On making things easier … Occupational therapists and ‘ compensatory ’ approaches
If there is one part of occupational therapy practice that gets more of my middle-aged grumpiness than any other, it’s occupational therapists using compensatory approaches for managing pain. And like anything, it’s complicated and nuanced. So here’s my attempt to work my way through the quagmire.
Compensatory approaches consist of a whole range of interventions that aim to “make up for” a deficit in a person’s occupational performance (see Nicholson & Hayward (2022) for a discussion of compensatory approaches in “functional neurological disorder”). The rationale for c...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - December 4, 2022 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Coping Skills Coping strategies Occupational therapy Pain conditions Professional topics Research Science in practice compensatory strategies pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, December 5th 2022
In conclusion, the PAAIs examined (i.e. mTOR loss of function, Ghrhr loss of function, intermittent fasting-based version of dietary restriction) often influenced age-sensitive traits in a direct way and not by slowing age-dependent change. Previous studies often failed to include young animals subjected to PAAI to account for age-independent PAAI effects. However, any study not accounting for such age-independent intervention effects will be prone to overestimate the extent to which an intervention delays the effects of aging on the phenotypes studied. This can result in a considerable bias of our view on how modifiable a...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 4, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Calorie Restriction as a Treatment to Slow Parkinson's Disease
Calorie restriction is known to suppress inflammation to some degree, alongside many other benefits to health that result from the reaction of cells and biological systems to a reduced calorie intake. Since chronic inflammation in brain tissue is implicated in the onset and development of neurodegenerative conditions, this makes calorie restriction a topic of interest in this part of the field. With a few exceptions, that interest largely manifests as research aimed at reproducing some of the metabolic alterations of calorie restriction with small molecule drugs, however, rather than more more rigorously testing calorie re...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 2, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 21st 2022
In this study researchers added new insight, showing that high-intensity aerobic exercise, which derives its energy from sugar, can reduce the risk of metastatic cancer by as much as 72%. If so far the general message to the public has been 'be active, be healthy', now researchers can explain how aerobic activity can maximize the prevention of the most aggressive and metastatic types of cancer.
The study combined an animal model in which mice were trained under a strict exercise regimen, with data from healthy human volunteers examined before and after running. The human data, obtained from an epidemiological study ...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 20, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Better Understanding the Outcome of Destroying and Rebuilding the Immune System
The use of chemotherapy to destroy as much of the peripheral immune system as possible, followed by some form of stem cell transplant to rebuild it, has been used for some years as a way to treat multiple sclerosis. In this autoimmune condition, the problem resides in the immune memory, and getting rid of that memory is the solution. The only approach currently demonstrated to work is this somewhat drastic treatment, and the balance of risk and cost means that it is only used for severe diseases such as multiple sclerosis. But in principle, clearance and restoration of the immune system could solve a great many of the issu...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 17, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy
This study by Dave Mooney and his group is a very elegant and forward-looking example of how this type of mechanotherapy could be used clinically in the future.”
The MAGENTA device with its tough hydrogel adhesive surface (shown on the left) was implanted on a mouse’s calf muscle that in the atrophy model then was immobilized for a longer period of time to induce muscle wasting. Actuating the device by turning the electricity on lets it contract, generating mechanical stimulation to the underlying muscle, whereas turning the electricity off allows the device and muscle to relax (top row on the right). The pa...
Source: Medgadget - November 16, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Orthopedic Surgery Rehab muscle atrophy wyssinstitute Source Type: blogs
What Is Nystagmus?
This study has never been duplicated.
Note the estimated angle of nystagmus onset
Yup, my patient has nystagmus. What does that mean?
Big picture … it means that there’s something abnormal about the patient’s nervous system. There are a few major reasons to consider.
Drugs and alcohol
Yes, that old roadside sobriety test is a useful indicator of alcohol intoxication. People begin having nystagmus with blood alcohol levels as low as .04%. But alcohol isn’t the only drug that can cause nystagmus. Other central nervous system depressants like barbiturates, Lithium and benzodiazepines ...
Source: The EMT Spot - November 14, 2022 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Steve Whitehead Tags: EMT Source Type: blogs
Clinical Research 101: Lecture 2
Editor ' s note: Only about 15 million people so far have gotten the new bivalent Covid booster that ' s specifically formulated against the Omega variants that are currently circulating. I got it a few days ago, Walgreen ' s was offering appointments the same day! I got the flu shot at the same time, both absolutely free. Do it!So, picking up where we left off, to determine whether an intervention is beneficial, harmful or basically useless you ordinarily need a comparison group. There are actually exceptions. You don ' t need a randomized controlled trial for parachutes when jumping out of airplanes because you alr...
