What to do if someone has food stuck in their throat

Mon 16 September 2019    Jessica Caporuscio, Pharm.D.

Having food stuck in the throat can be uncomfortable and scary. However, being able to recognize the signs of choking and knowing what to do in an emergency can help save a person's life.

If food gets stuck in the esophagus, it can create an uncomfortable sensation in the throat or chest.

The process of swallowing food involves a number of involuntary muscle movements. Most of the time, these muscle movements prevent food from becoming stuck in the throat.

First, the tongue pushes food to the back of the throat. This is where the openings of the esophagus (food pipe) and windpipe are located. As a person swallows, a flap of cartilage called the epiglottis closes off the windpipe. This temporarily stops breathing and prevents food from entering the airways.

At the same time, a muscle called the upper esophageal sphincter relaxes, allowing food to move into the esophagus.

Sometimes, however, food get can stuck in the esophagus, creating an uncomfortable sensation in the throat or chest. At other times, the epiglottis does not close sufficiently during swallowing, which allows food to enter the airways. This can result in choking.

Both types of blockage can cause pain and discomfort. However, a blockage in the windpipe can be a medical emergency. Keep reading to learn what to do if food becomes stuck in the throat.

How to tell if it is an emergency

When food enters the windpipe, it can partially or completely block the airways.

Sometimes, persistent or forceful coughing can dislodge the food. At other times, a blockage that occurs in the windpipe or voice box can result in choking.

Choking refers to breathing difficulties resulting from acute obstruction of the airways. A person who is choking is unable to inhale or exhale enough air to cough.

The following symptoms may indicate that a person is choking:

• Silent coughing or gagging
• Wheezing
• An inability to speak or breathe
• A blue tint to the skin called cyanosis

A person who cannot speak, cough, or breathe may require the Heimlich maneuver. This procedure, also known as abdominal thrusts, involves forcefully applying pressure to the abdomen to dislodge a blockage in the windpipe.

The Heimlich maneuver

The Heimlich maneuver is only required in emergency situations. A person should only perform the Heimlich maneuver on someone who is choking.

The procedure is not suitable for children under 1 year of age or women in the late stages of pregnancy. These people may require different variations of the maneuver.

The American College of Emergency Physicians provide some instructions for performing the Heimlich maneuver. Before performing it on someone who is conscious, a person should confirm that the other person is choking by asking, "Are you choking?"

Only proceed with the maneuver if the person nods yes and cannot seem to speak, cough, or breathe for themselves.

To perform the Heimlich maneuver:

1. Get the person to stand up.
2. Position yourself behind the person.
3. Lean the person forward and give five blows to their back with the heel of your hand.
4. Place your arms around their waist.
5. Make a fist and place it just above the navel, thumb side in.
6. Grab the fist with your other hand and push it inward and upward at the same time. Perform five of these abdominal thrusts.
7. Repeat until the object is expelled and the person can breathe or cough on their own.

https://youtu.be/2dn13zneEjo

If a person who is alone while choking may need to perform the Heimlich maneuver on themselves. If a chair is available, they can lean over the back of the chair while performing the maneuver. This should help dislodge blockages from the airways.

https://youtu.be/ljL9JcK6RnM

Removing food obstructions

Unless a person is choking, food stuck in the throat is not always a major medical emergency. If the person is not choking, coughing hard may help dislodge food from the throat.

Sometimes, the obstruction occurs in the esophagus. This is called a food bolus impaction (FBI). Although uncomfortable, medical professionals do not consider an esophageal FBI to be as significant a medical emergency as choking.

People who have food stuck in the esophagus can try the following tips to help dislodge it:

•           Swallowing fluids or soft foods: This can help lubricate the food or push it downward.
•         Taking effervescent tablets: These over-the-counter tablets cause carbon dioxide gas to form, which helps relieve food blockages by pushing them downward.
•     Drinking carbonated drinks: These may work in a similar way to   effervescent tablets.
•           Taking simethicone: This drug helps bring gas bubbles together in a larger density. This causes pressure in the esophagus that may help release food blockages.

Causes and risk factors for choking

In 2015, more than 5,000 people died from choking.

Choking can affect people of any age. However, it is more common in children ages 0–3 years and in adults over the age of 60.

Choking is the fourthl eading cause of accidental death.

Choking in children

Choking is the leading cause of infant death and the fourth leading causeof death among preschool children.

Children most commonly choke on food, coins, balloons, and small toys.

