in Companys managements discussion and analysis for the period of August 30, 2020 (MD&A), dated October 1, 2020, which is available on the Companys profile atwww.sedar.com.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state, province, territory or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state, province, territory or jurisdiction.

References:

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PharmaTher Signs Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement for Patented Ketamine Formulation Targeting Mental Health, Neurological and Pain Disorders -...

Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID, Say COVID Experts – Eat This, Not That

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Danzig

Although many people get coronavirus and may not even know it, others can experience mild symptomsand then get worse. Potentially for life. They are called Long Haulers and they have Long COVID. "Three quarters of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had at least one ongoing symptom 6 months after their acute illness," say the authors of a new presentation on the CDC website, written by clinicians on the front lines. And furthermore, many who weren't hospitalized can remain ill too. Keep reading to discover the most common symptoms of what's being called Long COVIDand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.

"Persons with long COVID often present reporting persistent severe fatigue," says Alfonso C Hernandez-Romieu, MD, MPH, LCDR, U.S. Public Health Service, Late Sequelae Unit, Clinical Team, COVID-19 Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the presentation. "The most comprehensive longitudinal data is from a recently published Chinese cohort. Among 1,733 patients, 3/4 of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have at least one ongoing symptom six months after their acute illness, with 63% endorsing fatigue and muscle weakness."

Brain fog is "defined as mild subjective cognitive impairment," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has called this an "inability to concentrate." You might also feel memory loss, confusion and a "foggy" feeling.

These can feel like a jackhammer and not stop. And unfortunately: "There aren't any specific treatments we have for post-COVID neurologic symptoms," Dr. Felicia Chow, MD, associate professor of neurology and medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, tells Neurology Today. "It's symptomatic management of the issues they're having, whether that's headache or dizziness or cognitive complaints."

26% of those in the study had difficulty sleeping. Insomnia, vivid dreams (or nightmares) and nighttime hallucinations have all been reported by long haulers. "The virus is capable of altering the delicate processes within our nervous system, in many cases in unpredictable ways, sometimes creating long-term symptoms," says the Atlantic. "Better appreciating the ties between immunity and the nervous system could be central to understanding COVID-19and to preventing it."

26% of those in the study had dyspnea. "Few sensations are as frightening as not being able to get enough air," reports the Mayo Clinic. "Shortness of breath known medically as dyspnea is often described as an intense tightening in the chest, air hunger, difficulty breathing, breathlessness or a feeling of suffocation."

23% in the study suffered anxiety or depression. "A lot of these patients have depression, anxiety or PTSD from their experience with COVID," said Dr. Allison P. Navis, MD, assistant professor in the division of neuro-infectious diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Neurology Today. "I try to address the mental health aspects, to let patients know it's okay if they're dealing with that." Dr. Ross Zafonte, DO, chair of the Harvard Medical School department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Spaulding, told the journal: "Some of these patients can have an affective issue that could be making things worse. Depression or PTSD can have a real impact on their other symptoms. What I've noticed is that these post-COVID symptoms are really, really multi-factorial."

Actress Alyssa Milano is perhaps the most notable long hauler who lost her hair after contracting COVID. "Thought I'd show you what #Covid19 does to your hair," Milano captioned a video, of her hair loss. "Please take this seriously. #WearADamnMask #LongHauler."

As you likely know, COVID can cause one to lose their sense of taste or smell. For some patients, these senses never come back. According to Advisory Board: "Narly 25% of Covid-19 patients who reported losing their sense of smell said they did not regain their olfactory function even 60 days after they noticed it was gone, according to a large prospective study in the Journal of Internal Medicinea potentially pervasive loss that providers believe could affect patients' nutrition and mental health."

"As Chimre Smith clicked on the link to join the COVID-19 Slack support group, she could feel her body shaking. Not because of an internal buzzing sensation reported by some people struggling with the illness though she is certainly familiar with that," reported the Washington Post. "Smith, a 38-year-old Baltimore middle school teacher, fell ill in March with symptoms progressing rapidly from a sore throat to crushing fatigue to heart palpitations. Still dealing with symptoms several weeks in, she was confused and afraid but alive though that, it seemed, could change at any moment."

RELATED: Simple Ways to Avoid a Heart Attack, According to Doctors

"Many of the symptoms of the coronavirus mimic the typical symptoms of a viral infection or flu syndrome," says Dr. Stuart J. Fischer in OrthoInfo. "One of these symptoms may be muscle aches or myalgias. You may get pain in your arms, legs, or back that develops spontaneously with no injury. Typically, in a coronavirus infection, the pain is in muscles rather than in joints. But if you have an arthritic joint in your arm or leg, the virus may exaggerate the symptoms. The pain may be severe and limiting."

"Another important finding among patients attending the post-acute COVID clinic in France was that more than 1/4 developed new neurological signs and symptoms after their acute COVID-19 illness," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu. "These included but were not limited to cognitive dysfunction, balanced disorders, paresthesia, and swallowing and speech disorders."

"SARS-CoV-2 infection can also lead to specific complications like stroke, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and multisystem Inflammatory disorder which can cause prolonged symptoms and disability," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu.

RELATED: 7 Tips You Must Follow to Avoid COVID, Say Doctors

"Prolonged symptoms are common in patients with mild COVID-19 disease not requiring hospitalization," says Dr. Hernandez-Romieu. "In three studies that focused on people who were not hospitalized for COVID-19 in a post-acute COVID clinic in France, and telephone surveys of patients in the Faroe Islands in Switzerland, anywhere from 35% to 54% of patients had persistent symptoms after two to four months. Half to 3/4 of patients attending the post-acute COVID clinic in France endorsed new symptoms not initially present or symptoms that reappeared after initial resolution."

