Archive for 2013

In the early 2000s, as part of the OHSU Stroke Center, I saw disabled stroke patients make remarkable progress in their recoveries — simply by exerting a large amount of extra effort and determination in their rehab exercises. The patients were part of a program led by an innovative OHSU physical therapist named Andrea Serdar. The program was within what is now known as the OHSU Outpatient Neurological Rehabilitation Department within the OHSU Brain Institute. … Read More

“Dial 911 for emergencies.” You think this is simple and obvious, right? It turns out that a recent study found that one-third of patients with stroke symptoms did not call 911 when they were having a stroke. Often, patients show up in the emergency room by having their families drive them or, even worse, by driving themselves.  Also, there are many instances that I know of personally where patients wait until the next day to … Read More

I am a neuroscientist who uses advanced microscopy techniques to understand the basic mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease. Throughout my career, I have always been interested in imaging and microscopy as a way to answer essential biological questions.  That’s why I (along with many other neuroscientists) am so excited about a new technique that creates fully intact, optically clear brains, allowing scientists to study how brain cells connect and communicate with each other in a completely … Read More

New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin recently wrote an article that did a great job of describing a stroke from a patient’s perspective, as well as discussing some new advances in stroke treatment technology. The first point his case illustrates is that stroke can occur at all ages, from babies to the elderly. It may be especially difficult for younger and fit patients to understand they are having a stroke. Since it’s an “an old … Read More

It’s 1960. “Eat your vegetables. Don’t you want to grow up strong and smart?” The boy’s mom dished out this unassailable logic at the dinner table along with the lima beans. What boy wouldn’t want to grow up “strong” and “smart?” And eating the dreaded lima beans surely must be good for you … why else would someone eat them?  But the boy became a young man and forgot his Mom’s dinner table wisdom. Fast … Read More

Those of us who work within the OHSU Brain Institute are honored to have Dr. Marcus Raichle visit us May 13 to present an evening seminar in the Brain Awareness Lecture Series, entitled “How Do We Peer Deeply into the Brain.” Raichle has been at the forefront in the development and application of advanced brain imaging techniques to advance neuroscience for four decades. He is a pioneer in the use of innovative positron emission tomography, or … Read More

The first time I got hit was November 15, 2008, during my freshman year at Aloha High School, at basketball practice. I dove, a girl moved her knee and I smashed into it with my forehead. I was dizzy, confused, nauseated and my head was pounding. Three weeks later, I was shooting around with a friend when a basketball hit me on the head. Since I was not symptom free from my first concussion, my … Read More

Physicians and researchers have some pretty amazing ways of peering inside the human brain. And some of those methods — and what they might show us — have been in the news a lot lately. A couple of neurosurgeons at Boston University, who have studied former NFL football players and others who have received repeated hits to the head, say that the brain of alleged Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev should be studied in a special … Read More

Many neuroscientists will tell you that nerve cells in the brain (called neurons) are the most important part of the nervous system. They are, after all, the primary cells of the nervous system, responsible for conducting electrical currents to encode and process our senses, thoughts, memories and emotions. But there is a growing contingent of neuroscientists who study other brain cells called glia, named for the Greek word for glue. For much of the last … Read More

Traditional brain imaging with CT and MRI scans do not show changes in the brain when someone has Parkinson’s disease and are generally not helpful in diagnosis.  A new kind of brain scan, called a DaT scan, does show changes in persons with Parkinson’s disease and may someday become an important tool in diagnosing Parkinson’s. The dopamine transporter, or DaT, scan uses a chemical that labels the dopamine transporter in the area of the brain … Read More