Choking in older adults

Older people produce less saliva, which makes it difficult for them to move food to the back of their mouth when swallowing.

Certain conditions that are more common in older age can also increase the risk of choking. Examples include dementia and Parkinson's disease.

Dysphagia and choking

Some people experience dysphagia, which is the medical term for swallowing difficulties. Dysphagia can increase a person's risk of choking.

Certain muscle disorders and nervous system disorders that affect the nerves involved in swallowing can cause dysphagia. Examples of conditions that can cause dysphagia include:

       stroke
       head injury
       cerebral palsy
       Parkinson's disease
       dementia
       amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Dysphagia can also develop after sustaining an injury to the esophagus.

When to see a doctor

A person should make an appointment with their doctor if they frequently experience one or more of the following:

•          difficulty swallowing
•          food stuck in the windpipe
•          food blockages in the esophagus

Doctors who treat swallowing disorders use diagnostic tests to examine the different stages of the swallowing process. These tests may include:

•        Flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with sensory testing: This technique uses an endoscope to view the swallowing mechanisms inside the mouth and throat. Doctors examine how the mechanisms respond to different stimuli, such as food, liquids, and puffs of air.
•         Video fluoroscopic swallow study: This uses real time X-rays of a person as they are swallowing. This helps doctors identify issues at different stages of the swallowing process.

Based on the results of these diagnostic tests, a doctor may recommend certain strategies to improve safety when swallowing. Some examples include:

•          making changes to the size and texture of food
•          making changes to head and neck position when eating
•          trying behavioral maneuvers when swallowing, such as tucking in the chin
•          trying medical or surgical interventions

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326349.php

Taking Parkinson's in stride with help from a Cal Poly student-developed device

September 15, 2019 

Christina Favuzzi

A low-tech gadget, created by Cal Poly students, is restoring mobility to Parkinson's sufferers 

      

Putting one foot in front of the other has become a daily battle for Lompoc resident Orlando Severo, better known as Earl.

"It's a daily thing but you know, you just got to bear it. Work with it," Severo said. "It's challenge but it's a challenge you can overcome." 

Severo's son first noticed the symptoms four years ago. 

"Our son, who's a physical therapist said, 'you have a gait problem, Dad,'" he said. A neurologist gave Severo an answer days later. 

"I walked in there and the doctor said, 'you've got Parkinson's,'" Severo said. 

Walking out of that doctor's office and in his daily life would soon become one of Severo's greatest struggles. 

"Parkinson's does many things to different people but for me, I freeze. So when I walk, my brain tells me to walk and I can't walk," the 79-year-old said. 

Severo's condition is called "freezing of gait," something Cal Poly graduate and engineer Sidney Collin has studied extensively. 

"No matter how hard you try, you literally cannot take that step forward because there's a specific neuro-pathway in the brain that's getting damaged or disconnected," Collin said. "That makes it so when you're sending that internal cuing pathway to initiate gate, it's just not getting to the motor neurons that are activating your muscles."

Collin first learned about freezing of gait through meeting San Luis Obispo resident and Parkinson's sufferer Jack Brill. "I now no longer can walk well," Jack said. 

His wife of 66 years, Sandy, helps Jack communicate and cope with the neuro-degenerative disease. 

"He used to have a loud booming voice. Now, he just barely whispers," she said. "He still wants to do things and he still thinks he can do what he used to do, but he can't."

Eight years after Jack was diagnosed with Parkinson's, the Korean War veteran called up Cal Poly . "My engineering brain keeps working too," Jack said. His proposal to the students: come up with a way to trick his brain into allowing him to walk. "His feet stick to the ground and don't move when his brain tells them to move so he gets stuck in lot of places," Sandy said. 

Jack volunteered himself as an experimental subject. Several groups of students worked on the project as the school years progressed. About three years ago, Sidney Collin was assigned the project and committed to coming up with a solution to restore Jack's mobility. 

"It's more likely than not, that if you are diagnosed with Parkinson's, you will at some point experience freezing of gait and you need a solution to help you be able to walk, to help you be mobile," Collin said. 

Medical journals define the condition as a sudden onset of immobility. 

"Jack will describe it as feeling like his feet are glued to the floor or stuck in a box of cement," Collin said. 

The National Library of Medicine says 80 percent of severe Parkinson's sufferers experience freezing of gait. Knowing that statistic, Collin spearheaded an effort to take the device from school project to retail product. 