If you experience these symptoms, contact a medical professional immediately. There is no cure for Long COVID but specialists can potentially alleviate your symptoms with existing medications until there is one. Long COVID support groups like Body Politic can also be extremely useful. And to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.

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Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID, Say COVID Experts - Eat This, Not That

Commonly used antibiotic shows promise for combating Zika infections – National Institutes of Health

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Danzig

News Release

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

NIH preclinical study suggests FDA-approved tetracycline-based antibiotics may slow infection and reduce neurological problems.

In 2015, hundreds of children were born with brain deformities resulting from a global outbreak of Zika virus infections. Recently, National Institutes of Health researchers used a variety of advanced drug screening techniques to test out more than 10,000 compounds in search of a cure. To their surprise, they found that the widely used antibiotic methacycline was effective at preventing brain infections and reducing neurological problems associated with the virus in mice. In addition, they found that drugs originally designed to combat Alzheimers disease and inflammation may also help fight infections.

Around the world, the Zika outbreak produced devastating, long-term neurological problems for many children and their families. Although the infections are down, the threat remains, said Avindra Nath, M.D., senior investigator at the NIHs National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and a senior author of the study published in PNAS. We hope these promising results are a good first step to preparing the world for combating the next potential outbreak.

The study was a collaboration between scientists on Dr. Naths team and researchers in laboratories led by Anton Simeonov, Ph.D., scientific director at the NIHs National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and Radhakrishnan Padmanabhan, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

The Zika virus is primarily spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. In 2015 and 2016, at least 60 countries reported infections. Some of these countries also reported a high incidence of infected mothers giving birth to babies born with abnormally small heads resulting from a developmental brain disorder called fetal microcephaly. In some adults, infections were the cause of several neurological disorders including Guillain-Barr syndrome, encephalitis, and myelitis. Although many scientists have tried, they have yet to discover an effective treatment or vaccination against the virus.

In this study, the researchers looked for drugs that prevent the virus from reproducing by blocking the activity of a protein called NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease. The Zika virus is a protein capsule that carries long strings of RNA-encoded instructions for manufacturing more viral proteins. During an infection, the virus injects the RNA into a cell, resulting in the production of these proteins, which are strung together, side-by-side, like the parts in a plastic model airplane kit. The NS2B-NS3 protease then snaps off each protein, all of which are critical for assembling new viral particles.

Proteases act like scissors. Blocking protease activity is an effective strategy for counteracting many viruses, said Rachel Abrams, Ph.D., an organic chemist in Dr. Naths lab and the study leader. We wanted to look as far and wide as possible for drugs that could prevent the protease from snipping the Zika virus polyprotein into its active pieces.

To find candidates, Dr. Abrams worked with scientists on Dr. Simeonovs and Dr. Padmanabhans teams to create assays, or tests, for assessing the ability of drugs to block NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease activity in plates containing hundreds of tiny test tubes. Each assay was tailored to a different screening, or sifting, technique. They then used these assays to simultaneously try out thousands of candidates stored in three separate libraries.

One preliminary screen of 2,000 compounds suggested that commonly used, tetracycline-based antibiotic drugs, like methacycline, may be effective at blocking the protease.

Meanwhile, a large-scale screen of more than 10,000 compounds helped identify an investigational anti-inflammatory medicine, called MK-591, and a failed anti-Alzheimers disease drug, called JNJ-404 as potential candidates. A virtual screen of over 130,000 compounds was also used to help spot candidates. For this, the researchers fed the other screening results into a computer and then used artificial intelligence-based programs to learn what makes a compound good at blocking NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease activity.

These results show that taking advantage of the latest technological advances can help researchers find treatments that can be repurposed to fight other diseases, said Dr. Simeonov.

The Zika virus is known to preferentially infect stem cells in the brain. Scientists suspect this is the reason why infections cause more harm to newborn babies than to adults. Experiments on neural stem cells grown in petri dishes indicated that all three drugs identified in this study may counteract these problems. Treating the cells with methacycline, MK-591, or JNJ-404 reduced Zika virus infections.

Because tetracyclines are U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs that are known to cross the placenta of pregnant women, the researchers focused on methacycline and found that it may reduce some neurodevelopmental problems caused by the Zika virus. For instance, Zika-infected newborn mice that were treated with methacycline had better balance and could turn over more easily than ones that were given a placebo. Brain examinations suggested this was because the antibiotic reduced infections and neural damage. Nevertheless, the antibiotics did not completely counteract harm caused by the Zika virus. The weight of mice infected with the virus was lower than control mice regardless of whether the mice were treated with methacycline.

These results suggest that tetracycline-based antibiotics may at least be effective at preventing the neurological problems associated with Zika virus infections, said Dr. Abrams. Given that they are widely used, we hope that we can rapidly test their potential in clinical trials.

Article:

Abrams, R.P.M., Yasgar, A. et al., Therapeutic Candidates for the Zika Virus Identified by a High Throughput Screen for Zika Protease Inhibitors. PNAS, November 23, 2020 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2005463117.

These studies were supported by NIH Intramural Research Programs at NINDS and NCATS (TR000291) and an NIH grant (AI109185).

For more information:

NINDS (https://www.ninds.nih.gov) is the nations leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system.The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.

About the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS): NCATS conducts and supports research on the science and operation of translation the process by which interventions to improve health are developed and implemented to allow more treatments to get to more patients more quickly. For more information about how NCATS helps shorten the journey from scientific observation to clinical intervention, visit ncats.nih.gov.

