Legalization of Medical Marijuana Medical marijuana is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, with pending legislation to legalize the drug for medical purposes in 4 others.[1] Although still illegal in 30 states, millions of patients are undoubtably using marijuana for medicinal purposes in these jurisdictions. Much has been written about politics trumping…
An optical technology for discriminating brain tumors from normal brain may eventually help surgeons in the operating room. Also this week: keeping neuronal growth on the straight and narrow. New Light on Brain Tumors When patients with brain tumors undergo surgery, it’s hard for surgeons to tell where tumor ends and normal brain starts, which…
PRADAXA 150 mg twice daily provided an additional 35% risk reduction of stroke/systemic embolism vs warfarin Superior reduction of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke vs warfarin Similar rate of major bleeds‡ with PRADAXA vs warfarin PRADAXA is the ONLY anticoagulant to demonstrate superior reduction of ischemic stroke vs warfarin PRADAXA also demonstrated a lower rate of…
Realistically, most people reading this article will not be decommissioning their iPhones or androids anytime soon. These devices enable us to stay closely connected to our loved ones, as well as to connect to the global brain which is the internet. But what this research does implore us to do is to exercise caution. Here…
Diagnosis and treatment of headache Major Recommendations and Clinical Highlights Headache is diagnosed by history and physical examination with limited need for imaging or laboratory tests.
An older age at retirement may be associated with a significantly decreased risk of dementia, according to research presented at the 2013 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. In a study of 429,803 retired French workers, Carole Dufouil, PhD, and colleagues found that the hazard ratio of dementia was 0.968 for each extra year of age at…
Every night, while we lie asleep, blind, dumb and almost paralyzed, our brains are hard at work. Neurons in the sleeping brain fire nearly as often as they do in a waking state, and they consume almost as much energy. What is the point of this unceasing activity at a time when we are supposedly…
The Lakes Surgical Center in West Bloomfield is one of the locations that we perform spine and neuro surgeries. The center includes four operating rooms, two procedure rooms, pre-operative and post-operative recovery areas and a large reception area. It is licensed by the State of Michigan and is fully accredited by the Joint Commission for…
The International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition (ICHD-III beta version) is now complete and ready for field testing. “It’s out, it’s published, you should start using it immediately because it’s much better than the second edition,” Jes Olesen, MD, PhD, professor of neurology, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup Hospital, Denmark, told delegates to the 2013…
Positron emission tomography of patients experiencing the premonitory phase of migraine, prior to the headache setting in, shows activation in several areas of the brain, indicating that migraine is a brain disorder and not a response to pain stimuli. The results are significant in terms of understanding the neurobiology of migraine and could have future…
Stroke is common during the first few weeks after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor ischemic stroke. Combination therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin may provide greater protection against subsequent stroke than aspirin alone. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at 114 centers in China, we randomly assigned 5170 patients within 24 hours after…
The risk of ischemic stroke increased modestly but significantly following traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to a review of more than 400,000 cases. TBI was associated with a 31% greater risk of stroke compared with trauma patients whose injuries did not affect the brain. A significantly increased risk persisted after adjustment for potentially confounding factors….