"It's very clear that there is a huge need and I am so, so, so excited to to get this device into people's hands and have it be able to help them become more mobile," she said. 

The palm-sized device is giving hope to Jack and potentially thousands of Parkinson's sufferers. 

The first version of the device resembled a computer mouse and was named the Gaitway. KSBY first reported on Collin's device and it's impact on people with Parkinson's in July. 

After doing research and redesigning the device, it is now hitting the market known as the NexStride . 

Collin says the gadget attaches to any type of cane, walker or walking stick, programmed with visual and audio cues. 

"The visual cue is a green laser line that's projected onto the floor in front of you," Collin said. "You visualize yourself stepping over that line and that change of intention, changes the neuro-pathways so they are reactivated and allows you to be able to overcome this symptom."

Collin's device retails for $349, a more affordable option than a walker that has been on the market for several years. It has similar laser technology and costs up to $1,000. 

Jack tried using that pre-programmed walker but its red laser line didn't work for him."He woke me up in the middle of the night and says, 'I know why I can't do this. Red means stop and green means go and the red light is telling me to stop but my brain wants to go,'" Sandy said. 

Collin's device uses a green light. "It gets me to get started walking," Jack said. When a patient freezes, he/she can activate either a visual or audio cue with a press of a button. The audio cue is a metronome," Collin said. "You visualize yourself stepping to the beat of that metronome." 

Jack Brill's Parkinson's worsened during the development of the NexStide so it does not work reliably for him, however, that was never his goal. 

"Jack is the person who wants to help everybody. His idea is to help the world," his wife said. 

As pre-orders and international interest pours into Collin's De Oro Devices office, Earl Severo is one of the first to attest to the life-changing difference the little, low-tech gadget has made in his life. 

"With the laser, it's an instant trigger for me to take my first step. I don't know how it works but it works," Severo said. Collin says the first production of 250 devices is expected to ship from a California-based manufacturer by Dec. 1. 

To see video, go to:

https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/taking-parkinsons-in-stride-with-help-from-a-cal-poly-student-developed-device

Have Hope That a New Day Is Coming

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019    BY "SHERRI WOODBRIDGE"

It is raining in southern Oregon. Do you know what’s good about so much rain? Things stay green all year long. It might seem depressing, but not today. Today, it’s raining, and though I have Parkinson’s disease, it’s a beautiful day.

The birds are singing. Nothing keeps them from whistling a happy tune. Even when it’s raining, they find something to sing about. 

There are jillions of puddles to jump in, which is exactly what my grandson does. He absolutely loves it. He even gets Grammy to do it sometimes.

Leaves are a bright, spring green. The air smells fresh (for those who still have the gift of smell), and flower roots are refreshed.

When I lived in northern California, there was a time when there was no rain. It was during the big drought. You could only water the landscape once a week. Residents were asked to cut back on laundry and shorten showers. Energy-saving faucets were stocked in hardware stores and signs that said, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down,” were selling like hotcakes.

People were trying to conserve water wherever they could, but despite their efforts, things began to die. Lawns and shrubbery were replaced by species that were less colorful but guaranteed to survive the heat with less water. Kids were disheartened when the summer fun of sprinklers ceased. People obsessed with washing their trucks on a weekly basis were frustrated by the new policies that were set in place.

The drought affected many other things, like river rafting and skiing. We longed for the days when rain would come. We prayed for the days when rain would fall.

Hope renewed

One day, the skies clouded over. There was a hint of hope that turned to joy when drops began to fall. People opened their front doors, walked into the uncommon liquid sunshine, and danced (or at least my neighbor and I did). The rain was a wet welcome to a dry and thirsty area.

Winter can be more than drizzling rain, snow, ice storms, and flooding. It can be a season in our lives when the sun is shining on the rest of the neighborhood, yet dark clouds hover above us, pushing us down, down, down. All that’s left is depression and hopelessness over this stinkin’ disease — and when you have Parkinson’s, the last thing you want (or need) is hopelessness.

“Winter” days for people with Parkinson’s can consist of medications that once worked wonders, but aren’t working so wonderful anymore. Falls may increase in frequency, resulting in frustration over what else Parkinson’s might bring. Your concentration levels may fall, your speech may become more difficult to understand, and you may even feel like you can’t remember anything.

But wait!