About the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: NIAID conducts and supports research at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

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Originally posted here:
Commonly used antibiotic shows promise for combating Zika infections - National Institutes of Health

Brain Scans Confirm There’s a Part of You That Remains ‘You’ Throughout Your Life – ScienceAlert

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Danzig

At the very core of your identity a kernel of self awareness combines memories of the past with the fleeting sensations of the present, and adds a touch of anticipation for the future.

The question of whether this ongoing sense of 'you' is as robust as it feels has intrigued philosophers and psychologists throughout the ages. A new, small psychobiological study weighs in, looking at brain scans to conclude that at least some part of you is indeed consistent as you grow and age.

"In our study, we tried to answer the question of whether we are the same person throughout our lives," says Miguel Rubianes, a neuroscientist from the Complutense University of Madrid.

"In conjunction with the previous literature, our results indicate that there is a component that remains stable while another part is more susceptible to change over time."

Self-continuity forms the very basis of identity. Every time you use the word 'I', you're referring to a thread that stitches a series of experiences into a tapestry of a lifetime, representing a relationship between the self of your youth with one yet to emerge.

Yet identity is more than the sum of its parts. Consider the allegory of Theseus's ship, or the grandfather's axe paradox a tool that's had its shaft replaced, as well as its head, but is still somehow the same axe that belonged to grandfather.

If our experiences change us, swapping out components of our identity with every heart break and every promotion, every illness and every windfall, can we truly still say we see ourself as the same person today as we were when we were four years old?

You can be forgiven for thinking this sounds more like philosophical navel-gazing than something science can address. But there are perspectives which psychology and even the wiring of our neurological programming can flesh out.

Rubianes and his team focussed primarily on the 'how and when' of neurology dealing with familiar faces, relying on previous research that suggests visual self-recognition can work as an indicator of making a connection with one's impression of self.

In what's known as the self-reference effect, we do a better job of recalling or recognising information if it's personally connected to us in some way, such as seeing our own face in a photograph.

While there's plenty of evidence supporting the phenomenon's existence, the exact timing and mechanisms of the process in our brain remain an open question.

Conflicting studies have highlighted different neurological processes for distinguishing our own face from others, for example, each highlighting diverse regions of the brain used to recognise and attribute meaning to sets of familiar features.

Determining the kinds of neurological activity involved can tell us whether we're simply triggered by a recognition of our own face, like meeting an old friend, or make an actual connection with the self it represents, both past and present.

To work this out, the team conducted a recognition task with a group of 20 students. Each was presented with 27 images, including some of their own face, the face of a close friend, and an unfamiliar face, all at different life stages.

Each image flashed up on a screen one second at a time, during which the participant had to press a button to identify who they were seeing: self, friend, or stranger. A second trial asked them to identify the life stage of the person: childhood, adolescence, or adulthood.

Meanwhile, dozens of electrodes were busy scoping out the mix of brainwaves buzzing from their grey matter, painting a map of activity.

That map, and the timing of the participants' responses, strongly suggest that our impression of self that sense of 'I' gets updated throughout our lifetime, giving it stability. We really do process that gap-toothed portrait of us in fourth grade as ourselves, and not just a familiar image of a kid who happens to share our memories.

The study also uncovered interesting similarities in how we process impressions of our past self and that of our close friend, hinting at a complexity in how time might shape impressions of our identity.

Of course it's important to note that this study was conducted on a small sample size and is far from the final word on the topic.

But finding there's a rigid neurological underpinning for our sense of self that is tweaked by time and experience neatly reflects other studies that suggest there are also cultural influences over how we perceive identity.

Significantly, neurological descriptions of the specific brain bits responsible for sorting self from stranger can help us better understand why some people don't share this impression.

Disturbances in that thread of recognition often defines conditions such as schizophrenia, putting individuals at increased risk of self-harm.

"This demonstrates the importance of basic and clinical research alike in the study of the role of personal identity, as this promises to be a much more important concept than was previously thought and may play a fundamental role in psychological assessment and intervention processes," says Rubianes.

Some days we all feel a little like we're uncertain of just who we are. Rest assured, there's a good chance that deep inside your brain you're always going to be there.

This research was published in Psychophysiology.

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Brain Scans Confirm There's a Part of You That Remains 'You' Throughout Your Life - ScienceAlert

Patrick Mahomes in NFL concussion protocol: What needs to happen for Chiefs star to play against Bills – ESPN

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Danzig

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in the NFL's concussion protocol, and that's really all we can say about his status six days before the AFC Championship Game.

We don't know how long he will be sidelined. We don't know if he will be able to play Sunday. We don't even know for sure if he suffered a concussion.

What we do know is that brain health was one of the major storylines of the NFL's divisional playoff round. Mahomes was removed from the Chiefs' victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday after a hit at the end of a run left him staggering. A day earlier, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was ruled out of a loss to the Buffalo Bills after his head slammed to the ground.

What's in store for Mahomes this week? Let's take a closer look.

First off, we don't know one way or the other what Mahomes was diagnosed with. And importantly, it's not required for a player to have been immediately diagnosed with a concussion in order to be put in the protocol. All the Chiefs have confirmed is that he's in the protocol. On Monday, coach Andy Reid stopped short of saying that Mahomes had suffered a concussion.

In 2018, the NFL adjusted its protocol to require in-game evaluations for "all players demonstrating gross motor instability (e.g., stumbling or falling to the ground when trying to stand) to determine the cause of the instability." That roughly fits what happened Sunday to Mahomes. The protocol goes on to say that if a doctor "determines the instability to be neurologically caused, the player is designated a 'No-Go' and may not return to play."