Source: Stayin' Alive - October 15, 2022 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, August 29th 2022
This study demonstrates that adoptive astrocytic Mt transfer enhances neuronal Mn-SOD-mediated anti-oxidative defense and neuroplasticity in the brain, which potentiate functional recovery following ICH.
First Generation Stem Cell Therapies Remain Comparatively Poorly Understood
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2022/08/first-generation-stem-cell-therapies-remain-comparatively-poorly-understood/
We are something like thirty years into the increasingly widespread use of first generation stem cell therapies. Cells are derived from a variety of sources, processed, and transplanted into patients. Near all...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 28, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Digital therapeutics pioneer Akili Interactive Labs goes public, raising $150M+; trades down 49% first day
Akili Interactive is the latest company to go public via SPAC deal (Boston Business Journal):
Boston’s Akili Interactive Labs Inc. is the latest Massachusetts-based company to go public after completing a reverse merger — in a year of market turmoil that saw few local firms passing the threshold between private and public status.
Shares of Akili started trading on Monday on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the new ticker symbol “AKLI” after the company completed its previously announced reverse merger with Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. I (Nasdaq: DNAA), a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
From t...
Source: SharpBrains - August 23, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation Akili Interactive Labs AKLI cognitive Cognitive-impairment digital medicine digital therapeutics DNAA EndeavorRx neuropsychiatric neuropsychiatric diseases SPAC Source Type: blogs
Dysfunction in the Blood-Brain Barrier May Harm Neural Function Even Prior to Leakage
Researchers here present evidence for the proposition that the blood-brain barrier doesn't just become leaky with age, but also causes disruption of neural function in other ways yet to be fully explored. The primary function of the blood-brain barrier is to regulate passage of molecules and cells into the central nervous system, and when that breaks down the consequence is chronic inflammation in brain tissue, contributing to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative conditions. It seems that the harms may start somewhat before the blood-brain barrier is sufficiently compromised to leak, however.
The breakdo...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 22, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
A Summer Roundup of Caregiver and Elder-Friendly Products, Services, and Technology
Photo image credit Jelly Drops (image of the inventor and his grandma!)
Dear Readers: It’s once again time for what has become a bi-annual look at products and services available to caregivers and/or older adults. I’m better acquainted with some of these products and services than others, and in some cases, I note that. Unless I say otherwise these mentions are not meant as an endorsement. Let’s go…
Clothing
CareZips: Joe & Bella is a new, modern adaptive-apparel brand for older adults. Their newest line is CareZips® by Joe & Bella, a patented easy-dressing pant for adults living with changes due to incontin...
Source: Minding Our Elders - July 10, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
PicnicHealth Raises a $60m Series C to Expand Patient-centered Real-world Data
PicnicHealth, a patient-centered health technology company, today announced the closing of a $60 million Series C financing led by new investor B Capital Group. Existing investors Felicis Ventures and Amplify Partners also joined the round, bringing the total PicnicHealth has raised to more than $100 million. The company also announced plans to build 30 new patient-centered real-world data cohorts, and the addition of Adam Seabrook, Partner at B Capital Group, to the PicnicHealth board of directors.
PicnicHealth takes a patient-centered approach to building deep real-world datasets for life sciences researchers. This compl...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 1, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Analytics/Big Data Health IT Company Healthcare IT Adam Seabrook Amplify Partner B Capital Group Felicis Ventures Health IT Funding Health IT Fundings Health IT Investment Noga Leviner PicnicHealth Real-World Data Robert Mittendo Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, June 6th 2022
This study examines evidence suggesting that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant early impact on AD pathology.
Although mitochondrial dysfunction is a typical indication of Alzheimer's disease, it is unclear whether the cellular systems that maintain mitochondrial integrity malfunction, aggravating mitochondrial pathology. Different levels of vigilance and preventive methods are used to reduce mitochondrial damage and efficiently destroy faulty mitochondria to maintain the mitochondrial equilibrium. The form and function of mitochondria are regulated by mitochondrial fusion and fission. In contrast, mitoch...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 5, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
MRI Can Assess the Burden of Inflammatory Microglia in the Living Brain
Given the growing evidence for inflammatory and senescent microglia and astrocytes to drive the progression of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, there is a need for practical, cost-effective ways to assess the burden of inflamed supporting cells in the brain. The senolytic combination of dasatinib and quercetin has been shown to clear senescent cells in the brain, and improve symptoms in animal models of neurodegeneration. Similarly, CSF1R inhibitors such as PLX3397 can clear microglia from the brain, a beneficial procedure when performed in mice with neuroinflammation. Trials in human patients will...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 2, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