It may be raining, but a new day is coming! Maybe you don’t feel like it’s winter. Maybe you feel like you’re struggling through a drought, and the heat is burning up what little hope you have left. But a new day is still coming!

The greatest gift we can give ourselves is the gift of contentment. The gift that enables birds to sing in the rain because they know that whatever the season or weather, they will be taken care of. 

A new day is coming. Hang in there and keep singing.

***

Note: Parkinson’s News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson’s News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/09/16/hope-new-day-depression-winter-drought/

New MRI Technique Can Visualize Brain Molecular Composition, Study Shows

 SEPTEMBER 16, 2019     BY PATRICIA INACIO, PHD 

A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique allows for the visualization of molecular changes in the brain, a study reports.

This technique will allow researchers to further understand how the brain works and how it changes with ageing or during the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.

Moreover, in the future, clinicians may use the brain’s “molecular signature” for early diagnoses — allowing patients to get access to treatment at early stages of disease and increasing their likelihood for better outcomes.

The study, “Disentangling molecular alterations from water-content changes in the aging human brain using quantitative MRI,” was published in the journal Nature Communications.

An MRI scan is obtained using magnetic fields and powerful detectors that track water compositions in tissues. However, brain function depends vastly on molecular interactions within the brain that current MRI scans fail to detect.

“When we take a blood test, it shows us the exact number of white blood cells [key cells of the immune system] in our body and whether that number is higher than normal due to illness,” Shir Filo, a PhD student and the study’s first author, said in a press release.

“MRI scans provide images of the brain but don’t show changes in the composition of the human brain, changes that could potentially differentiate normal aging from the beginnings of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s,” Filo added.

Now, researchers found a way to “see” the brain composition at the molecular level. The technique, called quantitative MRI, is able to detect changes in the molecular composition of lipid (fat) molecules within the brain.

The research was led by Aviv Mezer and his team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem(HUJI)’s Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences.

“Instead of images, our quantitative MRI model provides molecular information about the brain tissue we’re studying. This could allow doctors to compare brain scans taken over time from the same patient, and to differentiate between healthy and diseased brain tissue, without resorting to invasive or dangerous procedures, such as brain tissue biopsies,” Mezer said.

Researchers started by testing their new MRI technique in synthetic, or lab-made complex fat mixtures to validate whether the MRI scans were sensitive enough to detect changes at the molecular level.

The results revealed their technique was able to distinguish between different lipids with high sensitivity. Because the brain is rich in lipids — such as phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin or phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol — the team used a measurement called macromolecular tissue volume (MTV) that provides quantitative information about these molecules in a sample.

Quantitative MRI scans of human brains revealed that MTV measures changed depending on the brain region analyzed, demonstrating that this technique works like a detailed map of the living brain.

Importantly, using post-mortem (after death) brain samples, the team found that the variability of certain MTV parameters between human brain regions also correlated with specific gene-expression profiles. Gene expression is the process by which information in a gene is synthesized to create a working product, like a protein.

Next, the researchers investigated whether the molecular composition of the brain varied according to age, specifically young versus old. They scanned 23 young adults (mean age 27 years) and 18 older adults (mean age 67 years).

Researchers focused their analysis on the brain’s white and gray matter. White matter is made up of nerve cell projections, known as axons or fibers, that connect distinct parts of gray matter. The length and condition of the fibers influence the way the brain processes information. Gray matter includes neuronal cell bodies as well as synapses, or the junctions between nerve cells that allow them to communicate with each other.

The results showed not only evident changes in the brain’s size, but also tiny and region-specific molecular changes in various brain regions related to aging. Even in the absence of age-related reductions in brain size, molecular changes were detected using the new MRI technique.

Overall, this supports the potential of this new type of MRI method to better understand how our brains age.

“[W]hen we scanned young and old patients’ brains, we saw that different brain areas ages differently. For example, in some white-matter areas, there is a decrease in brain tissue volume, whereas in the gray-matter, tissue volume remains constant. However, we saw major changes in the molecular makeup of the gray matter in younger versus older subjects,” Mezer said.

Researchers hope that, in the future, they can apply this new MRI technique to provide an early diagnosis of diseases like Parkinson’s. That could allow access to treatment that may delay or even halt disease progression.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/09/16/new-mri-technique-can-visualize-brain-molecular-composition/

Michael J. Fox Foundation Funds Search for Parkinson’s Urine Biomarkers

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019     BY JOSE MARQUES LOPES, PHD IN NEWS.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) is funding work at Tymora Analytical Operations that screens for protein biomarkers in urine to help detect the neurodegenerative disease earlier.