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This change was in response to the scary injury suffered in Dec. 2017 by Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage, who could be seen shaking on the ground after a hit but was allowed to remain in the game. He was later ruled out and diagnosed with a concussion. That adjustment allowed doctors to rule players out of games after examining them for these symptoms.

Mahomes, in fact, was ruled out even though he was running in the stadium tunnel after the injury, Reid said.

Of course. But whether he did or didn't, he must pass through the same five-step process to be cleared for a return.

The first thing you should know is that prior to the season, every NFL player takes neurological and balancing tests when in a noninjured state to provide a "normal" score. Those results can later be used to help diagnose a concussion, and to determine when a player's neurological activity and balance has returned to its previous state following a brain injury. The five steps are:

Step 1: Based on symptoms, the player can engage in light stretching, balance training and eventually progress to light aerobic exercise.

Step 2: The player can graduate toward cardiovascular exercise and dynamic stretching, and then take neurological and balance tests. He can pass through this step once those test results match his baseline scores.

Step 3: The player can move toward a limited amount of football-specific exercise. That includes up to 30 minutes of practice time, under the supervision of an athletic trainer.

Step 4: Football activities can increase to noncontact drills such as throwing and running. Another set of tests must again show baseline results.

Step 5: This requires the team doctor to clear the player for contact. Once that happens, the player must be examined by an independent neurological consultant (INC). If the "INC" affirms the team doctor's decision, the player is cleared to practice full and play in the team's next game.

The protocols intentionally carry no time requirements. They do not require a player to sit out a game, largely because the science of concussions show that brain injuries heal at unpredictable rates. Players could conceivably return to baseline quickly, without missing a game, or they could miss multiple games or even the remainder of a season.

1:26

Adam Schefter breaks down the concussion protocols Patrick Mahomes must clear to be eligible to play in the AFC title game vs. the Bills.

That's not entirely true. According to the NFL, using data from the 2015-19 seasons, the median length of time for quarterbacks to emerge from the concussion protocol is seven days.

It is and they do, but the NFL built this protocol to ensure that doesn't happen with brain and neurological injuries. By requiring a return to baseline test results, the NFL's implicit policy is that a player with a brain or neurological injury can't return until he is fully healed. Football contact after only a partial recovery can exacerbate the injury.

Mahomes isn't supposed to be able to "will" himself back on the field or "suck it up." And the Chiefs aren't supposed to even have the opportunity to take the kind of calculated risk they do when they allow a player back on the field when he has, say, a mildly sprained knee.

The biggest distinction of the concussion protocol is that it requires an independent doctor to confirm the return. That doctor is not affiliated with the team or player but has been approved jointly by the league and the NFL Players Association. The final step of getting clearance from the independent doctor is intended as a failsafe for either the player or the team acting too aggressively.

Conference championship previews Schedule, brackets, TV times

On Monday, Reid told reporters: "There was a chance back in the day that Patrick comes back in [the game]. You saw him run up the tunnel. By the time he got to that point he was feeling pretty good. But there's a certain protocol you have to follow and that takes it out of the trainer's hand and the player's hand and the doctor's hand."

This will be a story for the entire week. It's possible we'll find out when (and if) Mahomes has moved on to Step 3, based on the Chiefs' injury participation report for practice. Otherwise, it's possible we won't know if Mahomes will be able to play until the weekend. The Bills-Chiefs game will kick off at 6:40 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Mahomes himself has suffered one reported concussion in his career, during the 2014 college season at Texas Tech. He returned to play in the team's next game, which was two weeks later because of a scheduled bye.

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Neurology Devices Market is Expected to Thrive at Impressive CAGR by 2025 – TechnoWeekly

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Danzig

Neurology Devices MarketInsights 2020 is an expert and top to bottom investigation on the momentum condition of the worldwide Neurology Devices industry with an attention on the Global market. The report gives key insights available status of the Neurology Devices producers and is an important wellspring of direction and course for organizations and people keen on the business. By and large, the report gives an inside and out understanding of 2020-2025 worldwide Neurology Devices market covering extremely significant parameters.

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Key Players in Neurology Devices Market areJohnson & Johnson (U.S.),MicroPort Scientific Corporation (China),Medtronic plc (Ireland),Penumbra, Inc. (U.S.),Terumo Corporation (Japan),Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (U.S.),Abbott Laboratories (U.S.),L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (U.S.).

Regions Covered in the Neurology Devices Market:

Global Neurology Devices Market report is a comprehensive study of the global market and has been recently added by PrecisionBusinessInsights to its extensive database. Augmented demand for the global market has been increased in the last few years. This informative research report has been scrutinized by using primary and secondary research. The Global Neurology Devices Market is a valuable source of reliable data including data of the current market.

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This research report represents a 360-degree overview of the competitive landscape of the Global Neurology Devices Market. Furthermore, it offers massive data relating to recent trends, technological, advancements, tools, and methodologies. The research report analyzes the Global Neurology Devices Market in a detailed and concise manner for better insights into the businesses.

The research study has taken the help of graphical presentation techniques such as infographics, charts, tables, and pictures. It provides guidelines for both established players and new entrants in the Global Neurology Devices Market.

The detailed elaboration of the Global Neurology Devices Market has been provided by applying industry analysis techniques such as SWOT and Porters five-technique. Collectively, this research report offers a reliable evaluation of the global market to present the overall framework of businesses.

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The report analyses the impact of socio-political environment through PESTLE Analysis and competition through Porters Five Force Analysis in addition to recent technology advancements and innovations in the market.

What is the Impact of Covid-19 Outbreak on the Neurology Devices?

