Floss to prevent Alzheimer’s?

Oral bacteria in Alzheimer’s brains. Recently, researchers were amazed to find a seven-fold increase in bacterial counts in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, they found that the increase was mainly due to the presence of oral bacteria, the bugs that make up the microflora of the mouth.  A number of previous studies…

South Africans inflict brain injury on themselves.

In South Africa the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is interpersonal violence, whereas in most countries motor vehicle accidents are the primary cause of TBI.  A recently published study into TBI admissions at two state hospitals in the city of Pietermaritzburg found that 39.4% of cases were due to deliberate interpersonal violence, as…

Cannabis, epilepsy and childhood Dravet syndrome

Finally, some decent quality research has been done into the use of cannabis to control epileptic seizures.  A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows a reduction in the frequency of convulsive seizures in kids suffering from Dravet syndrome.  This was a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled study, which is the standard requirement…