Tymora, a research and development laboratory company affiliated with Purdue University, uses the EVtrap approach, or Extracellular Vesicles Total Recovery and Purification. This approach analyzes urine samples to find disease biomarkers such as proteins and their versions known as phosphoproteins — proteins that have phosphate groups attached.

More than 100 samples provided by MJFF will be analyzed to look for phosphoproteins found in people with Parkinson’s.

“This award will support our analysis work to find new urine biomarkers, which can lead to early Parkinson’s disease diagnoses and treatments,” Anton Iliuk, PhD, Tymora’s chief technology officer, said in a press release written by Chris Adam.

Iliuk noted that the lack of specific tests to identify Parkinson’s often leads to reviews of medical histories and to neurological and physical tests that can be inconclusive. “Our approach,” he said, “uses a simple urine test, often already performed during regular exams.”

Parkinson’s is typically diagnosed at late stages, when patients are already experiencing symptoms. That reduces treatment effectiveness.

“Diagnosing Parkinson’s at an early stage with our method would give doctors a greater opportunity to successfully treat the condition,” Iliuk said.

According to Tymora, the technology enables the identification of more than 1,200 unique proteins from only 0.2mL of urine. It also allows the identification of up to 1,000 unique phosphoproteins from 10mL of urine, as described in a 2018 study. The team at Tymora previously had demonstrated the feasibility of high-throughput identification of phosphoproteins in tiny vesicles — called exosomes — found in plasma, which contain unique cargo if released by diseased cells.

EVtrap, says Tymora, is the optimal technique to develop urine-derived exosome phosphoproteins for more accurate disease profiling and better treatments.

Most of the company’s technology was developed at Purdue by W. Andy Tao, PhD, Tymora’s chief scientific officer. Tao is a professor of biochemistry at Purdue’s College of Agriculture and received the 2017 Outstanding Commercialization Award for Purdue faculty.

The EVtrap technology aligns with the university’s Giant Leaps celebration of its global advancements in health, which is part of Purdue’s 150th anniversary.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/09/16/michael-j-fox-foundation-funds-search-parkinsons-urine-biomarkers/

Avilla care center plans first-ever walk for Parkiinson's disease

   September 14, 2019   KPCnews

AVILLA , IN— The first-ever Moving Day Community Walk for northeast Indiana will step off Saturday, Sept. 21, at Presence Sacred Heart Home-Ascension Living in Avilla.

The walk will raise funds for the National Parkinson’s Foundation, which works to raise awareness of the disease and invests in research to find a cure.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive movement disorder known for its resting tremors, limb stiffness, impaired balance and slow movement. The progression also has non-motor symptoms such as anxiety and depression, loss of mental acuity, insomnia and sleep disturbance, constipation and bladder control, vision impairment, dizziness, drooling and loss of taste, sexual dysfunction, sweating, body aches and discomfort.

Symptoms vary for individual patients, so experiences are different for each patient and his or her caregivers. The decline is often over a long period of time, putting stress on patients, families and caregivers.

Therapist Lindsay Gibson, the walk organizer, sees many patients with Parkinson’s disease in her role at Presence Sacred Heart-Ascension Living.

“It’s a terrible disease for both patients and caregivers,” she said. “The decline varies by the person as they have tremors and lose the ability to walk, swallow and communicate.”

Gibson learned that there are no walk events in northeast Indiana that support Parkinson’s awareness, so the Avilla walk is unique. Another Parkinson’s organization holds a walk in Indianapolis, but that organization is not affiliated with the National Parkinson’s Foundation, Gibson said.

Tiffany Fields, director of admissions and marketing at Presence Sacred Heart, also pitched in to help Gibson.

The Moving Day Community Walk will have information booths for various healthcare providers, various vendors, and demonstrations that showcase how therapy is used for Parkinson’s patients. A Movement Pavilion will offer activities by Rock Steady Boxing of Garrett and opportunities to try yoga. Hand massages will be given in the Caregiver Relaxation Area.

“The Parkinson’s support group at Parkview Noble is giving out goody bags,” Gibson said. “Sam’s Club has donated water and snacks.”

Walkers who join the event will follow a half-mile route around the Sacred Heart campus, doing the route twice to walk a full mile if they choose to do that. Gibson said the walk has had great support from staff and residents. Volunteers will push wheelchair-bound residents on the route so that they can be included in the walk.

