Lou Gehrig was an exceptional athlete, and the disease that has been named for him, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, may be more common among athletes. A Columbia University neurologist who collected personal histories on 431 consecutive patients between 1992 and 2000 found that 38 percent of those diagnosed with ALS had been varsity athletes (compared to 26 percent of other patients). The physician had no explanation for the findings except that the patients may have inherited athletic ability as well as susceptibility to the disease.
[SOURCE: “Are Athletes Prone to ALS?” Science News, September 28, 2002]

Avoid Aspirin after Head Injury
                                                                                               

A lingering headache is common after even a minor head injury. For relief, take acetaminophen (Tylenol) rather than aspirin since aspirin will increase the risk of bleeding in the brain.

[SOURCE: Medical Encyclopedia: Head Injury, Updated April 8, 2005]

Back Pain Is Hazardous to Brain

If you have back pain so bad you think your brain is crying out for relief, you’re right. A Northwestern University study using MRI images found that the gray matter of a person’s brain may shrink 5 to 11 percent a year as a consequence of persistent back pain–equivalent to the effect of 10 to 20 years of aging. One explanation, researchers said, is that nerve cells are working overtime to cope with the pain. [SOURCE: A. Apkarian, The Journal of Neuroscience, November 23, 2004]

 Brain Changes Noted after Chemo

Brain scans of breast cancer survivors who had undergone chemotherapy showed specific areas of reduced metabolism as long as 5 to 10 years after the last dose of chemotherapy, according to a study conducted at UCLA and published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment [October, 2006]. In tests of memory, women who had chemotherapy and those given tamoxifen both scored lower than women not receiving those treatments. Many of the women in all groups, however, had normal test scores, and the researchers described the deficits as “really relatively subtle changes.” [SOURCE: Miranda Hitti, “Subtle Memory Problems after Chemo?” WebMD Medical News, October 5, 2006; Daniel Silverman, “Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, October, 2006]

Brain Injury Is Major Threat 
                                                                                                           

For Americans up to age 44, traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability. More than half a million persons suffer brain injuries each year, with about 30 to 40 percent severe. With improved medical technology, a greater number of patients survive severe brain injuries...but often with severe repercussions. 
[SOURCE: Thomas D. Upton, Luis Fontan, Paola Premuda, Jorge Lorenzo and Nila Quinteros, "Comparing Brain Injury Rehabilitation Practices: What Can Northern and Southern Americans Learn from Each Other?" The Journal of Rehabilitation, October-December, 2002]

 Brain Tumors Up among Seniors

The number of primary brain tumors diagnosed among persons age 70 and over has increased dramatically over the past three decades in the United State and in industrialized Europe. Incidence in this age group has increased sevenfold since 1970. There are no established environmental causes such as pesticides, electromagnetic fields or radiation exposure except for patients who previously received radiation therapy to the head. Signs of a brain tumor in an older person include intellectual decline over a short period, gait disturbances and short-term memory deficits–all of which can occur with other problems commonly associated with aging. [SOURCE: Alexandra Flowers, M.D., “Brain Tumors in the Older Person,” Cancer Control 7(6):523-538, 2000]

 Care for ALS Patients: Priceless
                                                                                               

As a result of the degeneration and death of nerves controlling motor function, a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) eventually becomes unable to control and use most muscles of the body. Full-time nursing care is usually required, and this is typically provided by a spouse or other family members. In the final stages of the disease, medical and nursing costs may exceed $200,000 a year, and Medicare pays only for services provided by a non-relative.
[SOURCE: Clare Howard, “Shared Isolation–ALS Patients, Caregivers Unite To Face Cruelest,” Peoria Journal Star, April, 2005; L. Fleming Fallon, Jr., “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,” Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, January 1, 2001]

Cell Phones Don’t Cause Brain Tumors

Persons using cell phones for 10 years or less had no increased risk of the most common brain tumors, according to a large study based on a representative sample of the United Kingdom population. A previous study indicated a predominance for the right side for both phone use and tumors; the UK study attributed this to reporting bias. [SOURCE: S.J. Hepworth and Patricia McKinney, British Medical Journal, January 21, 2006]

 CT Scan Allows Viewing Inside Skull
                                                                                   

The CT (computed tomography) scan is an excellent tool for diagnosing and monitoring moderate to severe head injuries. The procedure is widely available, can be performed quickly with no special preparation on the part of the patient and at a lower cost than MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

CT gives high-quality images of bone, soft tissue and blood vessels, detecting bleeding and damage to blood vessels. Although MRI may give more precise images of soft tissue, CT is better for noting some changes in bone.

