Neuroplasticity is critical to brain function. It’s so critical, that without it, you would die! That’s a remarkable statement, and, amazingly, it’s true. Neuroplasticity is all about how your brain forms new connections, how your brain rewires itself. And for any brain, that’s a core function. As pumping is to hearts, so forming new connections…
The Surprising Connection Between Wildfire Smoke and Brain Health: What You Need to Know Wildfires are getting worse. Look at what has happened in California, Greece, in Portugal. With global warming, you can be certain that there will be more devastating wildfires. Wildfires are not only ravaging the environment and endangering communities, but their smoke…
Neuroinflammation is swelling in the brain. It’s bad news. Swelling occurs in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Alternatively, diseases such as hypertension or diabetes lead to stroke, which in turn triggers neuroinflammation. Or bad luck strikes and someone suffers a traumatic brain injury, which leads to neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation is a common…
The Classic Case of Misfolded Proteins Did you know that misfolded proteins cause Mad Cow Disease? Strictly speaking, people don’t get Mad Cow Disease. Instead, cows do! Duh! When people eat the meat of infected cows, then they get Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CKD), a kind of dementia. CKD is a serious condition and kills you quickly.…
Misguided & Misguiding: Misfolded Proteins Proteostasis is the system our bodies use to keep proteins in functional balance. Normally, it works brilliantly. However, misfolded proteins arise when proteostasis goes wrong. This is more likely to happen the older you get. Now, you might think that misfolded proteins are not a big deal but you’d be…
Depression is common, debilitating, and often difficult to treat. For many people, antidepressant medication is presented as a first-line solution. This raises an important and reasonable question: how effective are these medications in real-world clinical practice? This article explores that question—not to dismiss antidepressants outright, but to place their benefits, limitations, and role in treatment…
Why do we give levodopa to people with Parkinson’s disease instead of dopamine? After all, loss of dopamine, a major neurotransmitter in the brain, characterizes Parkinson’s disease. Levodopa vs Dopamine Well, the answer is simple, if surprising. It turn out that dopamine cannot cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is a filter between…
The safety of Ritalin has been in the spotlight in recent years. Ritalin is widely used to manage the symptoms of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD). If you or your child use Ritalin, you might like to know that there is a growing body of scientific research showing that there is a small increase…
Cardiac Scar Tissue After Stroke. The consequences of stroke are long-lasting, not just on the brain but also on other parts of your body, including your heart. A study published in the journal Cell includes some startling findings. Dr Alba Simats and colleagues found that stroke triggers persistent inflammation in multiple organs, especially the heart.…
How do you boost neuroplasticity after a traumatic brain injury? What can you do to ensure that you make the best recovery possible? Neuroplasticity and the Long Haul Recovery from a traumatic brain injury can be a long and difficult journey. It that may take a number of years, even longer than the two year…