“The activities department, the therapy department, the neighborhoods and Assisted Living all have teams,” she said.

Gibson said the walk will appeal to walkers and runners who do 5K events, but route is not intimidating to people who want to participate but are not avid athletes.

Walkers and volunteers still have time to join the walk or to donate toward the walk goal of $5,000. So far, $1,304 has been donated online. Donors may also give their donation to a registered walker on the site.

To register as a walker or volunteer, or to donate, go to: CrowdRise.com/CommunityWalkAvilla.

https://www.kpcnews.com/newssun/article_452adcc4-93a7-570d-b4ea-a62891b10546.html

Here's how Parkinson's patients can get positive results from workout

Sept. 14, 2019   By ANI

Washington D.C. [USA], In a recent study, researchers have suggested that patients in the initial stages of Parkinson's disease should workout regularly for six months at home to get positive results as a useful addition to conventional medication. 

The paper was published in the journal, 'The Lancet Neurology'.

The Park-in-Shape study, which was funded by ZonMW (Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development), found an innovative solution for this challenge.

The participants were divided into two groups. Both groups had a motivational app at their disposal, which offered the participants rewards for exercising.

The control group only laid stress on performing stretching exercises, while the active intervention group was instructed to exercise for 30-45 minutes on a stationary bicycle at home, at least three times a week.

The active group's exercise bikes were also equipped with motivating games, making the programme more entertaining and challenging for the participants.

For example, the participants could race against their own previous performance -- a "ghost rider" -- or against a group of other cyclists. The system adjusted the difficulty of the game to the patient's heartbeat, making the challenge just right.

The challenges also became more difficult as the participants got fitter. 

After the study, cycling patients had significantly better cardiovascular fitness, which has many obvious advantages.

The motor disability of the cycling group was also significantly better: according to the gold standard (the MDS-UPDRS score), the cycling group scored on average 4.2 points lower than the control group.

This is a rather large effect, comparable to that of several conventional Parkinson's drugs.

Nicolien van der Kolk, PhD candidate said, "We were pleasantly surprised that people with Parkinson's disease were able to adhere to their exercise regimes so well. The beneficial effect on their motor disability was also large enough to be clinically relevant. As such, exercise is a very useful addition to the medication."

The fact that this cycling exercise can take place entirely at home is a major advantage for patients, as this greatly enhances the feasibility of the treatment. 

https://www.sify.com/news/here-s-how-parkinson-s-patients-can-get-positive-results-from-workout-news-health-tjopVijfeajid.html

Study Investigates Functional Connectivity of Praxis in Parkinson

September 14, 2019      Alison Rodriguez

A study investigating the functional connectivity of the praxis network in patients in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD) found that dopaminergic therapy may normalize praxis abilities and related praxis networks during the early stages of the disease by facilitating the propagation of long-term representations of object-related actions to motor execution areas.

The research involved 13 patients with mild to moderate PD, including those ON or OFF dopaminergic therapy. These patients, as well as 13 healthy controls, completed a praxis sensitive functional MRI task and apraxia assessments. The results were analyzed with consideration for the global efficiency within the praxis network, followed by a seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analysis.

“Apraxia is a cognitive motor disorder affecting the performance of skilled and purposeful movements such as tool use or gesture production,” explained the authors. “Deficits in praxis functions can have obstructive effects on the activities of daily living and can significantly impair the patients' ability to live autonomously. Apraxia occurs in a variety of neurological diseases including stroke, dementia, and movement disorders.”

The analyses revealed that patients OFF dopaminergic therapy demonstrated significantly lower praxis scores than controls. However, patients in both the ON and OFF states displayed higher global efficiency within the praxis network than the controls—suggesting bilateral supramarginal gyri as hubs, according to the research. Patients in the ON stage were found to have significantly higher functional connectivity between supramarginal gyrus and the primary motor cortex, basal ganglia, and frontal areas, than the OFF state.

“Dopaminergic therapy induced an increased FC between the supramarginal gyrus and motor areas that might facilitate the propagation of long-term representations of object-related actions to motor execution areas,” concluded the authors. “Besides the well-known effects on basal motor functions dopaminergic therapy seems to support higher-order cognitive motor functions such as praxis abilities and related networks – at least in early stages of PD.”