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Launching of the New Comprehensive Stroke & Neurology Clinic in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) – ABOUT INSIDER

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Danzig

HELLO DR. ATIF ZAFAR! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! TELL US A BIT ABOUT STROKE CARE IN CANADA IN GENERAL AND TORONTO IN PARTICULAR?In Canada, stroke occurs every 9 minutes. Believe it or not, we lose two million neurons every single minute we wait out before seeking care. Imagine if all stroke patients can make to the hospital as soon as the stroke strikes, the world will be a better place. Ontario, being the most populated province in the country is impacted by stroke the most. In GTA (Greater Toronto Area), there are various stroke centers spread across the territory. A few of those hospitals are comprehensive centers where both medical and surgical treatment of stroke care is available. An area of concern is the lack of access to stroke specialists for patients at risk of having future stroke.

WHY DID YOU MOVE TO TORONTO, CANADA FROM THE US?I am passionate about building health systems and programs in states, provinces and seeing the public health impact at the national level. My previous experience in the US includes starting a stroke program from scratch and eventually transforming it into a comprehensive academic stroke leader in the region. When I heard about the opportunity at St. Michaels Hospital/Unity Health, an academic hospital of the University of Toronto, I felt I can make a difference in how we manage stroke care in the region. I am also very interested in understanding the 2 different healthcare systems in North America the US and Canada boast two different models of healthcare and as a physician and student of leadership, I am curious to see how an amalgamation of these 2 models may create an innovative modern hybrid healthcare system that may be sustainable, dynamic and patient-centric.

WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO OTHER PHYSICIANS, FAMILY DOCTORS IN THE GTA?I have spoken with various partners in the GTA area and realized that access for neurologists and stroke doctors in an issue for our colleagues in family medicine and other specialties. As the medical director of stroke program at St. Michaels Hospital, I am prioritizing patient access to neurologist as the main issue. We are providing rapid access to stroke and cerebrovascular patients in our stroke clinic with option to be seen in person or via tele-health. You can connect visit atifzafar.com for more information.

WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUR PATIENTS IN TORONTO AND IN CANADA?Dont wait it out, when you are having stroke symptoms. Also, if you have risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol problems, obstructive sleep apnea, or other similar risk factors, make sure you stay on top of it. If you dont, you may be at higher risk of having a stroke or heart attack. Also, we have a Stroke Clinic located at St. Michaels Hospital, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario where you are more than welcome to come and talk to me or any of my partners who specialize in stroke and cerebrovascular diseases. In the times of COVID19, we also offer tele-clinics where you can get access to care through online or phone communications. You can visit atifzafar.com for more information or visit St. Michaels Hospital Stroke website.

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Launching of the New Comprehensive Stroke & Neurology Clinic in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) - ABOUT INSIDER

This COVID-19 Life: With 2 Neurologists in the Same… : Neurology Today – LWW Journals

Posted on October 10, 2020 by Danzig

Article In Brief

Neurologist couples discuss how the pandemic has impacted dual neurologist families and how they have managed during this crisis.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, negotiating family duties between two married neurologists was no small feat. But when COVID-19 led to stay-at-home orders, children transitioned to homeschooling, and neurologists were faced with new work challenges and responsibilities, the compromises took on epic proportions.

Neurology Today caught up with six neurologist couples to hear how the pandemic has impacted dual neurologist families and how they have managed during this crisis.

In the Esper family, where finding the right childcare had proven impossible, Christine Doss Esper, MD, elected to considerably reduce her work schedule at the Emory physician group practice for almost eight years to raise their three children: now 12-year old, Julianna, 10-year old, Nicholas, and 8-year old, Christopher.

During that time, her husband, Gregory J. Esper, MD, MBA, had worked his way up to become the associate chief medical officer of Emory Healthcare and professor and vice chairman of clinical affairs for the department of neurology at Emory, positions that required 12-hour days and occasional travel, including to AAN Health Services Research Subcommittee meetings, for which he is the chair.

It was not until three years ago that Christine began increasing her schedule at Emory, where she is an assistant professor of neurology in the division of movement disorders. She became the director of the Emory motion analysis lab and continued her role in the deep brain stimulation program at Emory. In 2019, she received an opportunity to focus research efforts on predicting the rising incidence and prevalence of Parkinson's disease in the United States with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). She now spends the majority of her time as the senior neurology PI for the National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System with the CDC while still maintaining her clinical activity at Emory.

In March, when the pandemic arrived, their carefully-orchestrated division of parenting duties began to show some cracks. Since the whole family was suddenly on computers at home, the first problem was connectivity. With three children engaged in virtual learning during the day, and occasional gaming activities or movie streaming on their off-time, each parent found themselves bumped off of videoconferences or telemedicine consultations at inopportune times. For Greg, who was responsible for ramping up Emory's system telemedicine platform, and Christine, who serves as the Brain Health Telemedicine physician lead in her division, this was far from ideal. At one point, a total of 32 devices (phones, tablets, laptops) were connected to their limited network. So, they improved their Internet download speed to one GB and hired an electrician to snake two direct lines to each of their work laptops.

An even more significant problem turned out to be logistics. Each child had his or her activities: Christopher and Nicholas took virtual violin lessons, and Julianna took virtual piano. The boys took part in a small chamber music group. During the summer, they were tasked with selecting and participating in various online campsincluding science camp, Lego camp, financial management camp and stock market camp. There were meals to plan and cook, laundry and other household tasks to divide. Once school resumed in mid-August, there were also lunches to pack or order, and drop-offs and pickups to coordinate between two different schools.