[SOURCE: Radiological Society of America, “Computed Tomography (CT)–Head,” 2005]

 Drug Eases Chemo Brain Symptoms

Early studies of Provigil, a drug previously used to treat narcolepsy, found that it enhanced memory and attention among breast cancer survivors suffering side effects of chemotherapy known as chemo brain. Chemo brain is mild to moderate cognitive impairment involving memory, learning, attention and concentration. In a study of 68 breast cancer patients suffering chemo brain symptoms, subjects using the drug for eight weeks had improvements in attention. The authors stressed that more studies are needed. [SOURCE: Charlene Laino, “‘Genius Pill’ Relieves Chemo brain,” WebMD Medical News, June 5, 2007; Sadhna Kohli, Ph.D., MPH, 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, June 1-5, 2007, Chicago, Illinois]

 Headache Is Chief Complaint
                                                                                               

A sudden-onset headache–usually severe and predominantly in the temples–was the most common symptom reported for temporal arteritis, an inflammatory disease affecting the blood vessels of the head. About a third of patients had blurred vision, double vision or temporary loss of vision, and half of these patients eventually had permanent blindness. Prompt treatment with corticosteroids can, however, prevent loss of vision.
[SOURCE: Miguel A. Gay-Gonzalez, et al, “Giant Cell Arteritis: Disease Patterns of Clinical Presentation in a Series of 240 Patients,” Medicine, September, 2005]


Headache Is Not Normal Aging
                                                                                               

A headache after age 65, of a kind or intensity you've never had before, is reason to see a doctor. More than 15 percent of patients over 65 who go to a neurologist with a new-onset headache are found to have a serious illness such as meningitis, encephalitis, stroke, thyroid disease or hypertension. From 37 to 62 percent of brain tumor patients have a headache. One study found that in 77 percent of cases symptoms resembled those of a tension headache. Nine percent were like migraines. 
[SOURCE: Nancy A. Melville, "Change in Headache Could Signal Brain Tumor: Neurologic Red Flags," Internal Medicine News, February 1, 2004]

Head Injuries: When To Call a Doctor 
                                                                                   

After suffering any blow to the head, your child should be monitored closely for at least 48 hours to be sure that no troubling symptoms develop. You should seek immediate medical attention if:

·      the skin is cut enough to require stitches;

·      your child has a headache severe enough to require medication;

·      he or she vomits repeatedly;

·      vision is blurred or double;

·      walking or talking is difficult;

·      your child is confused or difficult to awake, or

·      if you have any doubt about the child's condition.

[SOURCE: B.D. Schmitt, "Head Trauma, "Clinical Reference Systems, Annual 2001]

High Blood Sugar Affects Memory 
                                                                                               

When an older person starts to exhibit memory loss and other symptoms of dementia, the cause could be uncontrolled blood sugar, rather than Alzheimer's disease. A recent study of nondiabetic middle aged and older subjects found that those with impaired glucose tolerance, often a precursor of diabetes, scored worse on tests of short-term memory and showed greater shrinkage of the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory and learning. According to the author, the study "demonstrated that impaired glucose regulation is associated with memory dysfunction,...and it raises the intriguing possibility that improving glucose tolerance could reverse some age-associated problems in cognition." 
Exercise and weight loss are two lifestyle measures that are known to improve blood sugar control. [SOURCE: "Sustained High Blood Sugar Levels May Damage Brain's Key Memory Center," Pain & Central Nervous System Week, February 24, 2003]

Put the Lime on the Head... 
                                                                                                           

A simple folk remedy that is worth trying to relieve a tension headache: cut open a lime and rub the raw side against your forehead. 
[SOURCE: "Health Hints for the Kitchen," Saturday Evening Post, March-April, 2005]

Severe Headache: When To Worry
                                                                                               

A severe headache is often a sign of a life-threatening or potentially disabling neurological disorder such as a central nervous system infection, temporal arteritis, a stroke or a brain tumor. Headaches that should raise a red flag include:


·       the worst headache or the first severe headache a patient has ever had,

·       a headache that gets worse over a period of days or weeks,

·       a headache accompanied by vomiting, fever or other unusual symptoms,

·       a headache that wakes you up or keeps you awake,

·       a headache brought on by bending, lifting or coughing,

·       a type of headache that appears for the first time after age 55.

[SOURCE: Casilda Balmaceda and Jennifer Rossi, “Is It a Minor Headache or a Dangerous Neurological Disorder? Temporal Arteritis and Infections Are High in the Differential,” the Journal of Critical Illness, February, 2003]

Sleep Is Good Medicine for Headache                                                                        


Taking a nap or going to bed early is one of the most effective ways of dealing with a headache. The risk is that those who use sleep too frequently as a headache treatment may develop insomnia or other sleep disorders. A study of 27 young women with tension-type headaches found that 82 percent used sleep to manage headaches. Subjects reported having an average of 7.02 headache days a month, leading researchers to theorize that they may be engaging in "sleeping behavior that is maladaptive for sleep hygiene but reinforcing for pain relief." 
[SOURCE: "Young Women Use Sleep To Self-Manage Headache," Clinical Psychiatry News, October, 2004]

 Why Chemo Brain

Nearly all cancer patients undergoing toxic treatments such as chemotherapy have some subtle, short-term deficits in memory and concentration. About 15 percent, however, including many breast cancer survivors, have more striking symptoms known as chemo brain that linger for 10 years or longer. Oncologists believe the reasons may include very high doses, such as those used to prepare for bone marrow transplantation, and combining chemotherapy with hormonal treatments such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. [SOURCE: Jane Gross, “Chemotherapy Fog Is No Longer Ignored as Illusion,” New York Times Health, April 29, 2007]