The study recommended future studies with patients with PD be conducted with and without clinical apraxia in order to better understand the relation between functional connectivity, aberrant praxis related activation, and behavioral apraxic symptoms.

Reference

Matt E, Fischmeister F, Foki T, et al. Dopaminergic modulation of the praxis network in Parkinson's disease [published online August 18, 2019]. Neuroimage Clin. doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101988

https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/study-investigates-functional-connectivity-of-praxis-in-parkinsons-disease-patients

Study shows hockey great Stan Mikita suffered from CTE

Sep 14, 2019    By Canadian Press

CHICAGO — A posthumous study of Stan Mikita’s brain shows the hockey Hall of Famer suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the time of his death a year ago.

Dr. Ann McKee, the director of the BU CTE Center, announced the findings during the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s Chicago Honors Dinner on Friday night at the request of Mikita’s family.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head. It is known to cause memory loss, violent moods and other cognitive difficulties. It can only be diagnosed after death.

Mikita is the eighth former NHL player diagnosed with CTE at the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, a list that also includes Derek Boogaard, Bob Probert and Reggie Fleming.

“The NHL is nowhere on this,” McKee said. “They have completely denied a link. They have denied any responsibility, and it’s clear that they are just protecting the bottom line.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has consistently denied there is a conclusive link between repeated blows to the head and CTE. A message was left late Friday night seeking comment from the league about Mikita’s diagnosis.

The NHL formed a concussion study group in 1997, cracked down on certain hits after the 2004-05 lockout, instituted a formal protocol and a rule against head contact in 2010, and added spotters in 2015.

McKee said she feels the concussion spotters are being too lax in having players examined.

They need to really, really just be very conservative about what represents a hit,” she said, “because what looks like a minor hit to you or me when we’re looking at it can be a devastating hit to the player, and we need to keep these players safe. That’s how these leagues got to be what they are.”

Mikita, who helped Chicago to the 1961 Stanley Cup title, died last August at age 78. He had been in poor health after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia — a progressive disease that causes problems with thinking, movement, behaviour and mood.

McKee said Mikita had Stage III CTE and Lewy Body Disease.

“What was interesting was he didn’t just have CTE, which we know is associated with contact sports,” she said, “but we’re finding out that there are other neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Lewy Body Disease, which is a Parkinson’s sort of disease that spreads through your brain, believe it or not, that’s associated with contact sports.”

Mikita spent his entire career with the Blackhawks, beginning with his NHL debut in 1959 and running through his retirement after playing 17 games in the 1979-80 season. He is the franchise’s career leader for assists (926), points (1,467) and games played (1,394), and is second to Bobby Hull with 541 goals.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983. He also was the first player to have his jersey retired by the Blackhawks in 1980.

Mikita’s family declined to speak with the media at the dinner. Mikita’s daughter, Jane, accepted the 2019 Courage Award on behalf of the family.

“While my dad’s professional hockey accomplishments were many, we are most proud of his legacy of giving back and caring for others,” Jane said during her speech.

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Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap

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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sportshttps://chatnewstoday.ca/2019/09/14/study-shows-hockey-great-stan-mikita-suffered-from-cte/

Study probes interplay of proteins in type 2 diabetes

 By Ziba Kashef  September 13, 2019

https://youtu.be/YSmwuKCpRMs 

A hallmark of age-related diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, or Alzheimer’s disease is the abnormal clumping of proteins in cells. In people with these conditions, these protein clumps can result in irregular deposits known as amyloids that disrupt normal cell behaviors. A Yale pathologist recently discovered that these interactions can be dramatically reduced in type 2 diabetes when small amounts of neighboring proteins are present.

To understand these interactions at the molecular level, assistant professor and lead author Zachary Levine and his collaborators ran a series of simulations that revealed how amyloids form. They found that a unique protein neighbor, normally encountered elsewhere in the cell, was able to stabilize the amyloids found in type 2 diabetes with very high precision. These interactions were then verified in further experiments, suggesting that the body might regulate amyloid diseases using a cocktail of stabilizing proteins.

This discovery highlights important interactions between amyloid proteins and other small molecules that scientists can mimic using synthetic compounds, said Levine. These observations are not believed to be unique to diabetes, he noted, suggesting that multiple amyloid diseases can be targeted, and potentially treated, in a similar way. The study is published and featured on the cover of the Journal of the American Chemical Society

https://news.yale.edu/2019/09/13/study-probes-interplay-proteins-type-2-diabetes