Dec
29
2012

Avoid Mistakes by Looking at the Brain Carefully

By | Medical Condition, Mental Health

Introduction

In mid December 2012 I attended a conference, which taught me to avoid mistakes by looking at the brain carefully. Doing this avoids missed diagnoses and treatment failures. In midf December 2012 I attended a medical conference in Las Vegas. The American Academy for Anti Aging Medicine organizes this annual event and provides fascinating topics. It gives information about the newest diagnostic methods and presents treatment options that reach beyond the borders of conventional medicine. One morning lecture, which took place on December 14, 2012 was given by Dr. Daniel Amen. It was an unforgettable session for the large audience, which filled the main auditorium. Dr. Amen is a psychiatrist, and he explained in detail the importance of a correct diagnosis for psychiatric problems. One diagnostic tool is the SPECT scan.

SPECT scan as a tool for psychiatric patients

It is not just some sophisticated scanning method that shows interesting images of the brain. But it provides detailed information, which part of the brain has an abnormality. As a result, a trained specialist will be able to classify, which treatment option would yield the best result to help the patient who may have a form of depression or other psychiatric disorder. A pill such as Prozac is not the miracle cure for all forms of depression! Detailed scan information prevents treatment failures. This can make a big difference in a patient’s life as he/she can lead a healthy and productive life.  However, contrast this to a patient who did not receive help, is in an institution, hurt others, killed in a rage or took his own life.

Look At The Brain To Avoid Missed Diagnoses and Treatment Failures

Avoid Mistakes by Looking at the Brain Carefully

Application of SPECT scans

The SPECT scan depicted here is from a patient who suffered from Lyme disease, but his treating physicians at first did not believe him. It was only after the abnormal SPECT scan on the left that further more sophisticated tests did prove Lyme disease was present and extensive antibiotic treatment cured the lad (normal SPECT scan on the right).

A case of a “conduct disorder”

Mental problems present in frightening ways, as the lecturer explained in the case of a young boy with behavioral changes that were terrifying to his family. Previously an easy-going lad, he turned into a challenge for his family and his teachers. He bounced from specialist to specialist. They diagnosed him with various conditions. The specialists stated that he was manipulative and attention-seeking. They also assumed that he was hyperactive and had a learning disability. The term conduct disorder also came up for discussion. But nothing of that helped to improve the situation. The parents felt like they were losing their child that was on a downhill course and on a destructive path.

SPECT scan helped to solve the “conduct disorder”

Finally, a SPECT scan did reveal a previously overlooked condition: the boy had a cyst on the frontal lobe of his brain. It looked like a trench that prevented the frontal brain to communicate with the rest of the brain.  He did need surgery in order to remove the enlarging cyst (pull down to see images), which was not an easy surgical procedure. However, the scan result led to the identification of the problem. This patient – in the meantime a young adult – is no longer troubles with psychiatric problems. He holds a job, has good interpersonal relationships and functions like any normal individual of his age group. Overlooked, undiagnosed and not properly treated mental disease robs people of their ability to lead full and productive lives. Patients with mental illness also represent a large number of the prison population.

Distorted mind of shooters

The lecturer briefly stopped and mentioned that we may have heard of the tragic and unfathomable events in a Connecticut school. A 20-year old shooter killed 20 (we all know this now as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut). A somber silence settled over the audience. As most of them had been attending conference lectures all morning, they had not heard about the school shooting and would see the shocking details on the news channels only later that day. For a whole nation December 14, 2012 will be etched into memory as a day of horror, of evil, lives destroyed and hearts broken.

Importance of detecting  and treating mental disorder early

For those who attended this lecture they will be reminded permanently that mental disorders need effective diagnoses and persistent treatment. Mental illness was hiding  behind closed doors in the past. It  was a source of embarrassment and shame, and denial was common in order to keep a pleasant facade. The consequences can be a source of terrible suffering.  This starts with the patient and his family. But as seen a few days earlier it reaches into the community and beyond.

