Personalized brain mapping technique preserves function after brain tumor surgery

This is the headline of an article that caught my eye:http://www.oncologynurseadvisor.com/personalized-brain-mapping-technique-preserves-function-after-brain-tumor-surgery/article/288686/  

My initial impression was something like “Yes!!!” 

That “Yes!!!” quickly turned into a much quieter “ok” when I read the article. Essentially, this new technique helps, but is not panacea. Here’s a summary:

“The imaging technique of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows neurosurgeons to visualize important pathways in the brain. This allows them to better adapt brain tumor surgeries and preserve language, visual function, and motor function while removing cancerous tissue. This ability to visualize relevant white matter tracts during glioma resection surgeries can improve accuracy and, in some groups, significantly extend survival (median survival 21.2 months) compared to cases where DTI was not used (median survival 14 months).”

The sobering factoid is that this only helps extend median survival to 21.2 months from 14 months. While this is an big % increase, it sure feels like a small decrease in human suffering.  :-(

$100M for brain mapping project that could help Alzheimer’s, other diseases

The Washington Post, reported that “President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed an effort to map the brain’s activity in unprecedented detail, as a step toward finding better ways to treat such conditions as Alzheimer’s, autism, stroke and traumatic brain injuries.”

Here’s a link to the youtube.com video of the announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95cdJE6_oYg

While I have a vested interest, I applaud this proposal. Given the impending tsunami of Alzheimer cases that will start crashing down on us boomers, any research that helps ameliorate the issues will be, in my opinion, of great value to everybody regardless of nationality or age.

The article reports that “Obama said the so-called BRAIN Initiative could create jobs, and told scientists gathered in the White House’s East Room that the research has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people worldwide.”

The article goes on to say that “BRAIN stands for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. The idea, which Obama first proposed in his State of the Union address, would require the development of new technology that can record the electrical activity of individual cells and complex neural circuits in the brain “at the speed of thought,” the White House said.”

Here’s a link to the youtube.com video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95cdJE6_oYg

And here’s a link to Wilson’s article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/official-obama-to-announce-brain-mapping-project-that-could-help-alzheimers-other-diseases/2013/04/02/f2d891a8-9b89-11e2-9219-51eb8387e8f1_story.html?hpid=z3

My only concern? That the BRAIN project maps the right brain. For example, my brain probably isn't going to help modern science very much. Why? Read this previous blog posting: http://johnstumor.blogspot.com/2012/01/igor-i-need-new-brain.html