The 2013 ABTA "Patient & Family Conference: A Focus on Caregiving

This is a great event. I attended last year and a) learned a lot from the great presentations, b) met a bunch of courageous brain tumor victims, and c) felt like the medical community attending was incredibly supportive.

According to the email I just received, “Experts from around the country will discuss quality of life issues affecting brain tumor patients and their caregivers. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet with ABTA-funded researchers, who will present their findings and discuss current research trends."

Conference topics include:

• The role of patients in research

• Talking with your health care team

• Symptom management

• Nutrition and wellness

• Physical therapy and exercise

• Finances, insurance and advance care planning

Here’s a link to the website: http://hope.abta.org/site/PageServer?pagename=2013_Patient_Family_Conference_Program

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.  :-(

6 Simple Brain Boosters from Prevention Magazine

Here's link to a list of "6 Simple Brain Boosters" from Prevention magazine. The subtitle of the article is "Go beyond the crossword puzzle to really challenge your thinker."  

I like the subtitle because all of us brain-compromised victims need to “go beyond” crossword puzzles and Sudoku.

I also like the list because the author, Ms. Amanda First, has uncovered a couple of ideas I haven’t read before.

Here’s the link: http://www.prevention.com/health/brain-games/6-brain-boosting-products

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_15527751_a-doodle-with-a-brain-on-a-wire-vector-illustration.html'>abirvalg / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Probiotics Affect Brain Activity

That’s the headline from a recent article in Medscape - http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/805012

 

The article goes on to say that “A new study provides the first evidence in humans that probiotics in the diet can modulate brain activity.

“In a proof-of-concept study using functional MRI (fMRI), researchers found that women who regularly consumed probiotic-containing yogurt showed altered activity of brain regions that control central processing of emotion and sensation.“

Ok, so why is this important?

"This study is unique because it is the first to show an interaction between a probiotic and the brain in humans," lead author Kirsten Tillisch, MD, associate professor, Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, told Medscape Medical News.

Ok, the author of the study thinks it’s important…what about some other smart researcher?

"This is a very important study as up to now most of the evidence that the gut microbiota can influence brain and behavior have emerged from studies in mouse models including our own work (Bravo et al., PNAS 2011)," John Cryan, PhD, professor and head of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Ireland, who was not involved in the study, told Medscape Medical News.

Ok,now that you’ve read that endorsement, here’s the link, again, to the full article: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/805012

On the other hand, if you prefer the “Cliff Notes” version, here’s a link to the shorter MensHealthNews posting: http://news.menshealth.com/the-bacteria-thats-good-for-your-brain/2013/06/03/

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_14807167_delicious-and-healthy-yogurt-parfait-made-with-greek-yogurt-fresh-berries-and-mint-extreme-shallow-d.html'>stephaniefrey / 123RF Stock Photo</a>