More information on mental illness: http://nethealthbook.com/mental-illness-mental-disorders/

 

Oct
01
2008

Concerns Over Bisphenol A Bottles

By | Cancer, Health, Nutrition

Early in 2008 polycarbonate bottles containing bisphenol A (BPA) have been deemed “toxic” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The compound was first identified by researchers that autoclaved (heat sterilized) their polycarbonate flasks. They were studying the growth of breast cancer cells and found that the chemical which was identified from the flasks promoted growth of breast cancer cells. No human research was involved, and the data come from tests in animal research. Nevertheless BPA is an “endocrine disruptor”, that mimics the action of estrogen, reports Dr.Rebecca Sherlock, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of British Columbia. The question that remained was the leaching of the substance into food. As an experiment, bottles with the content of BPA were subjected to conditions that simulate household use. They were run through regular household dishwashers, but they also were subjected to the use of industrial dishwashers that have higher temperatures. Also the bottles were subjected to scrubbing with steel wool. Dr. Sherlock reported that the final result is that there is leaching of the substance into foods. None of the studies showed that the quantity of BPA is higher than the acceptable daily intake limit set in the U.S.A. and in Europe.

Concerns Over Bisphenol A Bottles

Concerns Over Bisphenol A Bottles

There are animal results that there may be some health effects, especially in the brain, the prostate and other endocrine tissues. Due to these results the federal Health Minister has proposed a ban on manufacture, import, and sale of baby bottles. Newborn babies and infants may be more sensitive to the effects of the chemical. A lot of controversy has surrounded the polycarbonate bottles containing bisphenol A.
In August the FDA has declared them “safe’, but by September a report from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences cited once again “some concern”. There are potential effects on the behavior, brain and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children at the current exposure level.

More information about toxins in the environment: https://www.askdrray.com/protecting-yourself-from-environmental-toxins/

85th Annual Conference of The Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) in Victoria/BC as reported by The Medical Post, Sept. 16, 2008, p. 14

Last edited November 6, 2014

Jul
01
2008

Genetic Difference Influences Sweet Tooth

By | Diabetes, Nutrition, Obesity, Weight loss

Environmental factors and ethnic customs can influence us to have certain likes and dislikes of foods, but researcher Ahmed El-Sohemy has found in his studies that there is also a biological and genetic basis for some of our food preferences. Researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered a genetic difference in people who consume extra sugar in their diet. The specific genetic constellation which the researchers have called GLUT2 does not only work in the pancreas, but it also is responsible for turning on satiety signals in the brain. It seems to have an impaired ability to notice high blood sugar levels that ultimately send “stop eating” signals to the brain. The habit to eat more sweets has been researched in persons with diabetes, but Dr. El-Sohemy does not believe that diabetes is directly connected with gene GLUT2. On the other hand he does not suggest that the presence of the gene should be an excuse to overindulge in sugar high foods. He states that food habits in humans are often connected to the availability of foods: if there is a birthday party and birthday cake, the people with a liking of sweets will be the first to get a slice of cake. On the other hand, if there are no sweets available, they will not make an extra trip to the store just for a piece of cake. The most logical approach is to minimize the availability of foods that are high in sugar, which is especially important for individuals who have GLUT2, the ”sweet tooth gene”, so they are not tempted to overindulge.

Genetic Difference Influences Sweet Tooth

Genetic Difference Influences Sweet Tooth

Much was learnt from two separate studies that involved 100 older adults on the one hand who were overweight or obese and 587 healthy younger adults who were mostly lean. Foods and beverages that were consumed were carefully recorded. In both investigations blood was drawn for DNA analysis and the presence or absence of the variation of the GLUT2 gene was compared to the food intake data. The older obese group with the variant gene consumed 112 grams of sugar per day versus 86 Grams per day for the non-variant gene group (normal control). The younger population carrying the variant gene consumed 131 Grams of sugar per day, while the non-variant control of young people consumed 115 Grams of sugar per day. This illustrates how genetic influences have an effect on our eating habits and also that younger people ought to be careful that they do not overuse sugar containing foods.

It also points to the solution of controlling your weight, if you belong to the higher risk group with the GLUT2 gene: you must exercise more to burn up the extra calories you tend to eat. A brisk walk on a treadmill will consume about 300 or 350 Cal in 30 minutes depending on the slope and the miles per hour setting.

Reference: Medical Post Vol 44, No. 16, June 16, 2008: page 19 (based on May issue of Physiological Genomics)

Last edited December 4, 2012