By the summer, Greg, who also serves as vice president of Lean Promotion at Emory, decided with Christine to implement lean guiding principles at home. He told the kids, You have to own it, and Greg and Christine partnered with them on meal planning, laundry, and lunch preparation and packing, among other tasks. Christopher learned how to make quesadillas, grilled cheeses and prepare eggs. Nicholas or Julianna became responsible for cooking dinner when both parents were working into the evening. Before long, the children began learning the concepts of reducing waste, situational awareness, continuous improvement, problem-solving, and teamwork.

The lean board at home records each Esper's activities and responsibilities for every day of the week, and they all refer to it regularly. Things still go wronglike when a child's knapsack ends up in the wrong carbut they now have a new name for that: defects, and they adjust the standard work, reflect it on the board, to try and prevent it from happening again. The pandemic and its consequences have caused some challenges, but this new structure seems to work; the kids have shown remarkable growth and have become more mature and more responsible, Greg said.

In the Khoury household, in Jenkintown, PA, managing responsibilities has always been tough, said Carla Lopita-Khoury, MD, an epileptologist who at one time thought that being employed by Drexel during its bankruptcy would be her most difficult professional hurdle. Still, she was able to start a new position as associate professor in neurology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in November of 2019, along with six of Drexel's neurology residents.

Working nearly full-time had meant an intense juggling act, which she shared with her husband, John S. Khoury, MD, who specializes in sleep and is one of nine neurologists in private practice at Abington Neurological Associates. In early 2020, their daughters, aged 4 and 9, were in pre-school and third grade.

There were normal glitches, despite using a shared Google calendar, but fortunately, we could rely on both sets of grandparents who live nearby, said Carla.

Then the pandemic struck, and their childcare system fell apart. The Khourys were reluctant to expose their parents to the virus, and their backup would not work. By late March, Carla's department had been drafted as COVID hospitalists, and they were both working a mix of telemedicine and hospital coverage. Their daycare had closed, but they were able to recruit a babysitter from that facility who watched the children between March and June.

We taught her technology so she could oversee homeschooling, and I worked from a guest room while John took over the office, said Carla. They were able to find an outdoor, socially-distant day camp for July, but the 9 AM to 3 PM schedule meant they had to find a new babysitter from 3 PM to 6 PM.

John, who did more of the drop-offs and pick-ups, said, There were times when I ran late when we had to rely on the help of a neighbor or one of my partners, who graciously stepped in, he said.

Then the camp closed abruptly, which created another crisis, said Carla, adding, We had always planned our childcare so carefully, but with COVID, we had one short notice after another, making every day stressful; planning during a pandemic simply doesn't work.

For now, an hour-by-hour paper schedule supplements their Google calendar, and they are keeping their fingers crossed that their daughters' school, which opens soon with outdoor tents and masks, will hold.

Having dual careers has also meant finding jobs in the same cities and negotiating career decisions. Nicole Chiota-McCollum, MD, MEd met her husband, David McCollum, MD, while they were both trainees in neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. Upon graduation, Nicole, who was in the military, received orders to go to Keesler Air Force base in Biloxi, MS, and David was able to secure a job as a neurohospitalist nearby for those three years. They were fortunate to find positions at the University of Virginia (UVA) together when her military service ended.

Raising two sons, Alec, who is 5, and Owen, now 7, while managing our dual-physician household means life is hectic, said Nicole. But we are incredibly fortunate to have a multigenerational household in which my mom provides a lot of support for our family. She came to live with us three years ago after my father passed away, and it has been a blessing for all of us, Nicole added.

When our governor issued stay-at-home orders on March 16, we pulled both of our children out of school and daycare. Having multiple adults at homemade that feasible while also trying to work from home, she explained.

At work, UVA neurologists were all pulled into a platoon, a military term that has been adapted during COVID to describe keeping teams together and minimizing risk. The department of neurology afforded the couple the opportunity to stagger their schedules so that Nicole, a stroke specialist, could work in the hospital week one, David, who is a neuro-hospitalist, could work week two, and they could quarantine at home together during weeks three and four before repeating the cycle. We were so grateful for the efforts to keep our family together, said Nicole, who values the camaraderie in the department.

Recently, the McCollums were able to enroll their sons in an all-outdoor school, which will be held at a local campground, which they hope will continue. Although Nicole is grateful to have her mother's help, she had promised her that she would not be just the nanny and cook, and before COVID, she made sure that her mother had enough free time for an active social life.

Our conversations are three-way negotiations to meet everyone's needs, said Nicole. She admitted that there are often times (especially on weekends) when one of them needs to round earlier or later to make the household run smoothly.

Working at the same place also means they set ground rules. One is that they try not to talk shop around the dinner table and avoid speaking about patients at home. But even so, the boys probably know more about neurology than they should, Nicole admitted, confessing that bedtime stories are sometimes interrupted by stroke calls. She discovered a couple of years ago that their younger son, then 3, had picked up the fact that if her iPhone showed a RAPID CT perfusion scan image that was more-green-than-pink (indicating a thrombectomy candidate), Mommy would often need to make an urgent phone call.

At the Hartford Healthcare Medical Group in Connecticut, Neurology Today found not just one but three neurologist couples. Catherine M. Hosley, MD, a stroke specialist, also serves as director of in-patient neurology, where she creates the in-patient coverage schedule. Holiday, vacation, and school schedules can be quite a challenge at times, she said. Her husband, Justin Montanye, MD, practices outpatient general neurology four days a week.

One of the benefits of having a weekday off is that it's now much easier to manage any kind of routine service work on the house, our cars, etc., said Catherine, adding, From a work-life balance perspective, it has reduced stress for both of us!

Two of their former residents at the University of Connecticut/Hartford Hospital, epileptologist Sarah Meira-Benchaya, MD, and neuromuscular specialist, Lucas Meira-Benchaya, MD, returned after fellowships to practice as epilepsy and neuromuscular specialists, respectively.

Being from another countrywe are both Braziliansthe family-friendly environment felt like home, said Sarah. When she gave birth to their daughter, Rachel, in January of 2020, her initial plan was to be on maternity leave for 12 weeks and return to work in April. But her mother, who had planned to care for the baby and help with their older son, Shlomo, now 4 years old, was stuck in Holland (with a Brazilian passport) when the pandemic struck and borders closed.

I kept delaying my return in hopes the situation would improve...and we were afraid that having someone come to our house would expose the kids to the virus. By July, when it became clear that her mother would not be permitted to return, they hired a nanny, and Sarah came back to work three months later than she had anticipated.

The delay in return meant that Swetha Ade, MD, an epileptologist, had to take an extra week of callas Sarah's schedule was divided among the remaining nine epilepsy specialistswhile also dealing with the closure of her own children's daycarewhere she and her husband, Ajay Mohan Tunguturi, MD, a vascular specialist, were sending their 3- and 5-year old daughters, Aradhya and Aria. For five months, they relied on piecemeal coverage by physician neighbors and babysitters and discovered that fear of COVID made it difficult for a two-physician family to find people who were willing to come to their house.

It was very tense, said Swetha, comparing the stress to what she experienced during her residency when she was raising two small children alone, while her husband was training in another city. The family finally found a live-in nanny in mid-July and is now trying to determine if she can help with virtual learning while their 5-year old's new school alternates in person and online classes every other week. As with all the couples, and many working parents across the country waiting for the pandemic to end, they have learned to roll with the punches.

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This COVID-19 Life: With 2 Neurologists in the Same... : Neurology Today - LWW Journals

Biomarkers Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Indication (Oncology, Cardiology, Neurology, and Others), By End User (Pharmaceutical &…

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Danzig

Trusted Business Insights answers what are the scenarios for growth and recovery and whether there will be any lasting structural impact from the unfolding crisis for the Biomarkers Market.

Trusted Business Insights presents an updated and Latest Study on Biomarkers Market. The report contains market predictions related to market size, revenue, production, CAGR, Consumption, gross margin, price, and other substantial factors. While emphasizing the key driving and restraining forces for this market, the report also offers a complete study of the future trends and developments of the market.The report further elaborates on the micro and macroeconomic aspects including the socio-political landscape that is anticipated to shape the demand of the Biomarkers Market during the forecast period.It also examines the role of the leading market players involved in the industry including their corporate overview, financial summary, and SWOT analysis.

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This report focuses on the Biomarkers market and value at the global level, regional level, and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents the overall Biomarkers market size by analyzing historical data and future prospects. Regionally, this report focuses on several key regions: North America, Europe, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, and South America.

Global Biomarkers Market: Segment Analysis

The research report includes specific segments by region (country), by Company, by Type, and by Application. This study provides information about the sales and revenue during the historic and forecasted period of 2019 to 2029. An in-depth analysis of the segments assists in identifying the different factors that will aid market growth.

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The research report includes a detailed study of regions of North America, Europe, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, and South America. The report has been curated after observing and studying various factors that determine regional growth such as the economic, environmental, social, technological, and political status of the particular region. Researchers have studied the data of revenue, sales, and manufacturers of each mentioned region. This section analyses region-wise revenue and volume for the forecast period of 2019 to 2029.

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This section of the report identifies various key manufacturers of the market. It helps the reader understand the strategies and collaborations that players are focusing on combat competition in the market. The comprehensive report provides a significant microscopic look at the market. The reader can identify the footprints of the manufacturers by knowing about the global revenue of manufacturers, the global price of manufacturers, and sales by manufacturers during the forecast period of 2019 to 2029.List of Companies Profiled

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Abbott, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. are Leading Market PlayersThe biomarkers market is a highly fragmented market. To strengthen their position, key market players are focusing on the introduction of novel biomarker tests, and entering in mergers and partnerships with other prominent companies with an aim to establish a strong brand presence. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Abbott, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. dominated the biomarkers market share in 2018. Other players operating in the market are Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Sino Biological Inc., BioVision Inc., Myriad RBM, R&D System, Axon Medchem, CENTOGENE N.V., and others.

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REPORT COVERAGE

The biomarker market report provides detailed information regarding various insights of the market. Some of them are growth drivers, restraints, competitive landscape, regional analysis, and challenges. It further offers an analytical depiction of the biomarkers market trends and estimations to illustrate the forthcoming investment pockets. The market is quantitatively analyzed from 2021 to 2026 to provide the financial competency of the market. The information gathered in the report has been taken from several primary and secondary sources.

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INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT:

May 2019: QIAGEN received FDA approval for therascreen RGQ PCR Kit. The therascreenPIK3CA Kit is the first companion diagnostic assay approved to identify breast cancer patients eligible for treatment with PIQRAY (alpelisib). PIQRAY (alpelisib), a newly approved therapy for breast cancer developed by Novartis AG.

May 2017: F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for biomarker assay for bladder cancer. This biomarker assay evaluates the status of patient PD-L1 by using both immune cell staining and tumor cell staining and scoring within the tumor.

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Quick Read Table of Contents of this Report @ Biomarkers Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Indication (Oncology, Cardiology, Neurology, and Others), By End User (Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, Diagnostics & Research Laboratories, Hospitals & Specialty Clinics, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2026 (Includes COVID-19 Business Impact)

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Physicians issue warning about rare neurological condition, expected to appear this fall – Newswise

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Danzig

Newswise Each fall, as kids go back to school and share germs with their peers and the changing seasons create environmental conditions perfect for viral growth, symptoms matching the cold and flu proliferate in classrooms and day care centers like clockwork. Sometimes these symptoms are severe enough to land patients in the emergency room. Thats where physicians started to notice a troubling trend six years ago.

A few days after presenting with symptoms like cough, congestion, and worsening asthma, these little kids will suddenly have rapid onset paralysis in one or more of their limbs, resembling polio, said pediatric neurologist Henry David, MD, the Director of Neurocritical Care at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Childrens Hospital. Usually, this paralysis is permanent to a large degree.

Known as Acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, this rapid onset paralysis following a viral illness is a bit of a medical mystery to physicians, with a number of quirky traits that distinguish it from other post-viral conditions. For one thing, its causes arent entirely clear though physicians agree that a viral infection is likely what triggers the condition. For another, nearly all of the patients affected are very young children, between the ages of 3 and 6, who have experienced a viral illness within the last month. Many (though not all) have a history of asthma, and many (though not all) report joint, neck, and back pain shortly before the onset of paralysis.

Perhaps strangest of all, the disease appears to follow a two-year outbreak cycle, with a rash of patients appearing every other fall. While the condition is extremely rare, affecting only a handful of children in the state of Illinois each season, its effects can be severe, causing permanent paralysis and in severe cases, respiratory failure and even death.

With an outbreak due this year and so many mysteries surrounding the condition, pediatricians are worried about what this illness means for their patients especially with potential complicating factor of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Weve been tracking this illness for about six years, but realistically, this or something like it has existed for three or four decades, said David. It seems to be an infectious and possibly immunological phenomenon, where the bodys own inflammatory response to a virus contributes to the grey matter injury of the spinal cord, damaging the patients motor neurons, which control movement. Once damaged, these neurons cant regenerate, and leaves the patient with weakened or paralyzed limbs.

Analysis of patient samples have found a connection between AFM and common enteroviruses, in particular Enterovirus D68, which typically leads to flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, congestion, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. But, as pediatric infectious disease expert Madan Kumar, DO, the Director of the Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Service at Comer Childrens Hospital points out, Patients who are diagnosed with AFM dont always test positive for a virus, and about one in ten patients is completely asymptomatic for a viral illness. Diagnosis is very challenging, and we think that we may be underappreciating the number of cases.

AFM is so rare that no specific targeted treatment exists for the disease; available treatments focus on reducing the inflammatory immune response. When we see kids with limb weakness, well throw immunomodulatory therapy, plasmapheresis everything weve got at them, said David. The problem is, its not clear how much these treatments help, because often we catch the condition so late, and because there havent been enough cases to do a proper randomized clinical trial.

Once the initial illness passes, patients may receive physical therapy to aid their recovery, or seek out specialized centers that offer nerve grafting to restore some control and sensation in the paralyzed limbs.

Only an exceedingly small number of patients with enteroviruses end up with this condition, and its not clear what combination of host and viral factors trigger it, Kumar said. The thing with diseases that are this rare is that many parents and physicians have less awareness of the condition so they dont recognize the signs, and we miss the opportunity to provide early therapy for these kids."

This years predicted outbreak is especially worrisome for pediatricians because its still unclear how living in the era of COVID-19 will impact detection, diagnosis, and treatment of AFM. Given our move toward social distancing and people spending most of their time at home, weve interrupted the epidemiology of these viruses, said Kumar. This has probably delayed the onset of this years outbreak. But we know that children are a major driver in the spread of respiratory illnesses, and as kids are going back to school and businesses are reopening, its just a matter of time before these traditional seasonal viruses pick up again.

The lack of clarity in what triggers AFM also makes it uncertain whether contracting COVID-19 this fall might put kids at greater risk for the condition. It is unclear if contracting multiple respiratory viruses such as an enterovirus and a rhinovirus at the same time changes the pathophysiology of AFM. And while many children who contract COVID-19 remain asymptomatic, its unknown whether this might cause complications if they contract other respiratory illnesses.

The concerns go beyond the risk of a COVID-19 infection. Were concerned that this pandemic means that there will be less hands-on interaction between kids and many of their caregivers, David said. Parents might not notice the signs, and may be hesitant to take their children to the hospital because of fears about contracting COVID-19. People have the tendency to develop tunnel vision, and while were all so fixated on COVID-19, theres a risk of letting our guard down about other diseases.

The physicians stress that families should take all of the normal precautions to prevent viral respiratory illnesses this year, in addition to COVID-19 precautions, such as masking, social distancing and good hand hygiene. In particular, Kumar said, Get a flu vaccine. We dont know how COVID-19 will interact with other viruses. Minimize your chances if ever there was a year to be sure to get your flu vaccine, this is it.

One small silver lining to the pandemic is the increasing availability of telemedicine appointments, making it easier for patients to connect with specialists, like those at Comer Childrens Hospital, a center of excellence for managing AFM patients and a referral center for suspected cases. I often see children with AFM who had previously been to an emergency room or urgent care with early signs of weakness or partial paralysis, said David. But most providers have never seen this disease, so how would they know to look for it? Its under-reported and underdiagnosed. If we can get the word out and tell people to watch for the early signs, it might make a difference.

While its not yet clear what this seasons predicted AFM outbreak will look like, the physicians hope that with time, a greater understanding of the condition can lead to better treatments and improved outcomes. My goal is to catch more of these patients earlier in the disease course, and to share what we learn from treating them with our colleagues who are also working on this challenge, said David. Were all working to make a difference for these children.

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Physicians issue warning about rare neurological condition, expected to appear this fall - Newswise

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